Tip or the Week…When you Have to Leave the City…EMP talk with Halli

This morning I had a great chat with Halli Stone. Halli has a great blog talk radio show, Halli and Friends,  on which she discusses topics in the news and their impact on our lives. Today we talked about an EMP attack and a solar storm and what those really mean for us and our families. We have been covering that subject for a few weeks now and there is still plenty to learn but this discussion may be a good way for you to get others in your circle of family and friends to become a little better informed.

When disaster hits the city the safest thing to do is to stay put if you and your family are safe and if you have prepared and are able to meet your basic needs, food, water, and shelter. If however, there is mass civil unrest or you find your supplies are running low or you have time before a devastating disaster such as a hurricane, flood or tornado, it may be time to pack up and get out. We can talk about just what you should take with you when you evacuate at another time but for today let’s just think about getting out.

If it is time to leave you there are a few things you can count on.

First, there will be others with the same idea. You will be competing for space on the roadways and the trip will take longer, sometimes three times as long, as it usually takes.

Second, you will have a difficult time finding supplies along the way. In the case of evacuation after a natural disaster, an EMP or solar flare, or terrorist attack there may not be power for gas pumps and you can count on all the convenience store shelves being cleaned out of supplies, water and food.

Third, there will be road closures. You should plan to have several routes available for your drive. This will require that you are able to make changes to your route without getting lost thus wasting that precious gasoline.

What to do? Always be sure you have at least a half a tank of gas. If you have more than one car you should have a way to siphon gas from the smaller car into the larger so you begin your trip will a tank as full as possible. You may consider a small gas can which could also be filled giving you more fuel for your trip.

If you have no car you will need to make sure you have spare parts for your bike and you will need to determine routes which will lead to public transportation of a meeting place where friends or family can come to rescue you.

Emergencies don’t always happen when we are at home so all the following tips should also be followed for your trip from work or school to your home.

The following are a few tips to consider:

Now is the time to purchase a good set of road maps and a good atlas. Remember that just making it out of the city does not insure smooth sailing. You may encounter road closures and traffic jams many miles beyond the city limits.

You should have already chosen a place to evacuate to if you are leaving the city so you should have a destination in mind. If you have not done this now is the time. This should be somewhere at least 50 miles from your home and with someone who has agreed to take you and your family in. In the case of a mass disaster you will also want a second destination even further away, at least 100 miles.

Now is the time to get out your maps and several highlighters of various colors. You can begin by highlighting the route you would normally take. Remember the internet will be down after a disaster and your GPS may not work depending on the type of disaster so please don’t think they will be your back up plan. Besides, haven’t you ever had your GPS send you on a route that was much longer than it needed to be because they don’t use all those back roads you know about. You can use an internet mapping service to give you some good ideas about alternative routes by entering various locations as staring points for you journey but whatever method you use label more than three routes for evacuation or to get home from the office or school.

Now it’s time to road trip! Before we built our home we used to take drives with our family after church on Sunday out into the country and dream of a time we could move. Do the same. Take time to drive these routes and go for a picnic or out for ice cream once you have left the city limits. You may discover one of your routes takes you through a neighborhood that you believe is ripe for civil unrest during the time of an emergency. Cross that off the list and find another route to replace it.

As you examine your routes consider bridges, tunnels, high rise construction sites, elevated roadways, power stations and other places that are along the route which may have been damaged and cause you to have to make detours. Note low lying areas that would be likely to flood in case your evacuation comes after a storm.

As you make this drive make note of gas stations, hospitals, and police stations along the route. If you should find a gas station open as you flee the city you should stop and fill up no matter how full your tank.

Next, label each route as to order of use, best case to worst case, # 1 choice and so on. You will want to share these routes with your out of area contact, the person whose home you will be evacuating to. It will be easier for emergency personnel to locate you, should you encounter a problem, if they know the route you were taking.

Store copies of these routes in each of your cars and also in your 72 hour kits and office kits.

Take a few minutes and while you are surfing the web listen to my discussion with Halli and pass they link and info along to friends.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/idahotalk/2010/04/23/halli-friends

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