My family and I grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. Consequently, when the disaster we now know as Katrina washed away the city, I found myself awash in an array of confused thoughts and emotions. What will happen to the people of New Orleans? Where will they live? What will they eat? Where will they get fresh water? How will they locate family lost in the storm? Then my perspective shifted from the people of New Orleans to my own family. What would we do during a disaster? How prepared would we be? Often times, we do not think of preparing ourselves for a disaster until we are faced with one. Usually, that is too late. Most disaster experts suggest that everyone should be prepared to be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours following an emergency (i.e. water, food, and emergency supplies). I don't know about you, but my family is not prepped to do that. As a father, I believe it is my responsibility to make sure that my family is prepared to face and survive a catastrophic event. In my search for ideas and solutions, I turned to the Internet and uncovered some pretty good suggestions. Here is what I found:
A Basic Home Survival Kit
Here are some basic instructions for building a home survival kit. I know this looks like a lot of stuff to buy and store, but it's not as bad as you think. You probably have a lot of these things sitting around your house. You just need to organize it and put it in a place that is easily accessible. Once you got your supplies together, store everything in a sealed plastic trash can or container.
Here's what you will need:
- Water: One gallon per person per day. For a family of four, that’s a lot of water (12 gallons to be exact). It may not be possible to store it all (do your best). Store your water in a cool, dark area and replace it every 6 months.
- First Aid Kit: The Red Cross sells a kit for $25. Of course, you can always build you own. Click here for information on putting together your own first aid kit. Make sure you restock medications every 12 months.
- Food: You probably have some good stuff in your pantry: canned juice, dehydrated soups, canned tuna and vegetables, salt and pepper, non-thirst inducing energy bars, nuts and candy. Peanut butter is good choice (high-calorie treat with a long shelf life). You may also want to pick up some freeze-dried meals from your local camping supply shop. If you have infants or pets, pack some food for them as well. Oh yeah, if you pack canned food, you may want to pack a hand operated can opener (my kingdom for a can opener!).
- Clothes: Pack a full change of clothes for each person in your family. Include warm outer layers (wool or synthetic) and sturdy shoes.
- Plastic Sheeting: Fiber-reinforced, laminated polyethylene film, 0.006 inches thick (e.g. purchase 1,200 square feet of Dura Skrim DS2 for approximately $100.00). You can also pack a tarp (great for covering broken windows, roofs, etc).
- Zip Ties: Handy when you have to make splints, compression bandages, or tourniquets.
- Flashlight: Wired Magazine recommends the Inova X5 (a water-resistant, aircraft-grade anodized aluminum flashlight that uses LEDs). Of course, it is not necessary. Your run of the mill flashlight will do fine. Make sure you pack the spare batteries.
- Protective Wear: Waterproof and cut-resistant Kevlar gloves and N95 face masks.
- Tools: A good crowbar, an adjustable wrench, screwdrivers, a staple gun, rope (110 feet of parachute cord), and a knife.
- Waterproof/Windproof Matches: You probably won’t want to spend time rubbing two sticks together. Store your matches in a Ziploc bag. In another bag, pack away some dryer lint for kindling.
A Go Pack
The Go Pack is for those times when you and your family need to leave in a hurry. The Red Cross sells a 3-day pack for $49.95. Of course, you can make your own. Pack the items below in a sturdy back pack that's readily accessible. One bag per family member.
Here's what you will need:
- Food: The essentials. Think…sports nutrition, candy bars, nuts, and trail mix. Include a bottle of water too.
- Clothes: Pack a change of clothes in a waterproof bag. Include a hat, sun glasses, and spare eye-glasses (if available). Toss in a few basic toiletries (e.g. toothbrush, toilet paper, feminine products, etc). You may also want to include a poncho or some other kind of easily packed rain gear.
- Radio: A cheap transistor set with batteries is fine. However, you can spend a bit more and get something that will tune in TV and NOAA bands and can be charged by turning a hand crank. Wired Magazine recommends the Eton Grundig FR300. It has a cell phone charging jack and built-in flashlight.
- Cash: Chances are that the ATM machines won’t be working in the event of a catastrophic disaster, and if the power is out, you won’t be able to swipe a credit card. Pack away $500 in small bills.
- Important Documents: You never know what paperwork you are going to need. Copy the following documents and pack them away: your home insurance policy, contact numbers, medical insurance card, passport, driver's license, bank records, and photos of family members. Include a local map and spare keys as well. For insurance purposes, you may want to pack a CD with pictures of some of the more expensive items in your home (include captions with serial numbers, date you purchased the item and the approximate value).
- Mylar space blanket: These compact blankets keep you warm and reflect damaging sun rays.
- Essential Medicines: Prescription medicines, plus sunblock and ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Restock every 12 months to keep fresh.
- Duct tape: You can do a lot of things with a roll of duct tape.
- Signal Devices: Roadside flares will work just fine. Wired Magazine recommends the Greatland Laser's Rescue Laser Flare (two AA batteries provide 72 hours of 20-mile-visible brightness) and the Fox 40 whistle (115 dB).
- Multitool: I picked a couple of these up at my local government surplus shop ($1 each). Make sure it has a can opener, a good knife blade, and both Phillips and flat-head screwdrivers.
- Pen & Paper: Chances are you are going to need to write something down. You can’t ever find a pen and paper when you really need one, so pack them with you.
- Hand Wound Watch or Clock: I think you understand the need for this.
The following sites provided the information for this article. Check them out if you want to read more about family disaster plans.
1 comment:
Good advice. However it takes some serious discipline to do all of these things. Man!!
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