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Issue 9
Emergency Essentials
by Lee Revere
My heart goes out to the victims of this year's hurricanes. And like many of us, after doing what little I could to help, I wondered about my family's readiness for a disaster. Were my husband and I prepared to care for our family in case of an emergency — for at least a week? The answer was a resounding "No." I used to think of survivalists as somewhat crazed folk, but what seemed extreme thinking prior to Hurricane Katrina now seems like common sense. This doesn't mean I'm going to turn into a fretful, paranoid person; I just want to be prepared and then let it go...
Some of the websites and emergency preparedness pamphlets I perused were so comprehensive that the task felt overwhelming at first. While it may be wise to bolt down my house's foundation or pack comic books to relieve boredom, I'm just not going to do it. I focused instead on the most essential items for survival and for picking up the pieces if disaster ever struck.
The Bare Necessities:
- Store at least a week's worth of emergency supplies in your home and a smaller stash at work or school and one in your car.
- Create a basic emergency plan for your family, such as where to meet and whom to call.
- Make copies of important documents and store them, along with cash, in several safe locations.
Start Here
Store the items listed below (see Emergency Supplies) in an accessible place. Replenish supplies in the spring and fall when you replace the batteries in your smoke alarm. Replace clothing, batteries, water and food stores each time; use the water on the garden and rotate the food into your pantry or donate it. Keep a portion of the supplies in backpacks or duffle bags. Pick up bags at a used-clothing or consignment store such as Goodwill.
Devote a weekend to making a family adventure out of buying supplies and putting together kits for each family member. Design and review your emergency plan. Take important documents to a copy center, make duplicates and then store them in a safe location.
Emergency Supplies at Home
Water: Store one gallon of water per person per day for at least seven days. Add extra for pets. Buy bottled water or use clean two-liter soda or juice bottles filled to the top. (If you don't drink soda or juice, ask friends to save bottles for you.) Stick with plastic since glass is heavy and it breaks. Avoid milk or juice containers because you can't clean them adequately to prevent bacterial growth. Mark the bottles with the date you filled them. If necessary, you can also find extra water in ice-cube trays or the water heater.
If your stored water runs out, boiling is best (boil the water at least 3 - 5 minutes). Or use water-purifying tablets by following the directions on the package. (Find the tablets at stores that sell camping gear.) Another option is to use 20 drops of household iodine per gallon of water. Or use liquid chlorine bleach that contains no soaps or scents. Be sure that the only active ingredient is hypochlorite. The amount of chlorine in bleach bottles varies, but a rough estimate is to use 10 drops per gallon of water; let it stand for 30 minutes before using. Obviously, use chemical treatments only as a last resort.
Nonperishable food: What you buy partly depends on your storage space. Clear out a closet — how often do you use those tennis rackets, anyway? I buy bulk food because it's less expensive and I have the room. The type of food you buy also depends on whether you will be able to heat it. We have a wood stove with a flat top and lots of wood, an outdoor grill that will last as long as the propane lasts, a camp stove and fuel and an outdoor fire pit.
If you don't have a way to heat your food, buy dehydrated foods such as fruits and jerky, Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), breakfast bars, peanut butter and lots of canned foods and juices. Remember special food items for babies and include food for the pets.
Tools and other items: Store a manual can opener, eating utensils, a water purifier (see water section above), soap, and a first aid kit and manual (see resources for details on packing your own first aid kits for less money). Add special items such as prescription and nonprescription drugs, contacts lenses and glasses. If your family balks at using leaves, store toilet paper. Include flashlights, extra batteries, a portable radio, pocketknife, an axe, candles, waterproof matches, fire starters, fire extinguisher and a wrench to shut off household gas and water. Pack spare keys for the house and cars.
Clothing: This is where the individual backpacks or bags come in handy. Besides a small supply of water and nonperishable food, each member of the family should pack a complete change of clothing including hat, gloves, coat and shoes. Use grungy, paint-stained, I-should-have-thrown-it-out-long-ago clothing you won't miss. Once wet, cotton clothing stays wet, so pack some wool or synthetic clothing, as well. Be sure to recheck twice a year. If not, clothes for the kids might not fit. Babies may need a supply of diapers. Consider including ponchos that have loops at the corners. If you secure the corners with twine, they can double as small tarps.
Place the pack in a waterproof garbage bag and tie a ribbon around the top so you don't accidentally throw it out. Keep some bags of food, water and supplies in closets near entry doors; store each person's individual bag in his or her room so that at least some of them will be available if the house is damaged.
Note: These are basic items meant for survival, not comfort. Some people will store additional tools, camp stove and fuel, whistles, a map and compass, sunglasses and sunscreen, a sewing kit, pen and paper and personal items such as toothbrushes and feminine products. Pack what you think you'll need but don't go overboard; the main goal of this exercise is to complete it.
Supply Kits for Work or School
Add the following to a small duffle bag or backpack: emergency plan in a plastic zip-lock bag; water; nonperishable foods such as energy bars and MREs; flashlight and batteries; mini first-aid kit; knife; emergency blanket; extra clothing and a good pair of walking shoes. Consider storing any prescription drugs.
Supply Kits for the Car
The bag you store in your car should be a backpack or something you can easily carry a distance. Include the same items as in your work/school kit and add a signal flare or chemical lightstick, an axe and a sleeping bag or blanket. Remember to have extra winter clothing and walking shoes. Keep your gas tank at least half full.
Emergency Plan
- Decide on a location where your family will meet and how you'll get there.
- Program "In Case of Emergency" phone numbers into your cell phone. For instance, type in "ICE husband, Jon" and his phone number. That way, people can make calls for you if necessary.
- Choose an out-of-state contact person whom each of you will call, as it may be easier to reach someone who is not local and possibly in the same mess. Give your contact person the names and phone numbers of additional people to contact.
- Make sure you have at least one good old-fashioned wall or desk phone that is only connected to the phone jack and doesn't require electricity.
- Teach each family member how to turn off the plumbing, gas and/or electricity.
Important Documents and Cash
- Gather documents such as insurance policies, photos, IDs, wills, social security cards, driver's licenses, passports and birth certificates, checking/savings-account and credit-card numbers, safe-deposit-box information and any other critical documents. (Yes, this is the tedious part, but hang in there.)
- Make copies and then store them in your emergency kits; put the originals in a safe-deposit box. Add some family photos to the box while you're at it.
- Send copies of the documents to one out-of-state friend or family member.
- Stash at least $200 cash (small bills and coins). If the electricity is out, ATMs will not work.
- When you are done, breath a sign of relief, do some high-fives with your family, pat the dog and relish the fact that you have done your best to take care of yourselves in case of an emergency. Then celebrate by taking your family to the movies. You may not have secured all your appliances to the walls — but you did a lot.
Lee Revere made an agreement with herself that she wouldn't write this article unless she was willing to follow her own advice. She did.
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