National Preparedness Month

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September is National Preparedness Month! Given how trying last February was in Texas, I decided to write a short blog post about this topic.

Family getting ready for an emergency

This image is from Ready.gov.

A large part of preparedness in case of an emergency or natural disaster is having a plan in place. For example, how would you get in touch with other members of your household? Would your kids need to be picked up from school? Where is a safe meeting place? Which shelters (or hotels) would take you in with your pets? Which out-of-town relative could host your family and/or act as a relay for information? What would your evacuation route(s) be?

FEMA has a good guide to basic preparedness; it also has an app to locate nearby shelters and stay up-to-date during an emergency. That being said, based on user comments, the app is clumsy and likely to give you false warnings, so it might be best to download it only if you’re nervous about a specific upcoming emergency (such as before a hurricane or ice storm). If, like me, you live in Bexar County, you can (and should!) sign up for emergency notifications here. Another good way to get information is to follow your local police department and municipality on social media.

Concretely, having an emergency kit is a great way to be prepared, and it helps bring peace of mind. I’ll talk a bit about my own family emergency kit and give you a (non-exhaustive) list of its contents.

Our emergency kit contains non-perishable food items and water; you should aim for about three days’ worth of food, and 1 gallon of water per person per day. I know someone whose emergency food is stored in a freezer, and I MUST warn against that, because 1) it would spoil in a power failure, and 2) perhaps that point is moot because they would need power to prepare/reheat it or water to boil it in the first place, and those might not be available in an emergency. As for us, we focused on canned and boxed food items, though the specific foods tend to vary over time. I update my Google Calendar periodically with expiration dates so that I can replace things before they expire (we just integrate those items to our weekly menu). We also have a manual can opener and plastic utensils in the kit. After last February, we’ve decided to buy a few more gallons of water – we didn’t run out, but it would have been nice to feel more secure about it! If you have pets, their food and water should be included in the kit.

Our emergency kit also contains essentials like toilet paper, wipes, a first aid kit, a flashlight and a radio with batteries, candles and matches, trash bags, reflective tape, a whistle, and hand sanitizer. You should also keep some cash in the kit: if there’s a massive power failure, you won’t be able to get money at an ATM, and no business will be able to accept cards. This doesn’t have to be a large amount, just enough to get you through for a few days. Another good tip: we have a book of brain stretchers and puzzles along with a few pencils and an eraser. If we have to survive without power for a few days, we’ll need something to pass the time!

You can build your own kit using the government’s guidelines or you can buy a ready-made one such as these and supplement as needed. Ideally, you want your kit to be mobile so that you could take it with you in your car if you had to evacuate.

Taped on the lid of the plastic bin that houses our kit is a list of things that we would need to take along if we evacuated: important documents like passports; sentimental items like family photos; medications; clothing; toiletries; blankets; and phone chargers. For a pet, you will also need a leash or pet carrier, plus dishes for food and water. You might have other items depending in your situation, but those are the basic guidelines.

I know it’s a lot to absorb all at once (and a lot of adulting!), but you can take some time building your emergency kit. The important thing is to get started and keep at it until it’s done. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want my help getting your own kit ready!