Emergency Preparedness

Updated on November 12, 2012
M.M. asks from Wheaton, IL
19 answers

In light of recent storms, hurricanes, flooding and fires (and lest not forget large scale tragedies like 9/11), what everyday steps have you made in the last few years to prepare yourself and your family in the event of an emergency? Shows such as Doomsday Preppers and the like seem extreme, but are they? Living for 2 weeks without electricity and dealing with a gas shortage in Long Island certainly makes one appreciate advance planning efforts. I even noticed a side storyline on last week's Grey Anatomy about a doomsday prepper couple.

How has this impacted your life and planning efforts?

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☆.A.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Personally I think those people are a little nutso....
I would assume on about 20 minutes I could throw food, water, clothing, flashlights, batteries , etc. into a bin/bag/trunk.
Usually, if you're being officially evacuated, you know a bit in advance.
We always have plenty of food, water, etc. on hand, and we're organized so nothing would be hard to find/gather up.
If some situation arises that you don't have any time at all to prepare, then it probably won't matter anyway, right?
So--that's my plan.

4 moms found this helpful

T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

We're pretty well covered when it comes to food and water, and we have a camp stove with propane so we could cook for probably about a week or so.
Beyond that, not so much.
Luckily none of us needs regular medication, and the pets' food is generally bought in bulk.
Still, we SHOULD be better prepared, especially living on the Loma Prieta fault line. After all, earthquakes give NO warning :-(

3 moms found this helpful

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C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

I grew up in many different places - Hawaii, Taiwan, California...

We HAD to be prepared for things - earthquakes can do a LOT of damage and unlike hurricanes, you don't get notification.

EACH family member should have a "go bag" (we each have backpacks) - with 2 to 3 days of clothes, flashlight, water, MREs, first aid kit, batteries, rain poncho, medication (and we change it out every 3 to 6 months to ensure it's not expired). Both of my boys have cards, travel games (the travel Yahtzee - on a stick) to keep them "occupied"...we have a back pack for our dog with food, water, and collapsible dishes, as well as treats for him.

We have a storage room we use as our place to go in case of a tornado - in there we have a propane camping stove and more - if we have to evacuate, we have a memory stick with our social security, birth certificates and passports scanned in. We also have a back-up hard drive of important information - that doesn't get backed up as often as I would like - but it gets done. and it's in a waterproof carry case.

Guns and ammo too. Don't forget things like a can opener, axe to cut wood, gloves, matches (keep 'em in a ziploc bag) and a mess kit - for each member of the family (in each back pack there is one). My husband is a coffee drinker - in his backpack we have a box or instant coffee...it's those little things that help.!!!

For us? it wasn't the last few years. This has been me - ALWAYS - I'd rather be prepared. One thing that caught me off guard about Hurricane Sandy that made me go back over my stuff - I didn't have a list of pet-friendly hotels should we be able to go to hotels....now - that has been rectified.

We do need to practice our "what if" should something happen and we are not home - where to meet - who to call - etc. Emergency exit plan should the house catch fire, etc.

5 moms found this helpful

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

I personally use common sense and don't buy into the hype. The media lives for instilling fear and hype.

My pantry and freezer is typically prepped for 6+ months, I have a stash of batteries with major flashlights around the house in designated areas and a weather/tv radio in the pantry as well.

We keep our phones and laptops charged on a daily basis and know exactly where chargers are located also including our car chargers.

Our cars have a full tank of gas most of the time.

This is normal activity for us and we don't worry about the what if's , etc.

Keep in mind, most of the time, you know if a hurricane is coming and you have time to prep.

We're in TX, strong storms ( tornado warnings, etc) are common and when it is ice/snow here... We don't budge. Too many crazy people around here think they are experts on ice, lol

We lived through hurricane Hugo and it was not expected or predicted to be as far inland as it came to really have an impact. Well it had a major impact with no power/ water for days and I witnessed people fighting for ice and water.

We don't live in fear, if we get warnings, we know what to do and when. If we have no warning, were still ok if there is no power, etc.

3 moms found this helpful
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T.B.

answers from Washington DC on

We run the gamete here weather wise from occasional blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, and have even had earthquakes. We've also survived being laid off twice. We made a choice years ago to be prepared for anything and everything.

We can a lot of our own home grown veggies and fruits. I also buy meat in bulk when it is on sale and can that as well. We shop with coupons combined with sales to keep our pantry well stocked at all times. We always have anywhere from 8 months to a years supply of food and water.
That may sound extreme but we started small by only adding a few extra items each week to our normal shopping list years ago. We eventually got to a point where we didn't have to have normal shopping list and only purchased items when on sale and with coupons. That may mean one week we buy 20 jars of spaghetti sauce and various pasta noodles along with our milk and bread. Another week we may spend $500 on nothing but perdue chicken breasts, but we won't have to buy chicken for the next 6 months. Trust me when I say, you can and will get to the point that you only "have" to spend $15 a week for groceries. We eat healthy meals not boxed or canned garbage. Since we can our own meats the meats are already cooked in the processor and nightly meals only take about 15 minutes tops to prepare.

We also have a generator and a commercial grade water pump to pump water away from our house. We store enough fuel for both to operate for 2 weeks. Beyond that we're screwed but we can only store so much fuel.
We also keep 2 extra propane tanks for the grill so that we are able to cook without power for extended period of time. We also have numerous flashlights that you shake to light instead of using batteries in addition to our battery operated flashlights and lanterns. We also have a windup radio that has the national weather alert system on it as well.

We are in the process of renovating our home and will be installing a wood stove in addition to the pellet stove we already have. We back to the woods and in an emergency situation gathering wood would not be an issue. Hurricane Sandy just blew several more trees down behind our house so we will be adding that wood to the wood pile.

We each have a bug out bag packed and ready to go. Each bag is packed with 2 week supply of food, clothing, mess kit, 1st aid kit including bug repellant & sunscreen, clothing, toilet paper, sample size shampoo, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush and hand sanitizer. We are also looking to add water filtration bottles to the bags because no one can carry the actual amount of water they would need to survive. Mine and my husbands bag also have a small ax, knives, fire striker as well as matches.

We have 2 collapsible beach tents that fold down to a circle. I keep those with the bags as a just in case. If our community is displaced due to a large scale natural disaster I figured some shelter is better than none.

We backup our computers to external drives. My husband wrote a program for the computer to back up automatically on a daily basis so we don't have to worry about forgetting to do it. I know this might sound crazy but the family pictures and videos are far more important to me than the documents...lol. I would be devastated if we lost our girls "history" not to mention our family pictures of those who are now in heaven. I don't look at this particular issue as disaster preparedness but just insurance that we will not loose what it important to us if the computer crashes.

I also keep a bin stocked with educational workbooks, games, readers, ect for the girls. I use this bin on a daily basis in conjunction with their school and daycare curriculum. It is constantly updated with new materials. If we are ever in a situation where we are without power and our unable to attend school I want things on hand to keep them occupied as well as educated.

We also have multiple guns with enough ammo to last for quite some time. My husband also has a bow and arrows for hunting if necessary. Not to mention numerous fishing rods and tackle boxes. We're surrounded by rivers, lakes and the ocean. We could hunt and fish for food if necessary but I prefer to stalk my food at the local grocery store...lol.

We don't think we're extreme at all. We consider it our responsibility to provide for our family in any given situation. In a disaster situation you can not and should not rely on government agencies and charity organizations to take care of your family. In a large scale event those agencies will be stretched very thin. I will not allow my children to be hungry or thirsty waiting on help to arrive. It may not be gourmet meals but it will be healthy nutritious meals.

Honestly, in this economy how can you not be preparing for unemployment? Any of us could loose our jobs at any given time. We are not rich by any means and luxuries like cable, dance classes, and cell phones may have to go but we will all have food in our tummies.

Peace and Blessings,
T. B

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

Bwaaahahahaaaa...

Okay. In R.'s make-believe-land this is what it looks like:

I live in a small town, near a train to a big city, on acreage. In a HUGE house. We're talking Victorian Spiderwick. Secret passageways & slides & stuff that don't really enter into this narrative, except to own that I'm admitted kind of silly to begin with.

Greenhouse w Halides for indoor food & herb gardens (real herbs not cannibis). Waterwheel driven generator, with backup. Hippocaust system. Woodfire pizza oven in a "peasant style" kitchen. Stocked pond. Stables. . Bomb/storm shelter under the house w food & reading material for x people for 6mo. Neg pressure blast doors. Rabbithole that exits about a mile thatway. Basic surgery (ahh... There's not a good USA equivalent. Similar to a 1 room hospital).All kind of various supplies.

Basically, everything a person would need to live off grid. Except that I shan't be living off grid. I dont believe in hiding from society. The world excites me. Which is why I'll be, more than likely, off somewhere away from home if I ever really "needed" what au kept at home.

Back in reality (whoops there goes gravity)...

I'm mid divorce, choosing whether to have power or water this month. The bottled water Im buying is for flushing, not storing! (I. Love. Indoor. Plumbing.) Someday I might have my little corner of the world... But right now Im in basics-land.

<grin> So while its happy to think about what-if, the past year has been "How am I going to do this now?," instead of "How shall I prepare for later?"

SHOULD the worst happen, though? (And my son and I chance to survive it). Ill be fine. But the first thing Ill be doing is getting the heck outta dodge... Because as HISTORY shows: cities starve. Cities are almost living creatures. Cut them off from power/water/food... And they die. They become riotous plague hubs. Shudder. And I live in a city. Because I currently need to. So assuming I'm not dead, in a small pile of atoms, glowing in the dark, a ravening zombie, whatever... I'm driving. And figuring it out as I go. I've lived off the land before. We'll be fine. Heck. I know how to make a hottub next to any watercourse in about 2 hours. So we'll even have baths.

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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

We don't have much.
Just some bottled water (the big jugs), battery operated flashlights (the good/big kind).
Gas in gas cans.
Lots of heavy blankets & quilts.
Oh and tons of candles & matches.

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H.L.

answers from Portland on

We live on a fault line, so I have done some prep work. I'm probably 50% of the way done with our emergency plan. We have some water, need more since it came in handy when we recently couldn't drink the water from the city. We have 1-2 months worth of food from canning it with a lovely group of Mormon's at their cannery. They are so amazing to let non-mormon's in to can with them. That food lasts between 10-30 years, so we'll be good there for a while. We have backpacks with extra clothes and basic supplies in case we need to evacuate quickly, however I need to check those and make sure the kids' clothes still fit. I try to keep the cars fueled up, but fail at that most of the time. My kids have "earthquake" shoes by their beds most nights. We were told to keep those close in case they need to get out of the house after a disaster. I have medical kits, but just basic first aid supplies. Thankfully we don't take medication, so we'd be fine if we had to get out quickly. Passports, birth certificates, and vaccination records are all set to grab quickly. Wow, I'm more prepared than I thought!

I really need to get more water to keep in the garage. I have no idea how much to get. Guess I'd better google how many oz we really need a day for a few days at least. That seems like it wll be a ton of water to store! I'm also looking into a generator, but that's pricy, so not sure when/if we'll get one.

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K.A.

answers from San Diego on

We're a bit more prepared now than we were. When the power went out in all of San Diego and parts of Orange County and was out for hours we realized we were a bit less prepared than we should be. That night we drove an hour north where they still had power to get a few things, but stores were picked clean.
We now own a camp stove with a couple things of gas. We don't camp so we never thought to get one...until I realized that I wouldn't have coffee if the power were still out in the morning. Thankfully it came back on in the wee hours of the morning so I got my coffee LOL
We've had to evacuate a couple times because of wild fires and that made us realize things we needed too.
But, we could still be better.

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I.X.

answers from Los Angeles on

We were moderate preppers before. But we live in earthquake country at the end of our counties water line and 5 miles from a nuclear power plant. A few simple experiences really opened my eyes to how dependent we are on government, functioning utilities, roads, availability of gas, and stocked grocery stores. One was when our house got repiped and we could not drink or cook with our house water for one week. Talk about eye opening. I balk at a flat or two of costco bottled water. After that experience we ordered a couple 50 gallon drums.
The other was a power outage that began at dusk and lasted only a few hours. I got out my tea lights and went to finish washing dishes. I could not perform simple tasks in the dark and news flash- tea lights make for great ambiance, but they do not throw enough light for tasks. Finally rummaged up some long stemmed candles and about three of those make it possible to do tasks. It made me realize that i really need to be more thoughtful and thorough in what we purchase. I know I still have holes in my emergency supplies, and this storm is yet another reminder that I need to put a bit more thought into it. I have a three month supply of food but not one extra box of diapers. I'm reminded that I need to balance out my supplies and look for holes and fill them.

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

My favorite author on the subject is Peggy Layton. She's just a mom with a degree in Home Ec. She is an LDS woman but she is so down to earth.

Her books are easy to read, they make perfect sense and are to the point. She practices what she writes so it's well thought out and a tried and true way of organizing stuff. I find her to be sensible too. If you are not fond of bread and don't use flour hardly ever why do you need a years supply of wheat for each person in your family...she says you don't. You need to store the foods you and your family eat.

Her book about how to start the process is so complete! She has a check list of items that cover every thing you might possibly need in different emergencies. If there is 6 ft of snow on the ground outside and you don't have power you don't need an umbrella and sunblock, you need blankets and a way to keep warm. She goes through just about every possible situation and each one is so organized.

You can do a 2 3 month supply, a 6 month supply, or even the suggested 1 year. You can have things like powdered milk, chocolate pudding in the box, koolaid packets and sugar, anything you use is what "YOU" need to store.

The books also give straightforward recipes to try, how to do MRE's if that's easiest for your family, how to decide how much of each item you need by tracking your store purchases, all kinds of logical sensible advice.

I suggest you go to your local library and ask them if they have any books by her then check them out. IF they don't then ask if you can borrow them on inner library loan because I know our public library has them all. So I know they can be found somewhere....lol.

That way you can read them and see how they translate to your lifestyle, if you have a real desire to put some food back, to make sure you have enough blankets or water ready if needed, and to have the medications and supplies you might need.

Of course in my mind, all my stuff will blow away with the tornado that takes my home. So I do keep a kit in my car too....

http://peggylayton.net/
*********************************************
This is the book to start it off. I borrowed this one about 4 times then finally had hubby order me a used on off Amazon for just a couple of dollars. I copied a bunch of the pages so I could write on them and not mess up the book.

http://peggylayton.net/index.php?app=ccp0&amp;ns=prodshow...
*********************************************
I am one of those people who like going to Walmart and buying those individual brownies or cakes that comes in a little black bowl and you add a couple of tablespoons of water then microwave it something like 30 seconds...I want to know how to do those.

When you think about what's in the powder you mix that little bit of water with it's amazing. There has to be egg powder, flour, sugar, cocoa, some sort of dried oil product, and other stuff. So learning how to buy those things, mix them together, actually have something turn out edible, that amazes me. So I got this book so I could have good advice from a pro who uses stuff from her food supply.

http://peggylayton.net/index.php?app=ccp0&amp;ns=prodshow...
******************************************

I hope the information I have shared with you is something you can use. I know it made the idea of being prepared so much easier on me. When my hubby lost his job and was out of work for 2 years we used up our food storage but it lasted for so long. We didn't go hungry or feel we were doing so badly for a long time. when he finally got disability and we got his back payment we got our food storage and first aid kits back up to a 3 month supply. Ours is different than yours will be, we eat different foods, each family only needs to store foods they like and will eat. That's a basic thing she will teach you.

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J.P.

answers from Lakeland on

I think there are just some basic things everyone should have in case of an emergency. At least two weeks of food, lots of water, generator, flashlights and/or lamps, an alternate heat source, extra blankets, hidden cash and a hand cranked radio. And you should have some of these things ready to put into a vehicle for emergency evacuation. Also don’t forget your pets and their needs.

Part of what you will need depends on what part of the country you live in. Here in Florida I don’t worry about it getting too cold but when I lived in PA and lost power for over a week in a snow storm I was so glad to have my propane heater that worked without electric. I also stored water in milk containers and other containers since my well pump only worked with electric.

I didn’t mind being without power for so long since I like to go camping and I had all my equipment (stove with extra propane, camping shower etc.). So for me it was like camping out in my house.

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B.E.

answers from New York on

We were without electricity for 4 days after Hurricane Sandy and I was definitely concerned it might be longer, the way LIPA was running things.

Here is what was absolutely crucial for us:

A full tank of gas in the car (I have only had to line up once at the gas station since and it was "only" a 1/2 hour wait

3 battery-powered lanterns that cast a strong light plus about 5 flashlights

Extra AA, AAA and D batteries, and matches of course

A grill with a full propane tank plus a side burner (I have never had to use the side burner before and it was a LIFESAVER during this latest crisis

Several gallon bottles of drinking water

Several covered plastic storage tubs filled with water kept out in the yard (we have a well that runs off electricity, so no running water). Also, when the electricity first went out, I filled several big pots and the bathtub with the water remaining in the the water tank. This was absolutely crucial for flushing the toilet

Dry wood for the fireplace

Canned and boxed food and powdered milk

Several ziplock bags of ice stored in the freezer, plus freezer packs

A big, extreme-cold cooler capable of keeping food cold for a few days

A special toy or two hidden away to keep kids occupied and happy when something like this happens. I can't thank LEGO enough for the set my son and I built for a couple evenings during and just after the storm! (I know that sounds frivolous, but it really kept him calm even when I was unraveling a bit)

Texting capacity - It was the ONLY way I had to get in touch with family to let them know we were OK. Landline, cell, emailing, internet - none of that worked. Only texts got through for some reason

We probably could have gone on for several more days with these things. The only big issue for us ultimately (aside from needing showers) would have been the heat. The fireplace would have helped, but that can only do so much when it gets really cold. I may consider in the future getting a generator capable of running the burner and the well. If we had that, then we would be in very good shape during the next crisis.

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S.G.

answers from Los Angeles on

You need to be prepared. It is that simple.

Living in California, we get earthquakes. Like someone pointed out, you do not get notice for those. You do not get 20 minutes to throw some stuff together. It is people that believe they have time that are nuts. You need to be ready.

We have a small box in our cars - always with no less than a half-tank of gas - that has bottled water, power bars and small things that might help us should we be driving when an earthquake happens.

In our home we have bug-out bags, like you have seen in DoomsDay Preppers, they are in a "strong box" in a strong framed room, almost like a panic room. We have our guns and ammunition there as well. We have a motor home so that is packed and ready to go as well. We don't need a generator, if we lost electricity we could go to our motor home and still be comfortable.

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R.K.

answers from Appleton on

I am lucky that I live in an area that doesn't have a lot of disasters. I live in Wisconsin and we do get tornados but not usually near my house. I live a block off the Fox River and for some reason they avoid the area. When other parts of the city had power outages I didn't. I do however have a charcoal grill, but no bottled water or canned foods. I don't like canned food and I can't eat most of it.

I am thinking about installing solar panels. My garage needs a new roof so I thought I would do solar panels too. But that's particially because the electric bill is a bit high.

I think everyone should be prepared but some where in the middle of doomsday preppers and the do nothing people. Remember 1999, and so many people went out and bought generators, bottled water, canned goods, camp stoves ect ect because they were positive the world would go into complete shut-down at midnight? UUUMMMMMM fear mongers--ignore them.

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J.G.

answers from Chicago on

As you know, we get storms a lot in Chicago, where we lose power, etc. We don't get East coast destruction of everything storms, but we have some basics: a good generator that will run two refrigeration, a giant freezer, lights, fans, etc. We have a giant gas grill and a gas stove top, so we don't need to worry about cooking food.... And we have some really nice camping lanterns (I literally asked for these last xmas because I was sick of not having nice lanterns when we lost power!) When we do a build (in a few years), we have already decided to shell out for a whole house generator. This past summer's storm was terrible in that it was 103 and we had no air!

I tend to coupon (when I have the time), so I always have a good stock of food and basics in the house.

Beyond all this, I don't feel like we need much more prep. Gas might become an issue for running the generator, but not much I can do about that. Storing gas sounds like a really bad idea (beyond 1 full tank we keep in the garage).

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A.H.

answers from Omaha on

Yeah, we would be totally up a creek without a paddle if something happened without warning. Funny, just the other day I saw this ad on the sidebar of my facebook page that said '37 items you need in order to survive.' I clicked on it and realized it was a type of informercial for the information on what 37 items to keep on hand, how to store it, and the like. $27. Honestly, I would have purchased it if I was positive it was a secure site to give my credit card # to and not some bogus scam.
It's good to be prepared. Need to work on that!
A.

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A.C.

answers from Savannah on

I've lived all along the Gulf, on the east coast, and in tornado alley throughout my life, so some things are just normal and what "everyone" does, I believe. But Katrina was the first time that we did not evacuate when I was old enough to understand some things in a different light. I saw some amazing people do wonderful things then, but I also saw a breakdown in the general "society" that I will admit made a big impact on me. I don't think all people are bad, but I think a mob mentality can make some people make bad choices or behave irrationally. During the 1 year anniversary of Katrina, I was watching news footage (first time for most of it since we didn't have electricity for a couple weeks), and I was nearly 7 months pregnant with my first child....I just started crying and came close to an anxiety attack (of which I'm not prone), because it showed a dad with a little baby and they had no milk, supplies, or even water for the baby's formula. OMG. That flipped a little switch in me. I realized, as a soon to be mom, that I could NOT be flippant with safety like I was when it was just me.

First thing I would suggest: you locate and contact your LOCAL red cross or your county to find out what situations you'd need to prepare for in YOUR area (this is a big country and different regions have different situations to face: not just natural disasters, but local things as well---is it a heavily industrial area and if so what are they making/storing, are you in a flood zone, etc, etc). Once you've figured out what your specific area needs to prepare for, then do so. You can go to redcross.org for all kinds of information and even training opportunities, ready.gov, fema.gov, aadb.org, 72hours.org, all kinds of places to get a good checklist and learn some things that may be helpful.

I make sure my husband has nonperishable snacks (power bar or nutrigrain bar, venison or buffalo jerky, trail mix, dried fruits) at his desk, a basic first aid kit, and emergency contact information. In both our cars we have a "just in case kit" in a box: a large bottle of water for "whatever", 2 small bottles of drinking water, oil, jumper cables, towing rope, gloves, a reflective triangle, a blanket, and a first aid kit in the back......some basic meds, a flashlight, tire gauge, ice scraper, emergency info, and some snacks in the glove boxes. (My car also has some feminine products in the glove box just in case). The house has a FULL and COMPLETE set of anything you could ever need---the best at-home first aid closet ever.

Because of jobs I've had, I maintain first aid, cpr, aed, and infant cpr certifications. I chose to take classes in my local community and registered as a possible volunteer if my family is covered first (my children are very young, so they come first). We maintain some basics as just a part of every day life: the cars have gas in the car all the time. There's nothing worse than running late for work and having to stop in rain, cold, heat, or wind and trying to pump gas because you've been slack: so we maintain that all the time so we don't "need" it when it counts. We keep gas for our mower and edger also, so there's some there as well. We have a charcoal grill because we PREFER IT, but also because it's easy if there was a situation and gas was in short supply. We keep bags of charcoal and plenty of lighter fluid, we have a small portable charcoal grill (the kind you'd take to the beach or camping), and we ALSO have a camp stove and fuel. The master bedroom has 2 walk in closets, and mine is more square than my husbands, so that's our "safe room" where we'd go in the unlikely event of a tornado. That's where the extra blankets, pillows, and camping equipment are stored anyway, so it just makes sense. I keep a flashlight in EVERY room of the house because this is a very large house and I don't want to try to grope around in the dark to the other side of the house just because there's the one "designated" spot for lights. One night we were eating dinner and the power unexpectedly went out. I was able to just calmly stand up, walk 4 feet, open the drawer and use the flashlight to go get candles and room lights.

All bedrooms have flashlights in a drawer by the bed, all bathrooms/kitchen, have flashlights in the FIRST drawer past the entry, etc. We have a crate in the closet that has lanterns, flashlights, room lights (the folding flashing things that you set up to light the room so you are hands free), a weather radio / alarm clock / light that operates on battery, crank, AND solar options. In our house: we do have a vegetable garden so we have some basics from that. I do buy in bulk when things are on sale AND I coupon (not seriously, but when I shop I'll buy what I need if there's a coupon for it), so we have a deep freezer with food. We buy those large Hawaiian Punch bottles for juice sometimes, and I wash them out with soap and once cleaned, we fill it with water from our brita. That's clean water. I freeze some and keep them in the deep freezer. If the power goes out, that will help keep our food cold, and on a NORMAL day it helps reduce the power needed to keep the freezer at the right temperature. If we were without electricity for long time and the water started to melt, it is now water we can drink. We also have some of those bottles of clean water along the bottom floor of the pantry. I keep an old style corded phone that you plug into the wall because if the cell towers were down or busy, and the power was out, you'd need a corded phone to use for emergencies. (Portable phones require electricity, corded phones do not). You can buy those for $3 or so at Walmart.

We have camping supplies, and all of that is in the same closet, all together, so we can take it all at any given moment. We keep a couple months worth of food in the house, but not because we're hoarders....more because we just buy chicken or whatever when it's on sale and freeze it, we buy big bags of rice, cook homemade foods so we have flour and all that stuff. It's just what fits, in a nice and organized fashion, in my kitchen. (Deep freezer is in the garage though).

We all have a "go bag". My husband and I have red duffle bags, my sons have inexpensive backpacks that were on sale. Each go bag has 3 days of clothes, 3 days of food and some snacks, a light jacket, poncho, small first aid kit, toiletry bag with everything from a travel sized everything you'd use on a little trip and then extra things like a little sewing kit, laundry detergent, sanitizer, magnesium stick, small flashlight, gloves, some plastic bags, snacks, glow sticks, and money in a water tight container. My bag also includes the flashdrives where we've scanned all our important documents, personal information, and photos. But also, I upload every photo that goes on my computer ALSO to snapfish.com and could access them from any computer anywhere, but that's just an aside....I just love snapfish for making photo books and "stuff". My husband's bag, like mine, also contain a good knife, a handyman, and a couple other items we deemed important, as well as travel games (Uno, cards, scrabble slam, travel battleship and coloring books and colors for kids, etc). What I like to do is change batteries and food/medicines on daylight savings days, so twice a year. Plus, I change the clothing so that its seasonally appropriate. We also keep other tools/material in the garage closet that we need for some preparations. For example, there's a checklist we printed off for preparing for hurricanes: cleaning up the yard, securing certain things, if evacuating then a list of chores to do FIRST (turning off the gas, etc) and we have what we need for those chores. It's nice to calmly be able to decide if we're staying or leaving, and just focus on the chores instead of running around trying to gather stuff.

Truthfully, we wouldn't stay somewhere for weeks without power or whatever. We have items we need just because they're there, and we could "rough it" 1 or 2 weeks, but anything beyond that and we'd just leave. We have family and friends all over the nation: there'd be SOMEWHERE to go. But it was really a little bit funny when I found out on facebook about Hurricane Sandy, when a friend in another state asked if I was preparing for it (I hadn't heard about it yet). I was like "What? A hurricane? For real? Oh---well, we're not going to do anything but thanks for the head's up". The reason? There was nothing I needed to go do or get. Two days later, we did go and clean up the yard and make sure nothing would blow around and cause damage to our yard or anyone else's (it ended up going north of us and we got none of the storm), but it was good to have that peace and confidence that we'd be perfectly fine and could remain perfectly calm no matter what the news was saying. When there are weather warnings or icy roads, we just get comfortable in the house and stay off the roads.

The doomsday preppers though? My problem with them is that they aren't prepping for a situation as much as for "end of the world" kind of stuff. Many of them aren't prepping for being ok and helping others in their community and if needed, leaving the area but instead are focused on very long, extended amounts of time....and usually only concerned with themselves. Contrary to that, we've taken the Red Cross classes to be able to HELP others. And I don't spend 50 hours a week preparing for "who knows what for who knows how long", but I do spend about 5 hours a YEAR (including inventory, shopping list, shopping, watering my vegetable garden with my stored water twice a year and replenishing it with fresh clean water twice a year, etc). That'd be the difference, in my opinion.

R.H.

answers from Houston on

I conside Hurricane Katrina larger scale than 9/11 as I am in Texas and felt that impact more. Due to Hurricanes Rita and Ike, I now have a crank Short Wave radio, keep a case of bottled water in the garage and also I keep lots of large glow candles on hand.

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