For
those of you who live in areas where natural disasters occur - these
kits are a life saver. If you have ever had
to leave your home in an instant due to a hurricane, tornado, fire,
flood....you should invest in making an emergency kit for yourself.
Below you will find items you can use to create one for you and
your family. Keep in mind that these shouldn't be too heavy and
weighed down with unnecessary items. You should have vital necessities
in your bag - and realistically - it should
sustain you for 3 days, or 72 hours. These are also good
to have if you are taking a road trip.
A day long or week long - having these items can help if your car
breaks down or you run out of gas. In some states (like Colorado)
where the weather is always changing, the kits are good for traveling
on the road in case you get delayed by snow, hail, ice or avalanches.
If
you are able to take a vehicle and are given some time to pack things
- then there are a few more items that can be added
that will be at the end of the list. In this case - you should have
important papers at hands reach, such as: marriage license, title
deeds to homes and properties, birth certificates, driver's license,
credit cards, social security card, etc. (It's
good to invest in a fireproof safe to store these items all the
time.) These should all be taken with you if you need to
leave your home in the case of an emergency.
Again,
you have to be realistic when making
an 'emergency kit' and they will all be different depending on the
size of your vehicle (if you have one) and how fast you have to
leave your home. Maybe you just have a motorcycle or bike. In that
case - you can't carry many things. Maybe you can leave some of
the bigger items at a friends or family members. So, when going
through the list below - pick what is going to suit you best.
Always
the MOST IMPORTANT thing is to keep you and your family safe - first.
If you don't have time to get your 'kit' - don't put yourself in
harm trying to get it. It will be easiest to keep all these items
in one spot - close to an exit. Storing them
in a basement or attic will not be convenient nor realistic if you
have to leave in a hurry. Keep the bags or containers you
use light enough to carry (and light enough if you have to walk
fast or run a little).
If
you have notice that you will need to be evacuating your home -
put the items in your car or whatever transportation you have, and
do what needs to be done to keep your home
'safe' while you are gone - for example: close and lock all
your windows and doors; boarding up windows is a good idea if you
have time, shut off your water lines (it's a good idea to leave
one or two faucets turned on even while the lines are off), shut
off natural gas lines; unplug appliances or completely turn off
the electricity. Turn your furnace down, shut your computer down
and unplug it to avoid your hard drive being ruined. Unplug any
curling irons or hair dryers as well to avoid a fire risk.
And
if you have time, it's good to remove from
your house anything that is valuable to you and your family (photo
albums, pictures, home videos, family heirlooms, etc.) There
is a new product out on the market, a DVD
recorder, and it is a wonderful idea to get one of these
and record all your VHS home videos onto DVD's and make a couple
copies of each one. Not only are they great to condense your video
library, but also in the case of an emergency, they take up less
room and are easier to pack and grab at a moments notice.
