Who here has a disaster kit?

[bsnyder]

We do, here in our house.

I'm curious to know how many people have them.

 

[gina2000]

I have disaster supplies....more focusing on being trapped indoors due to bad winter weather.....candles....flashlights....batteries.....canned goods.

I am going to put together a file of all important information to take in the event we have to evacuate.

 

[bsnyder]

I have disaster supplies....more focusing on being trapped indoors due to bad winter weather.....candles....flashlights....batteries.....canned goods.

I am going to put together a file of all important information to take in the event we have to evacuate.

Yes, it's important to keep copies of important family records such as insurance policies, identification and bank account records in the kit. If you have kids, make a copy of their immunization records as well.

 

[Bunch24]

Yes, it's important to keep copies of important family records such as insurance policies, identification and bank account records in the kit. If you have kids, make a copy of their immunization records as well.

Not only immunization records, but their last report card. It's something you don't even think about, because it's the worst case scenario, but if you're evacuated for a while, you'll have to enroll your kid at a new school. And if you have a report card, chances are your kid will be placed in the proper classroom. I've heard teachers say they are just having to take the kids' word for it right now.

 

[bsnyder]

Not only immunization records, but their last report card. It's something you don't even think about, because it's the worst case scenario, but if you're evacuated for a while, you'll have to enroll your kid at a new school. And if you have a report card, chances are your kid will be placed in the proper classroom. I've heard teachers say they are just having to take the kids' word for it right now.

That's a great idea. It doesn't take but a moment to make the copy.

 

[PatsGirl]

I do, mainly due to the chance of a hurricane that might close access off Cape. I'll have to remember my DD8's report card but my DS15, think I'll just "forget" that one and hope that he gets into a class that suits him, whatever that might be

 

[kilee]

We do. I'm not in a hurricane area either. We actually started this after 9/11 and kept it up "just in case". We have copies of important documents that we update twice a year (which is when I organize my paperwork for taxes), a first aide kit that I update twice a year, as well as flashlights, batteries, canned goods and right now 10 gallons of water. I actually replace the water and canned good quarterly. They are all kept in an area in our storage room and nobody touches them.

Ironically just the other day DS asked if he could please open the spring water since we were out of bottled water. (Our tap water is fine, but he claims to not like it). I flat out refused because it is our "war water". You just never know, and I want to try and be prepared for whatever disaster comes our way natural or otherwise.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Yikes I do not, but looks like I probably should.

Does anyone have a list of what they put in??

oh Bet, care to share with a friend..

 

[bsnyder]

Yikes I do not, but looks like I probably should.

Does anyone have a list of what they put in??

oh Bet, care to share with a friend..

Hi Marsha!

The Red Cross has a checklist, here:

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_3_,00.html

That's a good place to start. You probably won't put everything in it that they list, and you may have other things that aren't on their list. Use this as a starting point and customize.

We keep our stuff in plastic tupperware containers. They're easy to store in the garage, and easy to grab and go, if we needed to evacuate.

 

[disneyholic family]

we have one for a different reason....we live in a very dangerous part of the world and so we have a bomb shelter in our house (built to spec, with thick steel reinforced concrete walls, special steel door and escape hatch), an air purifying filter system against chemical weapons, a first aid kit, an emergency kit against nerve gas, a huge supply of bottled water, various and sundry canned goods, a chemical toilet, a wind-up radio, a wind-up flashlight, regular flashlights and radios, a blow up 4 person boat, gas masks, etc etc.....

 

[agnes!]

I've been thinking about disaster preparations.
We have flashlights, first aid kit, bottled water, canned meat and some other stuff. I think, however, that I might make xeroxed copies of important papers(Soc. Sec. cards, health insurance cards, life insurance, credit cards, bank accounts, house insurance contact numbers, etc) and send the packet to my brother who lives in another state. That way, I'll have the info in an off-site location that I don't need a key to access(unlike a safety-deposit box and besides, a bank in our area could be destroyed by whatever happens, too) in case some storm devastates our area or there's another September 11th-style attack (since I live fairly near DC, the second is very much within the realm of possibility).

 

[bsnyder]

I've been thinking about disaster preparations.
We have flashlights, first aid kit, bottled water, canned meat and some other stuff. I think, however, that I might make xeroxed copies of important papers(Soc. Sec. cards, health insurance cards, life insurance, credit cards, bank accounts, house insurance contact numbers, etc) and send the packet to my brother who lives in another state. That way, I'll have the info in an off-site location that I don't need a key to access(unlike a safety-deposit box and besides, a bank in our area could be destroyed by whatever happens, too) in case some storm devastates our area or there's another September 11th-style attack (since I live fairly near DC, the second is very much within the realm of possibility).

That's another great idea, to send a copy of important papers to a relative in another location!

I'm remembering the derision that was heaped on Tom Ridge for advocating a personal disaster kit for everyone, in the aftermath of 9/11. Remember duct tape? Well, that wasn't the only thing that was mentioned in the plan. If it's not clear to people now that they need to be prepared to fend for themselves for at least a few days, I don't know how the message will ever get across.

This poll is by no means scientific, but the results are not encouraging.

I wonder why? It's really not a hard thing to put together.

Any of the no's want to chime in?

 

[KelNottAt]

Yes, we've had a disaster kit since Y2K. Mostly food, water, first aid, batteryless radio (crank type), and a change of clothes/shoes.

I hadn't thought of copying the important papers...I'll do that right away. I'll keep a set in the disaster supplies and send one to an out-of-state relative.

 

[ThAnswr]

Yikes I do not, but looks like I probably should.

Does anyone have a list of what they put in??

oh Bet, care to share with a friend..

Let me share something that we found invaluable after Charley.

Stock up on jar candles, but also have jar shades so you don't have as much of an open flame. I know you're not supposed to do this, but we would leave the candles on all night because my DD was really afraid of the dark. We felt safer with the jar shade.

It is amazing how dark "dark" is when there are no lights. So have a few jar shades available.

 

[BuckNaked]

We have all of our important papers in one place, and we've put together a binder for each of the kids with their report cards, shot records, birth certificates, religious records, etc. We also scanned this stuff into files, burned them to CDs, and all of that is in a safety deposit box at a bank out of state where we still have an account.

In addition, we have inventory lists of our house both on paper and on CD, again, stored out of state in a saftey deposit box.

And this is kind of a minor thing, but any of our family pictures that aren't in frames or albums are all gathered together in one large storage box. It's at the front of our storage room upstairs, so we can grab it in a hurry if we have to leave.

 

[mickeyfan2]

What all should be in a disaster kit?

 

[ThAnswr]

What all should be in a disaster kit?

Start with the premise all power will be off. There will be no communications and no way to leave your area. What do you need to survive?

First, you need water. So stock up on that and have it handy.

Then you need food. Canned goods would be fine. And make sure you have a manual can opener handy. It sounds stupid, but I'll just gloss over that story.

Now you can start to look at what would make your life not only livable, but more comfortable. Maybe you have a barbecue grill or a Coleman stove with propane?

Maybe you can get a generator? Then you can start thinking of things like window airconditioners, fans, screens, etc.

Each individual needs to decide for themselves what they need and what's most important to them.

 

[bsnyder]

Start with the premise all power will be off. There will be no communications and no way to leave your area. What do you need to survive?

First, you need water. So stock up on that and have it handy.

Then you need food. Canned goods would be fine. And make sure you have a manual can opener handy. It sounds stupid, but I'll just gloss over that story.

Now you can start to look at what would make your life not only livable, but more comfortable. Maybe you have a barbecue grill or a Coleman stove with propane?

Maybe you can get a generator? Then you can start thinking of things like window airconditioners, fans, screens, etc.

Each individual needs to decide for themselves what they need and what's most important to them.

Also, don't forget there are two dimensions to a disaster kit. There's sheltering at home, and there's evacuting. It's almost like you need a kit within a kit.

But clearly the most important things, as we've realized since Katrina hit, are water, and food.

I'm wondering if (or when) they'll make some type of non-electric charger for our cell phones? Does that exist? Or is it even possible?

 

[Crankyshank]

I have a supply box/first aid kit. I do need to get a binder together with copies of important documents. I'm actually in the process of doing that now.

 

[DIS1975]

Also, don't forget there are two dimensions to a disaster kit. There's sheltering at home, and there's evacuting. It's almost like you need a kit within a kit.

But clearly the most important things, as we've realized since Katrina hit, are water, and food.

I'm wondering if (or when) they'll make some type of non-electric charger for our cell phones? Does that exist? Or is it even possible?

DH found a crank radio at Radio Shack that has adaptors that you can use to charge the cell phone

Eton AM/FM/TV/Weather Band Radio with Wireless Phone Charger

$49.99 Brand: Eton
Catalog #: 20-235 Model: FR300