Your Governor calls for the evacuation of your region: Are you Ready?

[LynneSin]

Meaning if you had to pack up and leave with just a few hours notice are you ready to go?

If you have pets, do you know where to go so that your pets can also be in a 'shelter' of some form. (most shelters will not accept pets so you'll have to drive to friends, family or a pet-friendly hotel/motel).

Do you know where all your insurance papers, important documents and medical information is located so you can quick grab them all.

I think one thing this storm has made me recognize and that is I want to have a plan ready in case I ever have to evacuate. I want to be able to clear out the important stuff I need in an hour or less.

Are you ready?

[hippiechick]

1. I travel light ....

... my sister up in WI has copies of all my 'important papers'; all I'd need would be some sentimental items, my debit card, my doggies ... and I'm ready to roll.

[Skittles]

3. that's me

with an arrogant cat instead of the dogs :)

[doc03]

2. No way! Taft is my Governor he'll steal my coin

collection while I'm gone.

[sasquatch]

15. Yeah, he'll tell us to go invade Michigan and steal everything-

while we're gone.
:silly:

[SOteric]

4. From way back, yes.

And I'm going to take this opportunity to once again direct anyone who'd like to look into emergency preparedness to the American Red Cross website:

http://www.redcross.org/services/prepare/0,1082,0_239_,00.html

They have decades of experience and a wealth of information on how to put together preparedness kits.

[Lisa]

5. that's a good point ...

I would probably have to shake out my desk drawer into a garbage bag, in order to make sure I had all my vital cards and documents. (I really should get more organized about that!) I would take my laptop (if only for the data on it ... it's a rather elderly PowerBook that can easily be replaced for $100 or less). I don't care about the TV etc. (also replaceable). Most of my DVDs I donated to the public library collection some time ago, so no worries there. Possibly the most valuable thing in the place is a handforged medieval-type sword, and even that could be replaced.

I don't have a car, but even then, I'm pretty sure I could walk out of there with a backpack and not have any regrets. I've been trying hard for the last decade or more, to not worry so much about "stuff" -- in an attempt to build up some resilience. (When they were younger than I am, my folks -- they're of Japanese ancestry -- lost pretty much everything they had, and were herded into evacuation camps. I think one of the reasons why my dad got through that was his much more happy-go-lucky attitude about possessions. Mom, on the other hand, had major trauma -- she went through some of it while watching the news last week.)

I don't have any pets, BUT I'm starting to think that this is something which needs a lot more attention. There are so many awful stories about people having to leave their pets behind, or even worse, choosing to remain in danger because they don't want anything to happen to them. We're a prosperous, civilized society -- there's got to be a smart, dignified, compassionate way to evacuate people and their animals, even in a hurry.

[LynneSin]

6. You might need that handforged medieval-type sword if you're evacuating

you know what I mean

[Lisa]

10. I have a Viking-type helmet too ...

That I would have left behind, since I figured I could always make another one. But ... I see what you mean ... maybe I should plan on wearing it, and the chainmail shirt.

[Initech]

7. Ahnuld would try to rescue all of us himself

And then he'll sell the rights to 20th Century Fox for $20 million.

[Left Is Write]

8. I can lay my hands on insurance papers, birth certificates,

marriage certificate, immunization records, and prescription records in about two minutes.

I could easily be ready in a few hours. Clothes, water, food, important papers, a few sentimental items.

It might not be a bad idea to keep a couple hundred bucks in cash stashed away for such an event.

[BamaGirl]

9. I could have the kids, pets, and papers

in the car and gone in about an hour. And I'm going to my parents, so no pet problems. ;)

I keep all our important papers in a little fireproof safe.

[jmm]

11. My gov would be too busy fleeing to his home state of Utah

to issue me a warning. I could get a bag ready quick but without a more advanced warning I'd still be screwed. I don't have a car so my mobility would be limited. Then again considering all of the traffic maybe a car wouldn't help. Either way in order to get myself to a shelter or to met up with someone and drive to a safer place I would need atleast a day if not more so I could figure out what my best option was.

[In_The_Wind]

12. I would be hard pressed to move out ...

4 parrots

3 golder retrievers

2 more dog rescues about to happen as soon as the fence is up


I have a generator and a well. I have to stay put because I won't leave my pets behind.

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. I am always ready

Plus, since I'm not one of those gun-fearing types, I can actually survive in the wilderness if called to do so.

[KamaAina]

14. This is an island. There's really no place to evacuate to.

When 'Iniki hit Kaua'i in '92 -- on Sept. 11! -- pretty much the whole island was torn up.

We do, however, have the advantage of being above sea level.

[Zuni]

16. I can get a bunch of shit ready quick.

I would probably hook up with my family and find a hotel somewhere safe, where I could take my cat

[JVS]

17. Yeah

[rbnyc]

18. No. And thanks, because some of this can be done without $$.

I am not prepared. And I'm always thinking of having a stash of water, candles, transistor radio, walkie talkies, food, etc. And I think, I have just enough money to supply just exactly what we need from week to week. I can't put together a survival kit. But a lot of your suggestions don't involve money and are very important. Thanks for your post.

[Zenlitened]

23. If you can, buy some gallon jugs of water over the next few months.

One a week maybe, store brand water is fine. No need to break the bank wide open.

Use the water if you like, then save the jugs AND the caps. Just put them someplace safe, so you'll have something to store water in if the disaster-meter starts to rise. Fill 'em up when things look really tense. Then you'll have one of the most basic and important needs -- drinking water -- all taken care of.

As for other stuff, don't feel you have to buy everything at once. But do try to budget for another item or two every once in a while.

Part of what I'm trying to do now is get a real solid handle on WHAT I ALREADY HAVE that will be needed in emergency. Pots, pans, duct tape. Bedding, Toothbrush and paste. A small saw, a shovel I use in the garden -- just stuff I already have. I'm walking around the house with pencil and paper in hand, trying to identify things that will come in handy. Some of it, I'll gather into a tub and that will be my ready-to-go disaster kit.

For other stuff, I'll just draw up lists of what needs to be grabbed in the event of the evacuation. I'll know what I want and where it is, so I don't lose time inventing the wheel while the clock is ticking in an emergency. I'll also sit down in the next few days and give some critical thoughts to evacuation routes, to have ready to go. One version of the plan that calls for hitting the highway. Another version that emphasizes back roads. Try to anticipate all the options.

A lot of this seems to be about getting in the right frame of mind, thinking through the possibilities in advance, drawing up instructions for yourself so you're not left "inventing a plan" the day disaster strikes. We can all start thinking about it now, without investing in pricey, high-tech survivalist gear.

Might be fun to create (if it hasn't already been) a forum devoted to sharing plans and advice. See if there's anything in my New England Blizzard plan, for example, that would be useful to folks elsewhere, and vice versa.

We've seen some excellent thread along these lines in recent days. Maybe we ought to carve some DU space for ourselves to talk it all over together.

[DemBones DemBones]

26. This DU group might be appropriate:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=255

[LSK]

19. I'm not even ready for vacation yet

and im not even going anywhere!

[Telly Savalas]

20. No, but we'd be screwed anyway.

The Gardiner Expressway, the nearest way out of the city from our apartment, is often a parking lot even under normal conditions. If there were a disaster requiring evacuation, the quickest means of getting out would be to walk, and one could probably walk a whole day and not leave the metropolitan area.

Fortunately, there's not much that would require evacuation from Toronto.

[Gormy Cuss]

21. My governor? He would never do it .

Ahnold would call us all girlymen if we tried to evacuate.

Seriously, I'm in earthquake country, I have emergency stay here/ and evac plans. It's a good idea for all of us to have a plan. It's just like the fire drills. You may never need to implement the plan, but at least you'll waste less time trying to figure out what to take and where to find it.

[Redstone]

22. Born ready.

Redstone

[enigmatic]

24. yep

Spent the weekend getting ready, even thouygh we're in here in Edmonton. We're going camping in a couple weeks, but once we come back we're leaving all the gear and some supplies in the Explorer just in case from now on..

[Sgent]

25. Yep

of course I'm used to living in a hurricane/flash flood zone.

Passport, Insurance papers, CD with insurance pics & financial records, $500 in cash, birth certificate, 1 month medicines... that pretty much does it for evacuation. I'd go stay with out of state relatives/friends.

If I was going to try to stay though, there would be a lot more (sleeping gear, water, food, shotgun) come to mind.