Well as we approach the height of hurricane season it is time to get the kit together again. You know, the kit. It is the one that has all the stuff in it. All the good stuff you need to throw in the car to sustain you when it is time to get out of Dodge in a hurry. Remember when you get where you are going to tough it out at that there will be a lot of like minded folks doing the same as you. This is a bonanza for merchants but a nightmare for shoppers. The stores will be full of people picking over empty shelves and you don't want to be one of those stressed out people fighting over the last tin of overpriced Vienna sausages at some neighborhood gyp joint. My point is the kit should contain food necessities to sustain your family for at least a week. Ditto with water. Don't go crazy you still need to put that aforementioned family in the car too.
You are going to want the important papers too. Do yourself a favor. With today's technology you don't have to lug a filing cabinet to the car. All of the family photos and important documents should be scanned and loaded onto an external hard drive that will fit in the glove box so you can reproduce them at any office center if and when the need arises. You only need to pack documents for which the original is needed and a reproduction is not acceptable. Birth/marriage/death certificates, Social security cards, Mortgage and insurance papers and so forth. For most people these will fit in a shoebox. I referenced hurricane season but it is best to have the kit ready year round no matter where you live. We know any coastal area can be struck by a storm and inland you have wildfires, mudslides, avalanches, tornadoes, etc. Any of these can prompt an evacuation even if it is dragging the kit to the basement to take shelter from a tornado. Pack the kit in plastic tubs and waterproof the paper work and electronics. The way it has rained lately the river is always rising somewhere and you may be leaving by boat or pickup truck.
Bottom line is I see way too many horror stories of people wailing that they lost everything after a disaster. There is no need to be caught flat-footed when you have time now to get ready.
You are going to want the important papers too. Do yourself a favor. With today's technology you don't have to lug a filing cabinet to the car. All of the family photos and important documents should be scanned and loaded onto an external hard drive that will fit in the glove box so you can reproduce them at any office center if and when the need arises. You only need to pack documents for which the original is needed and a reproduction is not acceptable. Birth/marriage/death certificates, Social security cards, Mortgage and insurance papers and so forth. For most people these will fit in a shoebox. I referenced hurricane season but it is best to have the kit ready year round no matter where you live. We know any coastal area can be struck by a storm and inland you have wildfires, mudslides, avalanches, tornadoes, etc. Any of these can prompt an evacuation even if it is dragging the kit to the basement to take shelter from a tornado. Pack the kit in plastic tubs and waterproof the paper work and electronics. The way it has rained lately the river is always rising somewhere and you may be leaving by boat or pickup truck.
Bottom line is I see way too many horror stories of people wailing that they lost everything after a disaster. There is no need to be caught flat-footed when you have time now to get ready.
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