After Katrina, do you now have an emergency plan?

LyinEyes

I know many people who live down south Louisiana , were raised to be on guard for hurricanes. I thought I heard on CNN that 80% did evacuate out. I can imagine trying to get the most valuable things in a car , get my money out of the bank, gas the car up, put water and food in case traffic is jammed, clothes , medicine, pets, contacting family..all of that would be exasperating if some of it was not ready to go.

Every year we have tornadoes, flooding, but the ice storms are what we are afraid up my way NW Louisiana. We have been left days without electricity, but we always had natural gas heat so we made it thru by preparing ahead of time.

I know after 9/11 families were told the importance of having a "family plan". If something happened and families were seperated , plan on where to meet, numbers to contact if possible.

I admit my family needs to refresh on this since we have moved back to Shreveport. I am not just talking about the six of us, but Grands, nephews, in laws etc. It takes a family meeting to agree on what to do....lol.

After Katrina , I am going to prepare for an ice storm or other disaster with alot more thought.

Things I will have on hand: Water, can food, can opener, matches, candles, oil and lamp, flashlights, first aid kid, cash on hand.

So what do you worry about in regards to emergency situations and what is your plan?

darkuncle29

I have for some time. I have in the back of my Jeep a case of bottled water, a change of clothes, various outdoor tools like for camping, food. I also want to have a gas can on hand always full. I'd like to have an essential oil emergency kit-Tea Tree, Lavender, Chamomile, ect..

A friend of mine-also exJW-has a back pack ready at all times, plus tools, reference guide to edible plants, machete. His method of travel would be his motor cycle.

He has travel routes already planned, I have otherones.

I try not to be too paranoid about it all, but I am not going to let that keep me from being ready. Remember the Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared".

Billygoat

Dede,

first aid kid

How can I get me one of them??? Seriously...you have a great point. And as of right now, Mozz and I don't have a plan.

Andi - going off to talk to hubby about this.

DaCheech

Hey I survive Floyd in '99. They took me out of my house on a boat. Was left out of house for 2 months to fix & repair.

Nor the Watchtower, nor the local brothers helped/donated NOTHING!

The Red Cross and the local christian church helped with everything!

Ever since then I never donated a penny to my KH (even though I'm the accounts servant). And my only charities are the

Salvation Army and the Red Cross!

May the real God bless the real help out there!

BrendaCloutier

Key items to remember - assuming you can stay in your home:

All emergency kits should be readily accessible to grab and run, along with blankets. Also, if you can, store on an outside wall. If the house becomes unliveable due to earthquake collapse, you may still be able to reach it thru the outside wall.

If you are stuck in your home and have no water, you have 40-55 gallons in the hot water heater. Turn off the valve at the top - this should be the fill valve. Open and get water out of the bottom of the tank. You may need to turn on a hot water faucet to allow air intake for the water to come out. Turn off the pilot light if the W/H is gas.

If you know you will need water because the pipes may freeze, fill as many containers as you can with fresh water, including the bathtub. You can use the bathtub water to flush the toilet, with a bucket, and only flush for #2.

If you are on wellwater during a big freeze, follow directions for filling up every container in the house before the wellhead freezes.

If you have camping equipment, move the stove, lamps, and sleeping bags indoors. If you use the propane appliances, crack open a window.

If the heat is out, isolate yourselves to one room of the house cover the doors and windows with blankets to reduce heat loss. (Again crack open a window while a propane appliance is in use)

If you are in a serious windstorm (not necessarily a hurricane) cover your windows with blankets to reduce injury from blown out glass.

Have some cans of chili, instant soup, instant coffee, tea, sugar, creamer, etc on hand. Something, anything hot, is always welcome.

Have an insulated air-pot (or 2 or 3): when you boil water for coffee/tea/soup, fill the airpot with hot water. It will stay hot a long time, and help reduce fuel used for boiling water.

Shop for and stock water purification tablets: iodone and chlorine. The use of a Britta type of water filter will help filter out the bad taste, but the britta wont filter out bad bugs, thats what you use the purification tablets for. There are also small handheld water purifiers available for backpackers and campers. Checkout REI.com. They are spendy if you don't have regular use for them.

If you suspect the water is tainted, you can boil the water for 10 minutes then allow it to cool. This will take care of most bug problems. But it also uses fuel.

With all of the new-fangled electronic phones, keep at least one "old fashioned" analogue phone that runs solely on the telephone outlet power.

Other handy items:

Hatchet or axe
Wire cutters
Hacksaw

Gloves and hats
Sterno
Candy

BrendaCloutier

I try not to be too paranoid about it all, but I am not going to let that keep me from being ready. Remember the Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared".

It's the old song "Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag". When you have made arrangements, and packed away some supplies, it puts the mind and heart at ease.

When I was going thru Divorce #2, I put a toiletry kit undies and money together in a waterproof bag and hid it under my spare tire. Husband was violent and controling. Once I did that I felt that I could take care of myself if I had to leave before my plan came to fruition.

Simon

Wind up torches are good for emergency use - you can pack them away and there are no batteries to go flat (the bulbs are LED so they don't burn out either).

Elsewhere

After 9/11 I put together an emergency kit:

Five gallons of water (Changed every year) and a little water filter kit
I always have at least a weeks worth of non-perishable food
Flashlight
Batteries
Small propane burner
Small propane light
Four small tanks of propane (the little ones you put on a lamp)
Radio
and an assortment of other small useful items

If a major disaster were to hit, I could last about a week with nothing to worry about.

One thing the Hurricane made me realize is that I don't have a pre-planned place to go that is not in this area. Anyone live within one or two hundred miles of Dallas who would be willing to offer me a bed or couch in an emergency?

Mulan

We have "earthquake preparedness" here. We also have frequent power outages in the winter from windstorms so many have generators and we keep lots of batteries and candles, on hand. Bottled water is also always in good supply in our garage.

We have a gas water heater, so never run out of hot water, and a gas range. I can use the cooktop during outages, but not the oven.

Yes, I guess we are prepared.

Billygoat

Else,

Anyone live within one or two hundred miles of Dallas who would be willing to offer me a bed or couch in an emergency?

You know where we live. I think we're a little closer than that, but I don't know if that's what you're looking for.

Mulan,

We have a gas water heater, so never run out of hot water, and a gas range.

We do too. I didn't think about that.

Andi

After Katrina, do you now have an emergency plan?

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