My in-laws came to visit us last September. All six adults, 3 children, and six dogs of them (argh!), courtesy of Hurricane Rita.
It was interesting to see how each family prepared so differently; the parents of adult children, the parents of teens, and the parents of a toddler.
My parents-in-law packed paperwork, medication, their pillows, some clothes, and supplies for their dog (his food/bowl/medications). They secured and covered their first floor windows before they left and let it go at that. They were the first to evacuate, the first to arrive at our house, and the only ones who did not spend hours in evacuation traffic.
The parents of the toddler were the first to call us and ask if they could come up if it looked like it was going to get bad. They were the first to get their house prepared, windows boarded, etc. They left a few hours after my husband’s parents but got caught in the traffic and faced hours in an SUV-two adults, a toddler, and three big dogs. They had car trouble along the way and ended up having to stay in a motel for a few hours while waiting for stores to open so they could replace their battery, and got darn lucky there was a battery available. They mostly packed supplies for the little one and the dogs with a stash of paperwork, medications, and a few sets of spare clothes for the grown-ups.
The parents of the teens were the last to leave and the last to arrive. The kids were ready hours ahead of the grown-ups. My brother-in-law was the most concerned about his home of all of them. He boarded windows on both floors, bought big 50-gallon waterproof drums to store their home electronics. He hitched his boat to his truck and brought it with him, both to protect the boat and to use it as additional storage/packing area. They packed pretty minimal clothing, bedding supplies (they brought an air bed), medications, puppy supplies for their two puppies, and paperwork.
The thing that impressed me the most was that everyone remembered to bring paper—homeowners insurance, health insurance, vet records, shot records for the kids—and knew where it was in the first place. I’m fairly sure I couldn’t lay hands on all our household paperwork in a hurry if I had to.
They also all brought food. Every one of them brought coolers with the perishables from their refrigerators and freezers. They didn’t want to lose the food in the refrigerator, or come home to the lovely scent of spoiled food due to power outages (which did occur in all their houses). It was also a big help for us, since we went from feeding two adults and a preschooler to feeding eight adults, two teens, a preschooler and a toddler. I’m not sure what I think of this one, since on the one hand it was a big help to us, on the other hand it was a waste of time and car space, you know? What if someone hadn’t gotten out in time because they spent their time packing the fridge? Or ran out of room to pack essentials because the cooler took up so much space? We appreciated the food, but questioned their choice to pack it.
In the end they were only with us a couple of days and had minimal damage to their homes because Rita turned to the east at the last minute.
If you had to evacuate your home due to an emergency would you know what to pack? How to prepare your home for your absence? The best route out of the area? Would you have a definite objective in mind when leaving or just plan to drive until the radio said you could stop?
I don’t have answers to any of these questions, despite having served as a recent family evacuation shelter. As I learn more about preparedness for my family I’ll pass it on. If you have any evacuation readiness tips, please let me know.
In the meantime, stay safe!