"Bug Out," Emergency/Disaster Bag.....

It's spring, and yes in my area that traditionally means tornado season.

We had some wild weather come through last week. Sunk into my thick skull, I should have a "bug out" or disaster kit ready. I have a pretty large camping back-pack that would be usefull.

The usuals are needed such as radio, flashlight (the type that doesn't require batteries), medical, clothing, money, ID, utility tools, entrenching tool (shovel).

But more importantly,

things like medications. i can survive migraine, but i can't survive without some heart medications, plavix, aspirin.

a few other things i can think of as well....as in the United States, something under the 2nd Amendment provides us such an implement.

Anyone else have an emergency kit....?

I really should build mine before something ugly like a tornado hits. The medication is important as well as self protection in a disaster. You cannot rely on government or locals to provide for immediate need.

Just some thoughts.

Add some water and non-perishable food items to your kit. Rotate them in and out on a regular basis.

We keep propane lanterns available because we lose our electricity frequently. I think I would add some basic and functional clothing items - change of underwear, socks, fresh t-shirt and a toothbrush.

I am embarrassed to admit that despite thinking about it for years I still haven't got around to completing any E-K.
But at least I have gathered all my meds into one big safety box, and I know where my candles and flashlight is.

We also always drink bottled water in those big gallons container, so except for the times when we run out of the water we have a water stored, too.

beside that, we usually have some wood stored for our wood stove so I hope we don't fare too bad, overall.

Risa

My wife and I have three months of supplies (including medical) stored and alternate equipment for off-grid living. We also have a day pack in each of our vehicles so if we are away and can't drive home we could at least hike it.

And of course there are a few wingnuts that call us survivalists. But I then ask them if they wear a seat belt when they drive and get yearly medical checkups. They say yes and then I call them survivalist also.

I live in a geologic time bomb. Mt Rainier is only 30 miles away and the Cascadia subduction plate is 200 miles offshore. It has the potential of a 9+ quake with a tsunami. If Mt Rainier started to come to life all of Western WA would be screwed.

Four years ago we had a very bad windstorm that knocked out power for over half the state and up 2 1/2 weeks for some areas.

It was insane and ridiculous how unprepared 95% of the population was. Whining, sniveling fish out of water. Probably many of them would call me a survivalist.

But I have a 6.5 KW generator and 100 gallons of gas stored. A wood stove with 3 years of firewood stacked and a water well with a hand pump on it in case the generator croaked. My family and I lived just fine and even used part of the gas for our cars. Most of the gas stations had no power either and no way to pump gas.

I know our government well enough that they are nearly worthless in providing emergency aid. They have proven that time after time.

My security and comfort is my responsibility, not someone else's or the government. I have no desire for myself and family to be refugees.

Here is a very important tip: Have at least one CORDED phone in your house. They work even when the power is out. For most disasters cell towers will be the first casualties. Even if all the towers are intact the services will be jammed with people that don't have a corded phone.

We loaned out three of them after the big wind storm. And not one of our friends went out and bought one afterwards. You can buy one for the cost of two lattes.

all good points guys.

excellent suggestion about water, food, meds, firewood, candles, and power-fail phone. we have just about everything that we could need, but i need to put my kit together. clothing, rugged shoes, and bandages would be important, especially being on blood thinners.

brent, i share your view about what the government will and can do. in a shtf (sh1t hits the fan) scenario, a good 2 week supply would be important. and during bad times, someone will try to take from what others have.

having a generator is a great idea. i'd like to install a natural gas gen. (if i ever built a house, a tornado/safe room shelter) would be put in along with a gen.

a surplus entrenching tool & machette, or good knife would be helpful.

things have to be comfortable and light enough enough to carry if you are hurt, or helping another injured person along. a couple companies make some tactical gear that would make it easier to carry some of these things, but you wouldn't want gear that draws too much attention (such as a harness/pouch for 8-10 30 rnd. magazines).

That would likely serve as a deterrent. Part of our plan also incorporates a means to defend ourselves. The most law abiding individual will turn criminal if they get hungry enough.

It's surprising how many people in colder climates do not have a back up heat source. For about $100 you can get a ceramic alcohol heater that is safe to use indoors. It's also designed to be able to cook with. Denatured alcohol is in every hardware store and rubbing alcohol in every drug store. Alcohol fires can be extinguished with water.

But I really doubt you would find too many in the average person's house. People just don't seam to learn very fast when it comes to taking care of themselves and even less in disaster prep.

We have been without power for over a week and without water for a month. We survived fine in both cases because we were prepared.

My son was talking w/ co-workers in the city where he lived while his wife was in medical school. They were sure that if the SHTF they would all be screwed. My son said, "I don't think I would. My wife and I are both in excellent physical condition. I just have to make it 70 miles to my mom and everything will be fine. Everything we need to survive is there and if not the skills to find it, make it or build it are."

Now, other people think I am a nut job. My sons think I am just prepared.

At first I used my reverse Murphy's Law philosophy which says that the more prepared you are the less likely you will ever need it. But after two devastating windstorms and long term power outages it turned out I did need it. So it's a win-win scenario.

I moderate a preparedness/bushcraft/primitive tooling forum and there have been some great topics. Lots of knowledge pooling and lessons from a vast assortment of personal experiences.

Every summer I watch the frenzied hurricane panic. People buying up batteries, bottled water and plywood. These are people that live in coastal hurricane prone areas and know the time of yeat when they hit. I always wonder what they did with the plywood they bought last season? It even already has the screw holes in it.

I know what you mean, Brent. I think the same things.

Two years ago we had major flooding here (for our are). The levy broke and all of the pumps for the local water supply were completely submerged. The local FD worked diligently bringing water into town in tankers for people to get for flushing toilets. People were actually complaining because they were expected to put that dirty water (it came from a local pond) in their toilets. They wanted bottled water for flushing with!!

We were fine. We do have city water but as soon as I heard the pumping station and treatment facility were underwater I filled a couple of trashcans. We had a lot of rain that I also collected and we had more than enough for our needs for the two weeks we were out. I used my wringer washer to wash everything but the whites in the water I collected and we used the water for the toilet and baths. I had bottled water for drinking and cooking.

It was a little inconvenient but not a catastrophe like some people thought. Then again, I grew up w/out indoor plumbing. I don't have to have modern conveniences to survive comfortably but I sure enjoy them!

As with all of you I am surprised at the number of people who are unprepared for situations. I think in a time of creature comforts we get too comfortable and a weather system can bring us back to a state of panic in minutes. I have always thought that being prepared for a situation was much better than dealing with it once it is upon you. Gathering food, water, medicine etc is extremely difficult in a time a chaos. Some items I like are MRE's, although some taste so so, there are some that are actually pretty good and besides they store well. As far as the radio, you would not believe the people I see who keep radios in their basements with one set of batteries inside. I prefer a combo radio, with weather band and hand crank for power. There are communication radios with cranking power as well, which will be needed. Light sticks, to save on flashlight use and easy carry. If traveling, the green sticks are less likely to give away position and what I prefer. It's also a good idea, especially if you live in an outlying area, to have maps on hand. Do not, and I repeat, do not rely on gps. You'll need a good topographical map of your area in case travel is necessary along with a compass, that you know how to use. I think too many people laugh at the idea of surviving as some whacko idea of the earth ending. I'm sure there are a lot of people that thought the same thing until a flood came through, tornado wiped out their town,earthquake, volcano etc. When that happens, you have no lap top, no cell phone, no emergency services for hours or even days or weeks. There's only you and what you have prepared for in case of emergency.

In the early 1960s, at the height of the cold war, my father tore up our front lawn to install a redwood fallout shelter. He built it from a kit bought from a lumber mill near Davenport, California. We still have sealed survival food with a postmark of 30 October 1962. Is it any good? I have no idea. But we still keep it just in case.

At 48 years old it would definitely be bad. We stock a lot of canned food and have to rotate it every eight years. At the ten year mark most of it will have rust and lost the vacuum seal.

We also have the five gallon buckets with brown rice, oats, beans etc that are nitrogen sealed. They should have a much longer shelf life.

Here in the mountains of Northern California, we don't have earthquakes, floods, or tornadoes ... it is wild fire that threatens us here on the mountain. I have had to evacuate Ravenhurst on, I believe, three occasions. So we carefully thought through and drilled into our minds the priority list. One often has 15 minutes of less to leave everything.

1. All people
2. Dogs and cats ... but don't take time to chase them
3. Medicines and cash cards and wallet
4. Photographs
5. Computer harddrive or laptop
6. Family heirlooms
7. Items of real, not just sentimental, value
8. Anything else

Clothes are not on the list. Only the basic needs + irreplaceable items. When we have had to evacuate, we were given time to get thru #4 once, and #6 once. the other occasion we made it thru to items of real value.

Food is not on the list either ... we figure there will be food and clothing away from the fire. Scary process - I hate it. But we all seem to live with the threat of flood or fire or whatever ... just part of life.

Here on the mountain we do go without power on occasion. Woodstove for heat, gas for cooking, bottle water always nearby, and no fear of using the great outdoors for sanitation needs. We always get through just fine.

It is a good exercise to think through what you REALLY need to take in case of evacuation ... and what you really need to simply survive for two to four weeks without power or transportation. Good topic!

Wow, this sound serious. Tornado sound so scary - but it is wise to be prepared of course.
Where do you hide.
Do you have a special shelter in your house.
Do you get much warning, or does it all come suddenly. What if it happens at night when you are asleep - are you given warning, a siren or something?

Emergency kit - I use to have one in case I need to go to hospital, but since the last move I am still so disorganised I have too many things in boxes.
Still it is a timely reminder, thank you Marc. I better start getting such kit together.
No tornadoes, just quick pack bag.
It will start looking something like this:

Sumatripan
Neurontin
Bottle of mineral water
Hairbrush,
Toothpaste and brush
Damp tissue box
Hand towel
etc, etc


Senna

Ever since the Loma Prieta Earthquake, I have kept a kit. I always have bottled water, canned and dry food, flashlights, radio, etc on hand. Unfortunately, they have gotten spread about the Apt over the last few years.

Thanks for the reminder to keep a supply in one easily accessible place. I used to keep my tent, a case of water, blankets, and a supply of energy bars in the trunk of my car in case of building collapse. Now I have a truck and no trunk. I still keep a blanket, water and energy bars in the truck but not as big a supply. I'll have to get a bin to keep on the patio and reassemble my kit. We are so overdue for another earthquake. Luckily I'm on bedrock, but that doesn't mean anything for services that could be interrupted.

Alli

I am an ex-Californian. I grew up on the stories of the 1906 San Fransisco earthquake, that my grandmother used to tell. I remember the Livermore quake and Loma Prieta, and several smaller ones.

A couple of years ago there was a wildfire in the area where I now live. Some of the people on the far side of the next town over were evacuated, but thankfully we were not.

I keep my tent in my truck, behind the seat next to the folding shovel. I keep two space blankets in the glove compartment. I also keep candles in my truck. I used to keep a packed overnight bag in my truck, now that bag (still packed) is under my bed. I have a simple compas in the pocket of my down jacket. I have a bandana illustrating how to tie various knots. I need to get a new batteryless flashlight, since the one I had broke.

When I was living in Yosemite, I kept books of matches in the pockets of all my jackets, even though I have never been a smoker.

all good stuff guys...

another really bad storm rolled in a couple nights ago--i have to get off my duff and organize/centralize my stuff. we do have some emergency kits in the cars just in case of car trouble or weather.

weather is our big thing. a house fire would be next. there's a fault under lake erie, which could throw a quake our way, but not too worried about that (have earthquake insurance, ha), and some other disaster.

getting a good stockpile of meds, water, and protein is important. and being able to construct a litter if one of use got hurt, we could "schlepp" someone to safety.

i figure that if the SHTF, we'd need to be self sufficient for 5-7 days providing our own food, clothing, defense, and medical care.

and believe me, i know a lot of people that aren't die hard survivalists that prepare for bad stuff. it's a civil responsibility, and just plain smart.

my dad served in the natl. guard for 6 years and did a lot of clean-up efforts and security details for disasters--and things can go bad quick. people aren't rationale. thing get nasty.

and when you're not feeling good to begin with, or sick it takes extra planning and security measures.

Alli, my husband has a dual-lid crossover lockable tool box in his pickup. It's very helpful for keeping the extra "stuff" one needs to carry in a pickup (although my husband's is packed to the gill with "necessities".

I'm not advocating/recommending this site, just using it as an example of a box similar to what he has and likes:
http://www.pickuptrucktoolboxes.com/Delta/Delta_Champion/delta_champion_dual_lid_crossover.htm