# 7399
Everybody’s favorite scary disease girl, Maryn McKenna, journalist, author of Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSAm and editor of the Superbug Blog, found herself (along with her husband and cat) in a precarious situation last night as a line of severe weather swept across Atlanta, causing damage in her neighborhood.
Today Maryn writes about what they did right (and what they would do differently next time) when it looked for a time like they might have to abandon their home on very short notice.
Maryn’s experience is a great teachable moment, and I would urge you to read her account of how quickly, and unexpectedly, an emergency can arise. She very kindly mentions this blog along the way.
Here’s a link to her blog post, and when you return, I’ll have a short postscript.
The Risks You Don’t Think of: A Plea to Pack a ‘Go Bag’
By Maryn McKenna 06.14.13 5:40 PM
What if you had 15 minutes’ notice to leave your home, and you didn’t know when you’d be coming back — or what shape your home would be when you did?
Could you find your key documents, medications, ID, devices, cables? Sturdy shoes, suitable clothing, stuff to comfort your kids and control your pets? Mementos, valuables, things you couldn’t live without? While trying to stay calm, keep your family calm, and figure out what’s going on?
Obviously, all of us who know Maryn are relieved her ordeal wasn’t any worse than it was. But, as we’ve seen with the wildfires in Colorado this week, where hundreds of homes have burned, and thousands have been displaced, happy endings are never guaranteed.
Regular readers may recall I had a similar event last year (see At The End Of My Rope). Even though I’ve been a long-time vocal proponent of preparedness - when the world came crashing down in the middle of the night - I found I wasn’t quite as prepared as I thought I was.
Two weeks later, I’d made some changes to my own `bug out’ bag (see Inside My New Bug Out Bag), and about every six months I take a hard look at my emergency plans.
Because, as this video from Ready.gov shows, your whole world can turn upside down in an instant, and often without warning.
For more on disaster preparedness, I would invite you to visit Ready.gov, FEMA, or revisit these blogs:
