#NatlPrep: When Evacuation Is The Better Part of Valor

Credit Ready.gov

Note: This is day 19 of National Preparedness Month. Follow this year’s campaign on Twitter by searching for the #NatlPrep #BeReady or #PrepMonth hashtags.

This month, as part of NPM20, I’ll be rerunning some updated preparedness essays, along with some new ones.

#15,463

Although I've had a couple of close calls over the years, 2017's brush with Hurricane Irma was the first time I've actually been forced to leave my home in the face of a natural disaster. I wrote about my decision in #NatlPrep: Disaster Buddies - The Most Important Prep Of All.

It is not a pleasant prospect, but sometimes circumstances and common sense dictate that you must leave your home - and the bulk of your belongings - behind. 

Luckily, I had several prearranged places I could go. Friends, who are also disaster buddies (see In An Emergency, Who Has Your Back?), who know my couch is always available to them should they need it.

Being able to leave in a hurry when an evacuation has been ordered means having a plan, a destination, and an emergency `to go’ kit or `BOB’ already equipped, and standing by. 

Bug-out-bag, Canteen, & Toiletry kit

In the vernacular, a `bug-out bag' or `BOB’ (or sometimes GOOD bag for `Get Out Of Dodge’) a bag of emergency supplies, ideally kept at the ready, that one can grab on the way out the door during an emergency. Every hurricane season I go through my personal bug out bag, and replace flashlight and radio batteries from last year, and swap out older emergency rations for newer ones.

A BOB isn't supposed to be a survival kit, but rather, is supposed to provide the essentials one might need during the first 72 hours of a forced, and sometimes unexpected, evacuation.

It should contain food, water, any essential prescription medicines, copies of important papers (ID's, insurance, important Phone #s), a first aid kit, portable radio, flashlight, extra batteries, and ideally blankets and extra clothes. While having to evacuate your home may seem like an unlikely event, every years hundreds of thousands of Americans are forced to do so. 

Rivers spill their banks, dams break, brush fires rage out of control, even sudden industrial accidents can force evacuations. And unlike with a hurricane, you won’t always have advance warning. 

The bug out bag pictured above is my immediate `grab' in case of a house fire, or some other abrupt emergency. But if I've got a few minutes to get out, I've also got a couple of larger duffel bags at the ready that can be tossed into the trunk of my car, containing extra clothes, and longer term disaster supplies.   

On top of that, I always keep a first aid kit in my car (see #NatlPrep : First Aid Kits - Don't Leave Home Without One), along with a small survival kit (containing tools, `space blanket', tarp, water, etc.).   Obviously, if I've a few hour to leave, I'll load my car to the gills. 

As we've discussed previously (see Why Preparing For This Year's Hurricane Season Will Be `Different'), evacuation during our COVID-19 pandemic will require more planning and preparation than usual. 

Ready.gov has the following advice on how to prepare for an evacuation.

Evacuation 

Plan to Evacuate

Many kinds of emergencies can cause you to have to evacuate. In some cases, you may have a day or two to prepare while other situations might call for an immediate evacuation. Planning is vital to making sure that you can evacuate quickly and safely no matter what the circumstances.

Before an Evacuation

• Learn the types of disasters that are likely in your community and the local emergency, evacuation and shelter plans for each specific disaster.
• Plan how you will leave and where you will go if you are advised to evacuate.
• Check with local officials about what shelter spaces are available for this year. Coronavirus may have altered your community’s plans.
• If you evacuate to a community shelter, follow the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for protecting yourself and your family from possible coronavirus: people over 2-years-old should use a cloth facial covering while at these facilities.
• Be prepared to take cleaning items with you like masks, soap, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes or general household cleaning supplies to disinfect surfaces.
• Maintain at least 6 feet of space between you and people who aren’t in your immediate family.
• Identify several places you could go in an emergency such as a friend’s home in another town or a motel. Choose destinations in different directions so that you have options during an emergency.
• If needed, identify a place to stay that will accept pets. Most public shelters allow only service animals.
• Be familiar with alternate routes and other means of transportation out of your area.
• Always follow the instructions of local officials and remember that your evacuation route may be on foot depending on the type of disaster.
• Come up with a family/household plan to stay in touch in case you become separated; have a meeting place and update it depending on the circumstance.
• Assemble supplies that are ready for evacuation. Prepare a “go-bag” you can carry when you evacuate on foot or public transportation and supplies for traveling longer distances if you have a car. 
• If you have a car:
• Keep a full tank of gas if an evacuation seems likely. Keep a half tank of gas in it at all times in case of an unexpected need to evacuate. Gas stations may be closed during emergencies and unable to pump gas during power outages. Plan to take one car per family to reduce congestion and delay.
• Make sure you have a portable emergency kit in the car.
• If you do not have a car, plan how you will leave if needed. Decide with family, friends or your local emergency management office to see what resources may be available.

During an Evacuation

• Download the FEMA app for a list of open shelters during an active disaster in your local area.
• Listen to a battery-powered radio and follow local evacuation instructions.
• Take your emergency supply kit.
• Leave early enough to avoid being trapped by severe weather.
• Take your pets with you but understand that only service animals may be allowed in public shelters. Plan how you will care for your pets in an emergency now.
• If time allows:
• Call or email the out-of-state contact in your family communications plan. Tell them where you are going.
• Secure your home by closing and locking doors and windows.
• Unplug electrical equipment such as radios, televisions and small appliances. Leave freezers and refrigerators plugged in unless there is a risk of flooding. If there is damage to your home and you are instructed to do so, shut off water, gas and electricity before leaving.
• Leave a note telling others when you left and where you are going.
• Wear sturdy shoes and clothing that provides some protection such as long pants, long-sleeved shirts and a hat.
• Check with neighbors who may need a ride.
• Follow recommended evacuation routes. Do not take shortcuts, they may be blocked.
• Be alert for road hazards such as washed-out roads or bridges and downed power lines. Do not drive into flooded areas.

After an Evacuation

If you evacuated for the storm, check with local officials both where you’re staying and back home before you travel.

• If you are returning to disaster-affected areas, after significant events prepare for disruptions to daily activities and remember that returning home before storm debris is cleared is dangerous.
• Let friends and family know before you leave and when you arrive.
• Charge devices and consider getting back-up batteries in case power-outages continue.
• Fill up your gas tank and consider downloading a fuel app to check for outages along your route.
• Bring supplies such as water and non-perishable food for the car ride.
• Avoid downed power or utility lines, they may be live with deadly voltage. Stay away and report them immediately to your power or utility company.
• Only use generators outside and away from your home and NEVER run a generator inside a home or garage or connect it to your home's electrical system.

The following aerial photo was taken of Crystal Beach,Texas after Hurricane Ike in 2008. It proves that staying home in the face of a flood, a hurricane, or other natural disaster can have deadly consequences.

As hard as it might be, sometimes evacuation is truly the better part of valor.