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Evacuating Your HomeRonald Porep, Republished from SafetyIssues Issue 4 |
Volume 3 Issue 34September 2004 |
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The radio predicted severe weather earlier in the day but you paid it
little heed as all the other severe weather has blown by your home in the
past warm months. Now, though, the sirens are sounding. The sky looks
dark and the winds are blowing so hard trees are bending. A dark twirling
cloud is heading towards your home. What do you do? Immediate Evacuation If you have to leave immediately such as in the introduction scenario, you grab what you can and leave your home. You should have at least a few minutes to leave so you can get some supplies. What do you grab? |
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| If you are prepared – as you should be – you should have some things in a duffle bag ready to go. In the bag should be flashlights with extra batteries as well as a battery operated radio with extra batteries. Regarding the radio, you can buy at your local Radio Shack store a radio that you can wind up and does not require batteries. You will need the flashlight to see when it gets dark though. You will need the radio to know what is going on and where to go for help. | |
| Also, take along your first aid kit and any prescription medications you and your family take. Having an extra supply of medications stashed in your home is an excellent idea as your local pharmacy may be closed (or destroyed) due to a disaster. A two-week supply of your medications is the least you should have on hand. And, you should have with your first aid supplies and medications, extra glasses and copies of the prescriptions for them because it is doubtful your family optometrist will be open after a disaster. Same goes for dentures and other medical devices family members may use. What you grab here depends on how much time you have to evacuate and how prepared you were before the disaster strikes. Grab food that does not require cooking or refrigeration and water. Water can be placed in sport bottles and even canteens if you have them. At least a gallon per person is recommended. |
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| Take changes of clothing for each family member as well as lots of diapers for your babies or elderly family members if they use them. Each family member should also have a bed roll or sleeping bag and a pillow to lie on. Even disaster centers can not handle everyone so you and your family may be sleeping on the ground for a while. | |
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And you should have all your important papers in a lock box that you can grab. This should include birth and marriage certificates, the deed or lease to your home, insurance policies, stocks and bonds and other investment certificates and tax return copies as well as wills. You should also grab any cash in the house as well as your credit cards and checkbooks. We all stash cash in our homes so know where everyone puts his or her emergency money so you can grab it quickly. Not Immediate Evacuation |
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If you know you have to leave your home but you do not have to evacuate immediately, get the previously mentioned items together as quickly as you can and listen to the radio for instructions of when to leave your home and how to get to any emergency shelters officials have established. In addition, bring whatever may fly around and damage property indoors if the impending disaster will create high winds. That includes patio furniture, garden equipment and toys. If high winds are expected, cover the windows to your home with shutters rated to provide solid protection from wind blown debris. If you do not have such shutters, fit plywood coverings over all your windows. Leave natural gas on. This may sound like the opposite of what you should do but it is not. Unless local officials tell you otherwise, leaving natural gas on is the best thing to do because you will need it for cooking and heat when you return home and a licensed professional is needed to restore service which may take weeks to happen. Turn off electricity, propane gas and water. Turn off electricity at your main circuit breaker or fuse box. Turn off propane gas at the tanks. Turn off water at the water main coming into your home. Follow Orders Follow orders given by emergency officials. If you are told to leave your home immediately, do so. If you are told to wait to leave your home then do so. If you are told to follow a certain route to emergency help, obey what you are told to do. You may think you know a better way to get somewhere or the sky does not look that menacing but emergency personnel have more information than you do. Just do what they tell you. Surviving an emergency is just common sense. Do what you are told by authorized emergency personnel. Follow the guidelines in this article and any instructions supplied by emergency services. Get out of the disaster area as soon as you can. |
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