A few weeks ago, while my husband was out, there was a tornado warning. It was just me, my dog Finnegan and 2 kids at home, we don’t have a basement, no downstairs tub to hide in and honestly I had no idea what to do if something happened. How would I get both kids and Finnegan out the door? It started me thinking about Finnegan. Do I put a leash on him so I can control him or if in the event of an emergency could his leash get stuck on something and then in turn Finnegan could get trapped or hurt. I decided to email some friends at Penn Vet who both told me “No Leash”.
During the aftermath of September 11th my roommate Julie and I had a plan. Barnes and Noble in Hoboken. To us that meant that no matter what happened we knew where to meet, Barnes and Noble in Hoboken. If there were more attacks and we were scared or alone we at least had a plan; we would somehow make our way and wait, no matter how long, for the other at Barnes and Noble. I remember there was that huge blackout in the Northeast and I was home alone in our apartment. I immediately started making my way and walked to Hoboken to wait for Julie. Having a plan and a person to execute it with always made any situation a bit less frightening.
DO YOU HAVE A PLAN????
Here are some things to keep in mind when creating your plan
- different ages of family members and their abilities to evacuate
- your responsibilities for assisting others
- dietary needs of family member or pets
- medical needs including prescriptions and equipment
- pets or service animals
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED???
Here is a list from FEMA of some things you should keep on hand should an emergency present itself
- Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
- Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
- Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- First aid kit
- Whistle to signal for help
- Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
- Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
- Manual can opener for food
- Local maps
- Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charge
If you have a baby FEMA recommends
- Formula
- Diapers
- Bottles
- Powdered milk
- Medications
- Moist towelettes
- Diaper rash ointment
After asking about what to do with Finnegan in case of an emergency I decided to ask more about emergency preparedness and pets. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has a very informative document on Saving the Whole Family and how to be prepared.
A few items for your dog or cat
- leash, collar, and/or harness for each pet.
- Collapsible cage or airline approved carriers
- 2-week supply of food and water
- Copy of Veterinary Records
- Eye-Rinse
- Animal First Aid Kit
Another resource I found to be helpful and informative is AboutOne.com. Here you can store your family and pets health records and important documents by scanning them into the AboutOne site. This will then give you access to your important documents anywhere you are. Find out more here… http://www.aboutone.com/product-tour/health/
Sarah, you just validated in my life what my family teases me mercilessly over. A couple of years ago, I read an article in a parenting magazine about this very issue. I bought two sturdy plastic totes and began gathering emergency items. One holds food, water, first aid, batteries, masks, duct tape, sternos, matches, plastic sheeting….pretty much everything on your list. I have a list in an envelope in the outside of the food box with the expiration dates, which I rotate regularly to make sure they are current.
The other box, which is harder to keep current, is for blankets, a jacket for each of us and a change of clothing and shoes for each of us, along with copies of important documents. Stored with them are a few cases of water.
I did this not to be paranoid, in fact, I rarely think about my boxes. That’s the relief. I don’t have to think about it. The hurricane we had? Didn’t have to run out and brave the stores for water and batteries. You never know when something terrible could happen and I don’t want to waste precious moments having to think about what to grab.
It took one weekend, an investment of about $100 and it’s done. Next step is to teach my son safe places, where to go and who to talk to if we are separated. I insisted that he learn our address and phone early on. Even if it never gets used, it will never be a waste of time, money or energy.
Rob is relentless about my fears of what to do in an emergency. To my defense I really think that my issues stem from September 11th BUT still I need to take deep breaths and figure out how to calm down because I see how I start to instill panic in the kids when I feel panicked.
Thank you for posting this! Gets me thinking…We should definitely have a plan!
Me too…I just need my husband to get on board with my need for a plan!!!
thank you! I made a kit years ago, but need to update it! I keep saying I need to but just haven’t yet! I like the idea of a meeting place too.
The meeting place always made me feel better if I was alone during anything!!!
These are great tips. I hadn’t considered this before.