How do you prepare for hurricanes and other disasters? Get Organized!

I'm the last person who wants you to live in fear of a disaster. Chances are good you'll never experience one. But, unfortunately, disasters such as hurricanes, floods, fires, and terrorist acts are not as unlikely as they used to be. It seems like hurricane season has just begun and we are already up to "i". Having lived in Florida for 10 years and having lots of friends and family there, I know first hand the chaos and destruction that hurricanes and other natural disasters can cause. My heart goes out to all the victims of the latest devastation that hit Cuba and Haiti and to friends, family and colleagues all along the east coast.

This weekend, as we were preparing our home and backyard to withstand the remnants of Hurricane Hannah which passed through NJ , (thankfully we weren't hit as hard as they had predicted) I was thinking about what I could do to help others be prepared.

Then I got an email from Judith Kolberg, author of Conquering Chronic Disorganization, ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life and Founder of NSGCD, about organizing for disaster.

So rather than reinvent the wheel, I got permission from Judith to allow me to reprint her tips from her article and her latest book, "Organize for Disaster: Prepare Your Family and Your Home for Any Natural Or Unnatural Disaster."

If you've been putting this off, NOW is the time to prepare.

Waiting till the last minute will mean that stores will be out of what you need and it may be too late. Remember, you don't have to perfect about this. If you feel overwhelmed, just do what you can. Being somewhat prepared is better than not being prepared at all.

Below are Judith's tips along with notes from me in blue. 

Prepare a Family Communication/Reunion Plan.
The Plan enables your family to communicate and to meet during a disaster. It records all important phone numbers, email addresses, and meet-up locations so that family members can reach one another by phone, email or in person. The Plan is available free at : www.fileheads.net/documents/FamilyCommunicationPlan.pdf. Take out your calendar and designate an hour before the end of September to fill out The Plan.

Stock three days and three nights of provisions to get you through 72-hours of living without electricity. The provisions are obtainable at Target and most large grocery stores. Just add these items to your regular shopping list.

1. One gallon of water per person per day (for three days). For a family of four, you'll need 12 gallons of water.
2. Ready to eat, non-perishable food (dried fruit, cereal. protein bars, canned food, crackers, soups, pasta, rice, peanut butter and jelly, pudding cups, powdered milk are highly recommended) (I include: Beans - esp. lentils and black beans, and raw bars and meal replacement bars made with whole foods. )
3. Paper plates, cups, dinnerware, paper towels, food containers, and a manual can opener (in case you don't have water to wash dishes with)
4. One flashlight per person plus extra batteries (I recommend LED flashlights - your batteries will last longer)
5. Travel size toiletries (Minimalist Version: toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, brush, comb and toilet paper)
6. 3 First Aid Kits - 1 for the home, one for the car and one for your "grab and go" bag. (Minimalist Version: Make sure you have at least an assortment of bandaids, antibiotic ointment, wet wipes, and a weeks worth of any medicines or supplements that you might need.)
7. I have pets so I also highly recommend you have enough pet carriers to take all your pets with you - and use them to store rations of food, water and any special needs they have.

In a central location put a change of clothes for each family member plus extra underwear and blankets and basic toiletries like soap, toothbrush, and razors. Use a shelf, an extra large plastic trash bin, or an extra large plastic container for these items.

Prepare a supply of family over-the counter and prescription medicines

Purchase a NOAA weather radio. Radio Shack, Walmart, Circuit City, Home Depot and Ace Hardware carry them. Set it for your county. It will tell you the status of the disaster, evacuation information, and alerts.

Get a transistor radio with batteries. It will tell you local conditions, school closings, travel hazards, and local shelters.

While you're there pick up a landline telephone (it costs under $12.00)

Pack a "grab and go" bag (backpack or small rolling luggage) in case you have to evacuate your home to a hotel, shelter or relative's home. Keep it light with just the basics:

• Toiletries
• Change of clothes
• Medicine
• 2 bottles of water
• Protein bars
• Cell phone (you don't need to have an extra cell phone in the bag at all times just make sure you take yours with you!)
• One person in the family needs to carry a first aid kit. Depending on your family's needs, add special items like extra eyeglasses, favorite plush toys, or portable electronic games.

Copy the contents of your wallet (both sides of credit cards, insurance cards, and license). Stick it in a grab and go bag. For a complete, portable document system, get a PortaVault at http://www.securitaonline.com.  (Also include a list of emergency phone numbers including doctors, schools, relatives, friends, etc.)

Schedule a Family Disaster Preparedness Day. Go over The Plan and finish off any of the above tasks.

Thank you Judith!

If your life is as entwined with your computer as mine is, another tip I would add is this:  Check out Google Apps (for Business people with websites.) It's not for everyone, but it's really been working well for me, so far.  In April, I had a really nasty virus on my computer and lost a bunch of email as a result.  Now I use Google Apps as my email provider and have all my email addresses forwarded to it.  I also keep my calendar on it now - Yes, I finally FORCED myself to give up my paper calendar. The advantage for me is that I can now always access all my mail and calendar (as well as lots of critical documents over the internet.)  I will write more about my experiences with this transition after I've been using it longer - but for now, I just want to tell you that I really like having access to my life from any computer with internet service and I never have to remember to synchronize anything!

If you don't have your own business, you can also use GMail, Google Docs or even Google Groups to help you back up critical data.  Of course all this would mean you have to have electricity and Internet access somewhere, somehow.  My feeling is this, if there is no electricity or internet anywhere in the world, I probably won't need whatever is on there anyway.

You may want to also check out a post I wrote in 2005 about my experience being evacuated because the house behind me caught fire!

You can also get lots of good tips and checklists on how to PREVENT a disaster, Prepare and What to Do After a Disaster from the Red Cross.   At Ready.gov they have lots of checklists for making your own "readiness" kits. Here is a link to all the Ready.gov FREE publications.

If you have tips to add about being prepared for a disaster, we'd love for you to share them with us!  Thanks in advance,

All the best,

 

Comments

[Debra]

I wanted to make one small correction - hurricane season starts June 1. So, while it's been a busy season since we're already up to "i" that definitely hasn't happened within the past 8 days. Historically, September tends to be one of the busiest hurricane months.

You have some great suggestions. I would add one more - inventory your home contents. There are several home inventory programs available online (Know Your Stuff - http://www.knowyourstuff.org/ - is one of them). That will help you immensely in the unfortunate case you need to file a claim.

[Janet Barclay]

Another benefit of using online tools such as Google Apps is that it saves space on your hard drive.

[Ariane Benefit]

@ Debra, Thanks so much for the correction! I should have known that. And thanks for the tip on KnowyourStuff.org. Great Resource!

@Janet, so true. It does save a lot of space on my drive. And makes backing up easier.

[John Trosko]

Good information Ariane! Great to see you writing! - John

[Ariane Benefit]

Hey John! Thanks for the welcome back - I've missed you! It's good to be back!

[Lacey]

What valuable information. Lots of great advice here. Thank you for sharing!

[Ariane Benefit]

Thanks everyone for stopping by and leaving a note! I love hearing from you!

[Qeutzal]

Hello, I used to live in a place without risk of huricanes, but I move recently and now I'm not sure at all hehehe. Are there huricanes in NY?

[Ariane Benefit]

Hi Quetzal, We don't have as many hurricanes as Florida, but we do get them. Usually they aren't as intense by the time they reach us. Mainly we tend to get flooding here. : )