Discussion: Emergency preparedness

Yesterday's plane crash here in NYC didn't turn into a full-blown emergency for the whole city, but it was extremely serious for residents of the building that was hit. It made me reexamine my ideas about emergency preparedness. I had been thinking primarily in terms of having supplies to help us wait out a blackout, terrorist attack, flu epidemic, or weather emergency in our apartment, and in having Go Bags (do they call them that in other countries, or is it just am American thing?) with essentials in case we had to evacuate the city.

Yesterday exposed a major weakness in my plan. Watching the smoking wreckage on TV, I realized there were hundreds of people who lived in that building that left for work or school in the morning, and then weren't going to be able to access their homes or stuff for at least another day. This accident was an anomaly, for sure, but there are fires in buildings every day, and a mid-sized fire could keep people out of their apartments for days, so anyone could end up locked out of their homes with no warning. (We had a fire in our building last year, in fact, so I know it's a real possibility.)

So here are my two questions. 1) Is there any way to set up a plan to cover what to do if you can't get your Go Bag and stuff from your home for a few days? Or do you just have to depend on the kindness of friends and hope that everything will still be there when you get home? and 2) What are other emergency situations we haven't thought of that could come up? Is there any way to prepare for them at all?

Comments

[sdh]

We have a Go bag, but we keep it in the trunk of our car. If you don't have a car, maybe you could keep one at the office? If you are likely to go to particular friends' or relatives' home in case of emergency, maybe they'd let you keep some stuff in their basement/attic?

[Shara]

Having been in the city for both 9/11 and the summer blackout, and having been a commuter from NJ at the time, I got in the habit of always wearing shoes I could walk 5 miles in - always. I keep extra copies of documents in my desk at work and also at my mother's house (life insurance, apartment lease, friends phone numbers, credit report). And there is food at my office - cans of soup, tuna packets, lots of bottled water.

We, shamefully, don't have go bags set up or bottled water. I know it's stupid, but i live in an NYC apt - where can I store that stuff when there isn't one actual closet in my apt? We do have battery operated radios, large flashlights, and have the cat carriers accessible.

I generally expect that I would have to rely on the kindness of friends and family. We are fortunate to be from this area and have both.

[Robin]

I wondered about you and your family when I heard the news. Glad you're OK. We have a Go Kit at home and smaller ones in each car. The one in the car is also a bit more customized to being stranded in the car in bad weather. (It's snowing right now).

[Ashley]

Would anyone like to share what is in their Go Bag?

[Laurie]

I think the best option, if you don't have a car, is to find a trusted friend/family member- not in your immediate neighborhood in case the whole area is evacuated- and leave a basic Bug-Out Bag and copies of essential documents with them. And of course return the favor!

[Laura]

For us the big thing is hurricanes / floods. We have a Hurricane Bin in the garage, and small Go bag in my car.

My parents and my MIL have provisions for us in their Hurricane supplies. Likewise, we have things for them. We all live in different flood stage areas even though we live within 20 miles of each other. There would be scenarios where my parents would evacuate their neighborhood to my house, and vice versa.

[Hillary]

Here is something I have recently found. I don't own one, but it looks good to me

http://emergencycafe.com/index2.html

[deezydubya]

I second the car trunk idea or stashing something at a friend or in-laws. But most fire departments or emergency services will have basics (blankets, water, even teddy bears for kids involved in something like this), and once they're certain that the fire's out, the crisis is averted and the building isn't in structural danger, even if the building isn't immediately habitable they'll often let you up to get a go bag - at least, that's what happened to me when I was involved in an apartment fire a few years ago.

[liz]

Back when I worked, I always had a change of clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste stashed in my desk. I ought to keep that stuff in my car now that I have no office to go to and yet am away from home all day.

My husband and I also have a plan of where to go and what to do in case of a daytime emergency.

Plan A is we both go to Muffin Man's daycare.
Plan B is if the first person at the daycare has to leave with MM for any reason (being evacuated by emergency personnel for instance), then we write on the wall or sidewalk where we all got sent to.

We also have ham radio licenses and radios in our cars good for a 50 mile range point-to-point. We have plans for how to use those too.

If you don't have a ham license, you can still make use of the local ham club in an emergency. Go to www.arrl.org for info about what station to tune in in your area.

[luolin]

My relatives in California have earthquake kits in their cars (bc of course everyone has a car-it would have to be in your office otherwise, I guess) and the elementary school kids at my aunt's school have emergency bags at school.

[Irononnermake]

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