Dear Friends,

It has been a while since Hurricane Harvey was sitting on the Texas Coast. It was a terrible time. I was warning people all along the gulf coast to be aware of the torrential rain. Hawaii is in the path of big storm now.

Most deaths from hurricanes happen inland from the several inches of rain that are dumped on a flat terrain. This storm concerned me. They were predicting 30 to 50 inches of rain. They got almost 60 inches of rain. I had never heard about that much rain and I am a weather nut and my son studied to be a weatherman.

I heard one mayor say if you are going to stay through the storm to please write your social security number on your arm in Sharpie so they can identify your body.  Now that is pretty tough! Please pay attention to the potential flash flooding if you are in a storm. If you are stubborn and intend on staying in a flooding area then please put a sledge hammer in your attic in case you need to break your way through the roof to get out of your flooded home. Also keep your cars filled up with gas so you can leave and in case there is a disruption in fuel supplies across the country. Charge all your phones and auxiliary battery back ups.

Now here is my question for you. If you were asked to evacuate right now; what would you take?

This is a very difficult question to answer when you are awakened in the middle of the night. This is why I want you to think about this right now and make some plans to help you in this horrible situation. A little thought and action now will keep you from panicking. Now keep in mind if you are asked to leave now; then you have to go. Grab your babies and pets and get out of your home immediately. But if you have 15 minutes then you can gather up a few items that will make your evacuation easier.

Here is the list that I have sent out quite often. Put this in your Control Journal. Read over it and take babysteps to gather up items into a bag. Do you remember that bag you had ready when you were pregnant and waiting to go into labor? Think of this evacuation bag like this. Don’t keep your important papers in this bag. Keep copies at home and the originals in a lock box at the bank or in a fireproof safe. Keep in mind that you can always get replacements. It may not be easy but it is not worth losing our life to rescue them from the filing cabinet. Many of these items are habits you will need to establish. Think about the safety of your family. We have had many testimonials that say having their clothes laid out saved them precious time.

Being Prepared Can Give You Peace,

FlyLady

Go get an empty Rubbermaid Tub to start building your Emergency Supplies. Label it! Only Use in Case of Emergency! I keep a small emergency backpack in my car at all times. Start building your emergency Go Bag! Keep in mind that your Go Bag will need to be updated quarterly. Children grow fast and food expires. We also keep a shelf in our basement with water, supplies, tarp, crank radio, and many other things that will be useful if we are stuck in our home.

Here is my 11 Points of Preparedness for an Evacuation This list is to help you think about what you need to put in your Control Journal and your Go Bag!

1. PEOPLE: Have a plan for getting out of the house and make sure everyone knows it. Have an emergency bag of food and water for your family. Include wholesome snacks and treats for the children: dried fruit, nuts, peanut butter, crackers and granola bars.

2. PETS: Keep pet carriers and leashes readily available to lead pets to safety. Also take pet food with you and treats. I have had to use treats to get my cats out of the house when we were struck by lightning.

3. PICTURES: Keep negatives or CDs of pictures in a lock box or at a family member’s home. Have picture albums in one place ready to grab and go at a moment’s notice. Take photographs of every wall in your home and keep them in the lock box too or in this day of the digital cloud store them there.

4. PAPERS: Have all your important papers in a lock box at a bank and only keep copies at the house. This keeps you from panicking. If you have them at home then put them in a folder that you can easily grab if you have to move fast. Color code it so you can find it! We have a red Office in a Bag that is a great place to keep copies of your important papers.

5. PRESCRIPTIONS: Take your medications with you. Don’t forget the ones that have to be refrigerated like insulin. Have small ice chest and cold packs readily accessible to pack and go. If you have babies; remember their formula or medications.

6. PURSES and PETRO: This is where you keep your identification, credit cards and cash. Keep a stash of cash for emergencies and grab it. You may not be able to use an ATM in the event of a power outage. Make sure your car always has a half a tank of gas. I a $100 bill stashed in the back of my cell phone case.

7. PROPER CLOTHES and COMFORT ITEMS: According to the weather
conditions; gather up a change of clothes along with outer clothing: coats, rain gear, boots, gloves and hats. If you have babies remember diapers. Remember to grab your children’s favorite blanket, stuffed animal or toy. A game or a deck of cards could keep them occupied and calm too.

8. PLANNER/CALENDAR/CONTROL JOURNAL: These documents have all the information you will need from phone numbers, insurance numbers and
important dates. They are small and filled with things you don’t have to try to remember. These items may be in your phone but if your battery runs down then you can’t get to them.

9. PERSONAL PROTECTION: Many of us still have that time of the month. Be sure and grab a box of your preferred protection. It may be hard to find if you have been evacuated. Stress can cause our bodies to do strange things too. So be prepared. Take medication for cramps too.

10. PHONES, RADIOS, FUEL FOR THE CAR: Many of us have cell phones.
Always keep them charged up and have a charger in the car or an extra battery. They may not work in the event of power outages, but then they might. Know which local radio station has emergency  bulletins. Keep your battery powered radio tuned to that local station and have plenty of batteries for it. Also keep a old type regular phone that does not operate with electricity. GAS PUMPS don’t work without power either. You can’t leave if your car is on empty. So keep your car fuel tank topped off when it hits a half of tank. This way you will have gas to drive at least a couple of hours. Evacuation routes are usually bumper to bumper traffic. Having a tank filled will keep you less stressed.

11. PATIENCE: This is one of the most important things to pack. Keep it inside of you so that you have a clear calm head. Having your P’s to Preparedness list guiding you will keep you patient. In the event of an evacuation there will be lots of displaced people. Being patient will make things less stressful. Your children need to see you calm and collected. This will help keep them calm too.

We can FLY in the face of Danger and Emergency if we are prepared. Don’t wait till you are being asked to evacuate. Everyone thinks that it could not happen to them. Well it could and it is up to you to make sure you are prepared.

Don’t wait! DO IT NOW!!

FlyLady