Climate-related emergencies, such as hurricanes, fires and floods, are becoming more frequent. Here is how to prepare if you need to evacuate or squat down.
In this week alone, millions of people across the country experienced a catastrophic emergency. Hurricane Ida cut off electricity or access to food and water for millions of people in Louisiana. The flash floods in New Jersey and New York caught many people by surprise. In Lake Tahoe, some residents evacuated less than an hour after receiving an evacuation order because the fire threatened their homes. Flash floods ravaged central Tennessee in August, and earlier this year, after winter storms, millions of people in Texas lost power and water.
Unfortunately, climate scientists are now warning that weather emergencies like this could be the new normal, as global warming leads to more rainfall, more hurricanes, more tornadoes, and greater wildfires. According to the “World Disaster Report”, since the 1990s, the average number of climate and weather-related disasters has increased by nearly 35% per decade.
No matter where you live, every family should have a “luggage box” and a “luggage box”. When you have to leave home in a hurry, whether to go to the emergency room or to evacuate due to a fire or hurricane, you can carry a travel bag with you. If you have to stay home without electricity, water or heating, the accommodation box can store your essentials for two weeks.
Creating a travel bag and a suitcase will not make you an alarmist or living in apocalyptic horror. It just means you are ready. For many years, I know that emergency situations can happen anytime, anywhere. One night in London, I went back to a dilapidated apartment because a neighbor upstairs boiled his water. (I was able to rescue my passport and my cat, but I lost everything I had.) After many years, I had to evacuate from my Pennsylvania home three times-twice because of the Delaware River flooding, and once It’s because of Hurricane Sandy.
When my house was flooded for the first time, I was completely unprepared because the flood was only a few feet from my driveway. I had to grab my four puppies, some clothes, and anything else that seemed important, and then left there quickly. I cannot go home for two weeks. At that time I realized that I needed a real family evacuation plan, not only for me and my daughter, but also for my pets. (I was better prepared when I evacuated before Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast a few years later.)
The hardest part of creating a Go package is the beginning. You don’t need to do everything at once. I started with a Ziploc bag and put my passport, birth certificate and other important documents in it. Then I added a pair of reading glasses. Last year, I added a mobile phone charger to my travel bag because the emergency room doctor told me that this is the most needed item in the emergency room
I also added some masks. We all need these masks now due to Covid-19, but if you are escaping from a fire or a chemical spill, you may also need a mask. I remember that on September 11, after the collapse of the first tower, a bakery in New York City distributed hundreds of masks to those of us stranded in the area to protect us from inhaling ashes and smoke.
Recently, I upgraded my travel bag to a more sturdy Stasher reusable silicone bag and added some emergency cash (small bills are best). I also added a list of phone numbers to contact family and friends when I finally enter the emergency room. This list is also useful if your phone’s battery is dead. On September 11, I contacted my mother in Dallas on a pay phone, because this is the only phone number I remember.
Some people treat their travel bag as a life-saving bag and add a lot of extras, such as multi-purpose tools, tape, lighter, portable stove, compass, etc. But I prefer to keep it simple. I think if I need my travel bag, it is because I have a short-term emergency, not because the civilization as we know it is over.
Once you have gathered the basics, consider using a backpack or duffel bag to hold more items that can help certain types of emergency evacuation. Add a flashlight and battery and a small first aid kit containing dental care supplies. You should also have a few days’ supply of essential medicines. Bring some water bottles and granola bars to deal with traffic jams on evacuation routes or long waits in the emergency room. An extra set of car keys is a good addition to your travel bag, but the extra car keys are very good. They are expensive, so if you don’t have them, get in the habit of keeping the keys in the same place so you can find them in an emergency.
If you have a baby, please add diapers, wipes, feeding bottles, formula and baby food to your travel bag. If you have a pet, please add a leash, a portable bowl, some food, and a copy of the veterinary record in case you have to bring your pet to the kennel while you are in the shelter or hotel. Some people add a change of clothes to their travel bag, but I prefer to make my travel bag small and light. Once you have made the main travel bag with documents and other necessities for your family, you may want to pack a personal travel bag for any child.
After reading the information about emergency preparation supplies on Wirecutter, I recently ordered another item for my travel bag. This is a three-dollar whistle. “No one wants to think about being trapped in a natural disaster, but it did happen,” Wirecutter wrote. “A loud call for help may attract the attention of rescuers, but a sharp whistle is more likely to interrupt the noise of wildfires, storms or emergency sirens.”
If you need to squat down, you may have prepared a lot of necessities at home to store your suitcase. It is best to collect these items and put them in one place-such as a large plastic box or two-so that they will not be used. If you have created a travel bag, then you are off to a good start, because many travel bag items may be needed in a home emergency. The trash bin should also be equipped with two weeks’ worth of bottled water and non-perishable food, pet food, toilet paper and personal hygiene products. Flashlights, lanterns, candles, lighters and firewood are important. (Wirecutter recommends headlights.) Battery powered or crank weather radio and solar cell phone charger will help you deal with power outages. An extra blanket is a good idea. Other frequently recommended items include tape, a multi-purpose tool, garbage bags for hygiene, and hand towels and disinfectant. If your prescription plan allows, please order additional medicines or ask your doctor for some free samples for emergency use.
The City of Milwaukee has a useful list that can be used to make your travel bag. There is a checklist on the Ready.gov website that can help you set up your shelter, and the American Red Cross also has more advice on emergency preparedness. Pick items that are meaningful to your family.
My travel bag and suitcases are still in progress, but I know I am more prepared than before and feel better. I also created a crisis notebook for emergencies. My suggestion is to start using what you have today, and then work hard to get more items over time. In any emergency situation, a little planning and preparation will go a long way.
Recently my daughter went hiking, and I was most worried about her encountering a bear. After all, I seem to have read a lot of articles about bear attacks recently, including a grizzly bear terrorizing a man for several days in Alaska, and a woman killed in a bear attack in Montana this summer. However, while bear attacks make headlines, they are not as common as you might think. I learned this after taking the “Can you survive the run-in with the bear?” quiz. What you will learn includes:
Subscribers of Time magazine were invited to participate in live events with Dr. Fauci, Apoorva Mandavilli, who wrote about vaccines and Covid for The New York Times, and Lisa Damour, a teenage psychologist who wrote for Well. The event will be hosted by Andrew Ross Sorkin and will focus on children, Covid and back to school.
Click the RSVP link for this subscriber-only event: Kids and Covid: What to Know, a Times Virtual Event.
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Post time: Sep-03-2021