Friday's Thoughts and Other Stuff (Emergency Evacuation)

Dear Preppers and Survivalists,

Immigration Poster (ca 1901)

published by

Heb. Pub. Co.

Before the Event
You and your family (Plus, extended family, close friends, and any other folks that are planning to show up during an event) need to determine some things. 


Should We Stay, ...
First, you and your partner need to determine are y'all leaving, before the event.

Now, this isn't an easy decision for some events, take the recent presidential election. For some folks, Mr. Donald John Trump is the 'new' anti-christ, hitler, or other boogeyman, so they have determined to leave our country.

Cool, but ... Is it a good idea?

Leaving your current home, the well-paying job, established networks of friends, and so on will create a hardship for your family, especially 'if' you plan to hastily move to a foreign country with no employment prospects, no network of friends, and lacking basic language skills. Plus, add anti-immigrant sentiment (That's what you'll be, an immigrant), you and your family are, to put it politely, screwed.

For other events, the on-coming category five hurricane, it is a no brainer especially if your family lives in the impact zone. 


... Or Should We Go
Like most preppers, we (you and your family) are planning to leave during an event.

But, ... Where do you go?

Are your or your partner's relatives going to let you and your family 'crash on the couch' for a few days? A few weeks? A few months?

How about a friend's home? Hotel? Vacation Home? Tent in the Woods?


National or State Park
Some folks are planning to evacuate to a national, state, or local park. That's a bad idea for several reasons

First, what are you going to use for shelter?

Second, where are you going to get water?

Third, food? Medical attention? Waste disposal? and so on?

Oooh, ... Do you and your family even know how to reserve a camping site at one of these parks?


Common Sense
By now, you and your partner realize leaving your home can be dangerous, hazardous, perilous, and ... takes some though. Let's take a look at some of those thoughts.

Contents of an

American Red Cross

‘Ready to Go’ kit

source

F.E.M.A. Photo Library

Emergency Evacuation Kit
First, you and your family need an emergency kit for evacuating your home, work, and schools. All three of these kits will have similarities.

More about that later, in a few days.

Abri et sac de Couchage (ca 2007)

photograph by

Ak70g2

Shelter
Depending on the event, you may need to evacuate your home, to your family's backyard. For other events, you may need to evacuate across town, to a friend's home. For other events, your family may need to leave for another state or country for a relative's home.

Of course, each of these require a different set of tools.

A Girl Selling Empty Bottles

for carrying the Ganges river water (ca 2004)

photograph by

etrenard

Water
After shelter, your family's main priority will be acquiring drinking water to keep your family from dying of dehydration. Of course, you're going to need something to carry the water.

Reproduction Civil War Hardtack (ca 2007)

photograph by

D. Farr at English Wikipedia

Food
All I have to say, ...

Store what you eat, and eat what you store

Ein Gasverunglückter wird durch Sanitäter

während einer Uebung auf die Tragbahre gelegt,

um fortgeschafft zu werden (ca 1931)

source

Deutsches Bundesarchiv

Medical Supplies
We (you and your family) may need daily medications that keep your husband's blood pressure controlled. One of your children may need eye glasses to see, and you may need first-aid supplies to treat your family's bumps and bruises.

Well, ... Everybody in the family should have, at least, first-aid training from the Red Cross.


Protection
Guns are coool. Just don't confuse a hobby for getting prepared.


An Apology
I have to go to bed, so ...

Keep reading over the next few days, weeks, months to learn more about getting prepared for the tough times ahead.