Here are 10 emergency preparedness tips to make sure you’re ready for unexpected situations, including practical items many people overlook.
10 Emergency Preparedness Tips
Living in Tornado Alley means we try to stay ready for tornadoes and other severe weather. One simple but important recommendation is to keep a shovel and gloves in your shelter. If debris traps you, having tools to dig and protect your hands can make a big difference.
-Tawra
I also learned the hard way not to rely on easy access to facilities during a warning. My only bathroom was upstairs, far from my tornado shelter closet. Now I keep an ice cream bucket with a lid and toilet paper in the shelter so basic needs are covered without leaving safety.
I keep an ice cream bucket with a lid and toilet paper in my car as well, because once my children and I were stranded during a fierce blizzard on the Kansas prairie. The wind and snow kept the car doors frozen shut, and we were stuck from early morning until late at night. I had food and blankets but had neglected sanitary supplies that day, so I now include them in vehicle kits.
There are inexpensive toilet seat adapters that fit on a 5-gallon bucket, which turn a bucket into a makeshift toilet. You can store toilet paper and other small emergency items inside the bucket, keeping supplies compact and organized until needed.
It’s not the most pleasant topic, but practical planning for all contingencies makes emergencies easier to manage.
Additional Emergency Preparedness Tips:
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Whistles. Include a whistle in every emergency kit. A whistle carries farther and is easier to hear than the human voice, which helps rescuers locate you if you’re trapped. Make sure each child has a whistle as well.
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Office Kits. Keep a compact emergency kit at work in a soft-sided lunch bag. Useful items include a whistle, a small flashlight, a mini first aid kit, a couple bottles of water, and any necessary medications. If you normally wear heels, consider keeping a pair of hard-soled shoes at the office in case you need to navigate broken glass or debris.
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Kids’ Kits. Prepare a small backpack for each child—wheeled bags are helpful. Pack a change of clothes, contact information for parents and grandparents, a small comfort item like a stuffed animal, a coloring book or quiet activity, a whistle, a small flashlight, a water bottle, and some hard candy for quick energy and comfort. Store the backpack and a pair of hard-soled shoes under the child’s bed for fast access.
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Pet kits. Put together a simple pet kit with a small bag of food, a leash, and a small bag of cat litter plus a box to hold these supplies. Keeping pet items together makes evacuating with animals easier.
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Contact information. Keep names, phone numbers, and addresses of relatives and close friends in your emergency kit. In the stress of an emergency it’s easy to forget contact details you normally take for granted.
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Permanent marker. Carry a permanent marker to write identifying information on a child’s arm—name, parent contact, and an emergency contact—if they become separated. In severe situations you may also mark yourself so responders can identify you if you are unconscious.
These suggestions complement the basics you should already have—food, water, warm clothing, and blankets. Customize each kit for your family’s needs, but remember you may need to carry these supplies for a distance, so keep kits as light and portable as practical.
-Jill