mom60

UCSD Dad- repeating what Edison said at the press conference.

ellemenope

Town next door from us evacuated during last time SoCal burned and it was the first time that I loaded the car with stuff just in case of evacuation.

Things that you don't think about in the rush--

back up your computer and take the back up;

scan your irreplaceable photos so you can transport them easily--losing all the baby photos or wedding photos can be depressing;

pack your high school yearbooks (dumb, I know, but irreplaceable);

cash is king so be sure to have some on hand;

water, water, water--I could live off of my spare tire for a while, but you need water.

One friend I know puts her emergency kit in a big pack--you may have to move on foot.

Nobody likes to think about having to move in an emergency, but sometimes you may need to do it. Don't shoot the visiting messenger.

ucsd_ucla_dad

That's weird - I wonder why they'd say it since it isn't true? Most plasma TVs on standby (powered off but plugged in) use far less power than a night light.

Regardless, if it's suspected that power might be going off and on it's a good idea to unplug the expensive plasma or big LCD (and computers) to protect them against possible surges or at least have them plugged into a good surge protector.

Icarus

Big thing is food and water - I would recommend MRE's - you can get entire cases of these for cheap online, and they have a huge shelf life.

All the other recommendations around here have been good - computer backups, etc, etc. I don't remember seeing medical supplies on there - make sure you're stocked up with medical supplies... and not just band-aids either. Go online and get some professional-level dressings (large trauma dressings, pressure bandages, etc.)

Finally (and I know this will stir up some problems around here).... **if you are comfortable with it**, have a defensive weapon on hand, especially if you will be camping out in your house for a while. A good 12-ga shotgun would work here, and a handgun for if you need to be mobile. A lot of people seem to loose all sense of morality in a disaster and those of us who that hasn't happened to need to be prepared to defend ourselves and others. Just my $.02

dmd77

We have a fireproof safe--guaranteed for two hours of a 1200 degree fire (average house fire is far less than that. All important papers are stored in that, along with a small amount of "walking around money" for the three days after an earthquake. (An earthquake is our most likely disaster.)

While I stock food and water, I also do a few other things.

I always make sure we have bleach, because it's useful to purify water and deal with toilets. If a big windstorm is forecast, I fill the bathtubs.

I like to keep the cars' gas tanks at least half full so that I can drive a few hundred miles to get out of town if I need to.

My computer is a dual drive mirroring system so it always makes a backup of itself automatically. My email is through GMail so it's web-based and backed up.

My photo albums are stored in one place so they can be grabbed easily. More recent photo albums were printed by www.mypublisher.com so that they store a copy of the album in their databases which means those are backed up too.

We have regular "what if" conversations. Everyone knows who to call to get the news--important because often long-distance is easier than local. There are backup plans. After the 2001 Nisqually quake, my daughter was able to instant message us even though the phone lines were down at her school.

mom60

We keep most of our documents in another location in a fireproof cabinet. Hadn't thought about bleach but that is good.
We do have wildfires but like Washdad I think the biggest disaster would be an earthquake. That would put the whole city and area out of commission. With fire it is unlikely that the entire area would burn so there is always somewhere to go.
I don't have much I could not live without as long as my family is safe. It does remind me that my photos are all over the place. I need to really spend some quality time going through them and having them be in one place. Also more recent photos are on a desktop computer. Need to copy those to a CD.

It is interesting what some people take. I spoke with a good friend who is evucuated. She packed up her china, her shoes and her favorite clothes. They filled 6 cars with stuff. I think I would just take the essentials and leave.
The visitor is family and you know how that can go. She means well and the message delivered from anyone else would be better received.
Do those of you who live in earthquake country have all the emergency supplies in a dedicated place including the food and water?

ellemenope

>>I think the biggest disaster would be an earthquake. That would put the whole city and area out of commission. <<

My now deceased aunt and uncle lived in Northridge, and have lived through some doozy earthquakes in their day. The latest one (1994) left them without water and gas for cooking for some time (electricity came back pretty early on). They lived a spartan existence until everything could be hooked up and checked out. They were NOT going to leave their homes (looters?)

The weird thing is that they could have gotten in their car and driven to Long Beach or Orange County or San Diego and had a normal existence in a hotel or with family. 20 miles down the road can make a big difference.

mikasauntie

What a timely topic. Several years ago we waited to get info from news or FD and ended up lucky to get out with the kids. Latest fire evacuation was much more orderly. We took turns watching news/emergency website and found that neither was particularly up-to-date. A neighbor had a direct connection to someone in the fire dept and he passed along information. Reverse 911 did not call us although several neighbors got a call. Lesson there is you don’t have to wait for an evacuation order. If you feel uncomfortable – especially if members of your family are not very mobile – its ok to go.

Before we left the 2nd time we moved everything flamable away from the house (bbq propane tanks, eg) and made sure every window and door was closed tight (amazing what damage smoke and ash can do). Each kid was responsible for collecting all of their schoolbooks (school was in session) and selecting x number of things that were special. I FORGOT to pack up my address book and my box of recipes. Next time I will.

Be safe mom60, et al.

mom60

Things are looking better. Many of our friends are now able to go back to their homes. At least for now the weather is favorable.
Mikasauntie- I am adding address book to my list. I am also amazed at how hard it is to get accurate up to date information. We have found this time the radio has done the best job. In the past we have also had an inside source who worked for the county but she has moved on to another job. When we needed to leave quickly about 15 yrs ago she was the one who got us on the phone and told us to get out quick. She knew we didn't have a TV and probably weren't listening to the radio. That was a quick moving fire.

mikasauntie

thanks for updating, mom60.

LongPrime

I'd be looking for Noah.

ucsd_ucla_dad

mom60:

I'm glad things are improving there. I hope they can get it contained pretty soon.

binx

Mom60 - I found this site that I have been following. They update fairly often.
Google Maps

sax

The new LED flashlights that you wind up for power are awesome. Also have cell phone chargers that you wind to power your cell phone. We have these two items in all our cars.

As for fires there is only one plan. Full tank of gas and leave.

owlice

For information stuff -- address book, photos, etc. -- store it online or email it to yourself at the office or to a Web email address (yahoo, hotmail, etc.). Most internet accounts come with free web space; use it for things that are non-confidential. Take pictures of every room in the house, of your possessions, with a digital camera and email the photos to yourself (again, to either the office email or your own web email address), and put them on CD and store it at a friend's or relative's house. You may need such documentation for insurance purposes should a disaster occur.

If you don't have a spare cell phone charger, get one. I have one at work and one in my car; H has one in his car and we have one at home (unless he is away on travel, as he is now).

For an emergency flashlight, have something like this: Energizer Sporting Goods - Eveready® Rechargeable Double-Duty Flashlight W/Nightlight - RC250BP

and put it where anyone in the house can find it. I keep one (a flat one, not that model) in the kitchen where it's readily accessible, as we lose power frequently. That flashlight is then used to gather the other flashlights and, if needed, candles. We have a Coleman lantern for camping that gives okay light by which to read and work if necessary. (When Hurricane Isabelle came through, I was without power for a week. The weather was mild and the water heater is gas, so I was quite okay. Had a laptop I could recharge at friends' or at work, a lantern by which to see after nightfall, a phone line for dial-up internet access, a portable CD player with external speakers, and a wind-up radio.)

Have working fire extinguishers, not to battle wildfires, of course, but because every house should have them.

mom60, I hope you and yours stay safe; good luck!