<p>In light of natural disasters in the past few years, I thought it might be a good idea to have a plan, in case of emergency. I live in New York City, so I guess it’s more likely that the disasters I might encounter would be man-made rather than natural, but you never know.</p>
<p>However, the more I think about it the more I realize that I really don’t have a lot of options. Being in a city, I don’t have a car, so, unless it’s an anticipated event, I would have to walk. Also, everything I heard/read tells you that you should bring at least 3 days of food/water with you, an emergency kit, etc. Considering I have pets that I would not leave without and no car, I literally would not be able to take anything else with me.</p>
<p>For those living in big cities? Do you have an emergency plan, or do you pretty much assume that you would have to stay put if something does happen?</p>
<p>I have never made an evacuation plan but I would think you would probably want to look into where your local shelter is. They would be in contact with whomever was coordinating evacuation efforts I would think…</p>
<p>On 9/11, there were all these police yelling “the city’s shut down” as me and my friend tried to get out, but I realized they meant the bridges and tunnels were shut to incoming traffic. We walked across a bridge – many people were doing the same. </p>
<p>How about a bike? Something sturdy. Faster than walking.</p>
<p>Best bet: motorcycle. Whenever I see news coverage of people evacuating ahead of a hurricane, I see tons of cars stuck in traffic. A motorcycle could get right through that.</p>
<p>Go back a year and look at NYC’s evacuation and shelter plans for Hurricane Irene. The big problem is that you can’t wait until the last minute. They shut the subways down well ahead of time and people who depend on transit were stranded.</p>
<p>You might want to call or visit your local chapter of the Red Cross for evacuation plans. Even better…consider becoming a volunteer. My husband is a local volunteer and has detailed instructions on all the local evacuation plans. (in Southern California, most are for earthquake and fire) Cars can be useless in calamities. In fact I keep walking shoes and an emergency backpack in my trunk in case I am stuck on the freeway during a large quake and need to walk home.</p>
<p>In a city without a car, I would expect to “shelter in place.” The best plan would be to know where the 2 or 3 closest shelters are (not just the closest, it might be full), how you will get there, where your pets will stay (are they welcome at the shelters, or do you need to make other arrangements). Then pay attention if it’s something that provides warning. Will public transportation be shut down? If it is, how will you get to the shelter - or do you need to go to the shelter. What services are provided at the shelter that you would not be able to provide for yourself if you lose power/phones? Do you need those services, or would they simply be a convenience or a luxury?</p>
<p>We live in a suburb, so there’s not much public transport in the first place. During Irene, neighboring communities lost power for several days (and again with the October winter storm). Our town did much better for a number of reasons, and provided shelters for the other towns (ask our kids why they had no school when the power was on and the roads were fine). Even if we had lost power, we would have been fine in my house - we have a fire place and wood, I have a pantry stocked with food and other supplies, and a manual can opener (laugh, but plenty of neighbors wouldn’t know what to do with their canned goods because they don’t have a manual opener). We have a supply of batteries that gets rotated every few months, and crank flashlights. We don’t have a generator, but we don’t need one. We also know enough to drain the water in the house if we lose power for several days in sub-freezing temperatures. I’m not sure everybody realizes that need. If only the power goes out, we have one old-fashioned phone that doesn’t require electricity, just a live phone line (again, too many people don’t undertand why they have no phone service - because they do, they just don’t have appropriate phones).</p>
<p>There will always be some disasters you just can’t prepare for, but most of the time any plan will do - because most people don’t have a plan at all.</p>
<p>If you live in an apartment building, contact the super or managing agent and ask about any emergency plans. My apt building, for example, has periodic surveys which ask if we would be able to walk down the stairs from our apartments if the elevator wasn’t functioning. Our stairways light up for about 45 minutes after a power outage. That proved to be inadequate, so now we’re working on 24 hours. </p>
<p>Unless it’s a flood, you’ll probably shelter in place. So, have that 3 day supply of drinking water and food just in case. Have a flashlight and a portable radio. You should also have emergency cash in small bills. If the power goes out, the ATMs won’t work. Neither will credit card terminals. </p>
<p>In most buildings, only floors up to 7 will have running water if there’s a power outage. (Gravity pumps only work up to that level; above that, it’s electric pumps.) So, if a big storm is predicted, fill your bathtub, pots, pans, etc. with water if you are above that level. </p>
<p>If you live high up, befriend folks in your building lower down. People who live on high floors may be evacuated during high wind storms. </p>
<p>Figure out where the fire exits are so you’ll know where to go if there’s no lighting. </p>
<p>I think a bike is a good idea, but there’s no way to plan an exit in advance because there’s really no way to know with certainty which routes out of the City will be open in any given emergency.</p>
<p>In NYC, shelters will be announced on an ad hoc basis. Again, where the shelter is will depend on the nature of the emergency. That’s why you’ll need a radio.</p>
<p>I do have a bicycle, which is great, but my main mobility obstacle is my animals. In this case, my dog, who is over 60 pounds and won’t fit on a bicycle with me, and I would not be leaving him or any of them behind under any circumstances.</p>
<p>The advise to pack a backpack is an excellent one. Make sure you have any medication you take, glasses or contact lenses/solution if you wear them, and extra cell phone batteries (remember to charge periodically). If you have a smartphone switch to airplane mode to save battery life unless you absolutely need wi-fi. If you have family in the area make sure you have a meeting point. Don’t rely on cel-phone coverage to make contact. In a natural disaster you may have contact, in an attack probably not.</p>
<p>Sadly, if we have to evacuate the kids and I go one direction and DH has to go another. We do have a long term meeting place, provisions, etc. It’s not nice to think about but once you have a plan you do feel better.</p>