I added a US blog to my reading list just to see if it was of any interest. This was one day last week - made me smile as it was titled "50 items for your evacuation bag".
Bag? You'd need a blinkin' big truck!
Having a grab bag seems like a good idea with wild fires forcing people to evacuate homes at short notice, but I can manage without number 13!
- Case of water
- Cash/credit cards
- ALL of your prescription medications (if your house burns down, it can be difficult to get replacement refills)
- Laptop/charging cord
- Cell phone/charging cord
- Important documents (passports, birth certificates, marriage/divorce/military/immigration docs, etc)
- All of your files backed up on a thumb drive
- Copies of financial/insurance/other important records
- A paper map of your city/state
- A video tour of your entire home for insurance purposes
- Any irreplaceable heirlooms
- Jewelry
- Firearms/ammo/holster/pepper spray
- Pets/carrier/leash/food/meds/water bowl, etc
- Shoes/couple of changes of clothes for each family member
- Toiletry kit for each family member/makeup/sunglasses
- A bag of snacks and easy to prepare food/MREs/etc
- Can opener/utensils, plate and bowl for each person
- Insulated cooler
- Wet Wipes/hand sanitizer
- Kleenex/paper towels
- Ziploc bags
- Notebook and pen/envelope for receipts
- Camping gear (sleeping bags, tent, cooking gear, mess kits, water purifier, etc)
- Necessary health aids: dentures/hearing aids and charger/cane/wheel chair/glasses/contacts/etc
- Stuff for infant/baby/toddler if applicable (diapers, wipes, bottles, food, formula, favorite toys, etc)
- Stuff for elderly or infirm family members (diapers, CPAP, feminine hygiene products, etc)
- Throw blankets
- Weather appropriate clothing (coat, hat, gloves in the winter)
- Tablets for each family member with pre-loaded books, movies, games, etc
- Headphones or earbuds for each family member
- Battery banks to recharge phones
- Portable battery bank and solar panel kit
- Battery box jumper for car battery
- Portable air compressor for tires
- Other entertainment options: coloring books/crayons, puzzle books, playing cards, etc
- Small AM/FM radio/extra batteries
- First aid kit/sunscreen/bug spray/umbrella
- Vehicle emergency kit
- Flashlights/extra batteries
- Portable toilet kit/wag bags
- PPEs (nitrile gloves, N95 masks, goggles, leather work gloves, etc)
- Basic tool kit (hammer, pliers, wrench, screwdrivers, etc)
- Spare tire/jack
- Fire extinguisher
- Signal material (flares, whistle, etc)
- Specialized radios: NOAA weather, HAM radio
- Compass
- Knife and/or multi tool
- Other: paracord, duct tape, tarp, zipties, sewing kit, matches
How many of these things do people really have in a grab/go/bug out bag?
Reads like a kit to go off grid or out in the wilderness somewhere!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely more than just a bag needed!
Deletewhen a disaster happens you Are off grid--no power, no food, no water, no home. You will be hungry and cold and out of communication touch.
DeleteThis is why I don’t read American blogs, I simply cannot understand the language, they are indeed a different culture altogether. You would need a double decker bus for that lot. Sandra.
ReplyDeleteI read several and count them as blog friends - it's good to get a different outlook on things happening.
DeleteRemember that we are a huge country and that we are not all the same. Honestly we are in a deep divide with 30% supporting our government and 70% not. I imagine she made an exhaustive list for people to pick what would be important to them. I don't have babies or older people, so that stuff would be deleted. But I would definitely add a pack of cards. It's a good jumping off point to start a bag. There were some things that I hadn't even considered that might be important.
DeleteI got fed up before the end of the list, why would you preload a tablet with books and films, surely you would not have enough power to charge it, and then number 16, makeup, really. I to try and keep away from some of the madder American blogs.
ReplyDeleteThankfully there are many ordinary people in the US blogging - Just this list that amazed me
DeleteI wonder if that blogger really keeps all that ready - perhaps in a spare SUV in the spare garage?
ReplyDeleteI can't even remember where I saw it now - such a long list!
DeleteAll the fires this summer have made me think that perhaps I ought to draw up a list of what to put in my grab bag, should I need one. It definitely won't be all that lot!
ReplyDeleteSorry, forgot to add my name!
DeleteYou'll laugh as mine included my Dissertation!!!
ReplyDeleteI would think that would be very important!
DeleteWow! I am totally unprepared according to this list. Is all of it really necessary? Each to their own I suppose :)
ReplyDeleteGail
This is a crazy list!! Maybe I should keep my Travel Scrabble and camping cutlery in my car at all times! I follow a few blogs by genuine friends in the USA. But a lot of the blogs/YouTubers across the pond are fakes or AI generated (as are some in the UK) they are monetised 'clickbait'. I avoid those - particularly ones purporting to be "preppers" who are deliberately playing on people's fears, in order to make profit for themselves.
ReplyDeleteWhile this list may seem over the top to us in the UK, I think unless you live in the USA, it is very hard to judge what may be necessary. There are vast areas dedicated to farming or forestry for instance, where your nearest neighbour may be miles away and the grocery store is a two hour journey away. Services that are provided by local councils etc. here are just not available to people in the USA which is why many people rely on local churches for support. It must be rather scary to have wildfires, tornadoes etc. heading in your direction when you have no assistance near at hand. Essie.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I live in Southern California where wildfires and earthquakes are the norm.
DeleteI wouldn't bother with a lot of that. Who needs make-up in an emergency, and surely if you've got all your documents backed up you don't need paper copies too, maybe those mentioned at No. 6 but no others. If I have my bag and my phone I'm half-way to surviving a lot of stuff, I'd just chuck my tablets in and grab a couple of bottles of water ... I love that predictive text just said 'vodka' when I tapped in 'water'. 😄
ReplyDeleteI take away with me (on holiday in this country) a windup radio to check on power cuts etc backup power packs, a portable light. These are left in the car. Other than that, like you I would grab my bag, phone, medication and a powerful torch. I wonder how we would react to a fire in the building when you are advised not to stop to collect belongings. Does your predictive text know about secret drinking habits 😉😉
DeleteThat’s a huge list isn’t it?
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
The author is Cash Only Living from Las Vegas.
ReplyDeleteI would never be ready - too much to gather.I've never thought of most of these things but luckily I have never had to evacuate...
ReplyDeleteHello. As an American living in Southern California this list is quite normal. We are all advised to have an earthquake emergency kit. My kit is ready to go and is easily accessible if needed. Maybe this list seems odd to you folks since you don’t have earthquakes. Take care, Pat
ReplyDeleteAs for #13, I'm glad you have no need for a firearm. But much of America is still quite rural with vast wilderness beyond, filled with dangerous predators. We have plenty of wolves, mountain lions, and bears here in Montana. Be glad you have never found yourself with a lion on your doorstep or facing down a grizzly bear while checking on your ducks. A firearm is just a tool and most predators will flee at the sound of one. I will agree that the pepper spray / bear spray is quite useless. You are more likely to get in on yourself than on the bear.
ReplyDeleteI'd need a small moving van to take everything on this list.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, I do not live in an area where, fire, earthquakes, floods, and landslides occur and have never been told to evacuate.
Over time, there have been reports of building fire retardant and earthquake proof homes and buildings. Maybe this is happening in some locations. I am not sure but think it is a very good idea for earthquake and fire prone areas. Hopefully people rebuilding are considering this.
You're joking- take that stuff in a grab bag - not sure I'd be doing any grabbing - more likely dragging, I don't have enough room in the house for that lot, and how big is this bag meant to be - definitely Tardis design. Water, tablets and money, cards and important documents, topped up phones and lantern with batteries, one which winds up (and my Fire tablet), and I keep the car topped up regularly. Just about it for me. However I don't live in a dangerous zone, or a vastly unpopulated area so maybe I'd think differently if I did. Elaine
ReplyDeleteIt's an eye-opener to realise how fragile life can be in the face of fire, flood, volcano, earthquake. We are fortunate in UK to live without much likelihood of most of these happening, though I know some areas flood far too readily.
ReplyDeleteI live in Northern California and we have had two major fires 2017 and 2019. I have a backpack with our important papers by the front door. It would be helpful to have the rest (.except the gun, not a fan of firearms) but have the papers. Also a list on the door to grab the meds and phone,charger etc. a friend of my husband had his bag packed and by the door and had no time to grab it as his house was already on fire so he got with his life which is all the mattered. And of course we live on a major earthquake fault so there’s that! Lini in Petaluma .
ReplyDeleteWe get a list like this every year when hurricane season starts. One takes what one needs from the list. When i evacuated for hurricanes we took two Jeeps filled w supplies and still didn't have what all we needed. I left home in shorts, a few days later it snowed, I was so unprepared. /// Cash and full tanks of gas are essential. [you won't be able to refill your car's gas tank if there is prolonged power outage.] We did not have looting etc after H Sandy but to return to my island we had to show PAPER copies of who we were and where we lived. Each car was stopped and the police asked for ID for everyone in the cars. I personally do not own firearms or know anyone who does, I d think best if the firearms were kept at home unless there was an issue as above of wildlife confrontation.
ReplyDeleteYou don't know how hard it is to leave and not know if you can ever return--until it happens. Try not to judge. PS there will be NO cell service or wifi, possibly even where you evacuate to. A preloaded book on one's Kindle is very comforting when you're suddenly homeless. You won't want to read on your phone, you'll need it for emergencies. The battery packs last only so long. We had no power for at least 3 weeks here. Again, try not to judge so harshly.
I wasn't!!!
DeleteHer 'go bag' is crazily impractical.
ReplyDeleteAre people supposed to have all those things ready? I suppose if you live in an area that evacuations do happen in on a regular basis it makes sense. Minus shotguns!
ReplyDeleteWe have to have a go-bag due to wildfires. We certainly don't have all of that. For me, as long as I have my husband, and cat I'm good. We've had a good summer when it comes to fire. Probably because of the past decade of fires.
ReplyDelete