Two of the most common reasons to evacuate your home, workplace, or any other safe area are flood and fire. In the Los Angeles area, nearly 90,000 people were evacuated due to the Blue Cut wildfire that is virtually out of control, still. Where do 90,000 people go? That’s the first question that crosses my mind. Are they all headed to hotels? The homes of friends or family? How many have nowhere to go and can’t afford even a single night in a hotel?
We have seen Louisiana residents slammed with massive amounts of rainfall. They’ve been forced from their homes, too, and at least 10,000 of them have had no choice but to stay in official shelters. Vehicles, ruined gardens, family heirlooms, brand new school supplies — gone.
Flood and fire all too often mean a complete loss of everything. Can you imagine losing all the contents of your home? Take a quick scan right now and think, what if I lost all of this? That must be one of the most devastating feelings anyone can experience — to watch as your home fills with water or is consumed by flames.
Yes, we care!
At this point, those of us who are safe and sound can help by providing financial assistance directly to organizations that have reputations for managing their money well and quickly getting on the ground to meet the needs of those affected by the disaster.
Organizations like the American Red Cross definitely have trained personnel and funding, but sometimes it’s just the little random church or scout group who load up pickups and trailers with cases of bottled water, blankets, baby formula, tents, tarps, and rope, and form a rag-tag caravan to more quickly deliver the goods where they’re needed most. They hit the road using their own debit cards along the way at gas stations and fast food joints, neither expecting nor wanting reimbursement.
That’s the America I know and that I grew up in. We’re there for each other when it’s needed most, and what you look like or what you believe is immaterial.
Here are a few links to organizations that have good reputations for managing their funds wisely and being able to provide the most essential help, quickly:
American Red Cross in Louisiana — Local chapters of American Red Cross are quite good at mobilizing quickly and utilizing local resources.
Operation Blessing
And what about FEMA and the massive amount of money they have at their disposal? I just heard that FEMA is finally getting to Louisiana to provide help. A day late and a dollar short.
Get out quick when it matters most
Unfortunately, once we donate that $10 or whatever we can afford, there’s not a whole lot more to do except step back and give serious thought to, “What if that happened to us?”
Could you and everyone in your home, pets included, get out fast when it matters most? Have you thought ahead to where you would go and do you have some funds set aside to pay for that hotel room or those meals at Subway? You must take your pets with you — please don’t even consider leaving them to their lonely and fearful fate. It’s easy enough to put together a pet emergency kit, like the one detailed in this article. Even a couple of large Ziploc bags loaded with dry dog or cat food and a plastic bowl for water is better than nothing.
TIP- Evacuation gets much more complicated with a horse or other large animal. Learn about how to handle large animal evacuation safely.
When I wrote my latest book, Emergency Evacuation: Get Out Fast When It Matters Most, these are the scenarios I had in mind. It’s a quick read. Probably won’t take you more than a couple of hours, but I loaded it up with the kind of help, advice, and tools that I would want if my family ever had to vamoose out of our home. I also knew that my readers would have pets, babies, toddlers, and even handicapped loved ones to consider — so I made sure to include advice for those special situations as well. Get it in Kindle if you want to start reading and preparing and don’t want to wait for the paperback to arrive.
Probably the most important thing you can do right now is to make plans to evacuate. This isn’t a time for perfection. Man, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen into the trap of not taking care of something important because I had this idea in my head of how it should be and I didn’t have the money, the time, whatever to do it perfectly. Fill those Ziplocs with pet food. Buy a cheap case of water bottles and have it near the back door ready to grab. Go through your drawers and closets and put together an outfit or two for each person and put them in The Evacuation Suitcase, The Evacuation Bucket, or whatever else you have handy.
TIPS- Check out these non-traditional containers for your bug out bag or emergency kit that maybe you haven’t considered.
This isn’t time for coordinated outfits or dithering over which suitcase to use. Just get ready! You can always go back and make improvements, but if you ever have to get out fast, you may not have time to do any of this. That’s how urgently some of these emergencies occur. Remember to pack up the non-edible items. Here are ten items that will make everyday life more comfortable, whatever your emergency.
I hope I’ve given you a huge nudge to put basic plans in place. I hope you, me, none of us ever have to experience the terror and bewilderment of an emergency evacuation, but if we do, the plans and supplies that are in place will make it less traumatic. Bugging out can be better organized than you might think. Learn how to- Organize Your Emergency Evacuation in 5 Simple Steps.
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Survival Mom, PLEASE read Ted Koppel’s book, Lights Out. Alarming information about the Red Cross, FEMA, and such agencies where they are not reliable. Apparently Red Cross trucks drove around after Katrina, EMPTY, just to make it appear as they were helping. We need to make sure people have a plan and do not depend on such agencies. God Bless the ones with truthful, sincere hearts that are willing to help.
I’m not a fan of American Red Cross. However, local chapters CAN do very good work. It probably depends on politics and who’s in charge, unfortunately.
I reviewed Ted Koppel’s book a while back and thought it was quite good.
Thanks for reminding everyone to include their pets. They depend on us.
Lost my home and most of my possesions in the Louisiana flooding. Got out with my wife and dog and a few possesions. We were trapped in a Walmart parking lot for 24 hours along with a few hundred other people. A big thanks to the military folks that evacuated us. Also thanks to the folks at the shelter who gave us a dry place to stay and food to eat. Last but not least to all thoses small church’s, charities and individuals that brought hot meals and gave out supplies in the neighborhoods while we sre trying to pick up the pieces of our lives. I may never see any of these folks again, but I thank God for there love and kindness.
I would like to see an article about preparing to fight a fire in one’s home, after a collapse when the fire dept is no longer functioning. We have several fire extinguishers, smoke & heat detectors. Using a garden hose is going to depend on whether we have water pressure. We have lots of water stored. Is there anything else we can do to prepare to fight a fire in our home?