Being prepared for anything is a must these days. With hurricanes wreaking havoc all over the world, or the fires in California, it makes me really want to prepare for something. Watching the news, these are the questions that have been going through my mind lately when I see disasters. I'm sure I'll be adding to this list of questions over time.
Pets:
What do I do with my pets in an emergency?
Can I bring them with me to where ever I am evacuating?
If not, where can I bring them?
If I am staying home, do I have enough food for them for multiple days of being stuck in the house?
Thankfully, a lot of animal shelters and vets will open their doors to pets if need be. Plus, some emergency shelters will allow you to bring your pets with you. Each town will be different though and you should know where to go a head of time.
Kids: (for me it's my nieces and nephew, but most will apply when I have children of my own)
Where will we go if we need to leave?
Do I have enough food and drinks in the house for the kids?
Do I have anything to entertain them? (yes, I know!)
Where are all the flash lights and batteries? Do I need more?
Where can I charge our cell phones so we can use them if we need them?
Other:
If someone needs medicine, do I have enough? Where can I get more if we are out?
If we lose power, how long until the food is no good in the fridge/freezer?
Do we have enough propane for the grill so we can cook if we lose power?
If it snows, can we get to the snowblower/shovels? Can we get to the wood pile for heat?
Do I have enough gas in the cars in case we have to leave?
Can I access water? If the pipes freeze or get turned off, will I have enough bottled water to flush the toilets or wash things? Note: during a snow storm, our water was turned off (water main break! yikes) so we heated up a pot of snow to have to flush our toilets.
Is the generator set up properly?
Good websites/apps for info
- WMUR app. I have this installed on my cell and it updates me constantly on everything!
- Call 211 for non-emergency information!
- Massachusetts Alerts app put out by MEMA.
- Check MEMA.com or FEMA.com
- https://www.mass.gov/be-prepared-for-emergencies-and-disasters has some great info!
- Follow local police on social media (not just your town but surrounding towns and state police)
- Join local facebook groups to get updates from other people
- https://safety.macaronikid.com/articles/5993b3151f397745e4eb090c/september-is-national-preparedness-month
- https://www.popsugar.com/moms/photo-gallery/35948232/image/35948233
Tips:
- Buy items you will use that don't need to be refrigerated, in case you lose power.
- Have a car charger or portable chargers for your cell phones. We bought 3 at Walmart last year for like $5! They charged our cell phones and kindles a few times before we needed to charge them (which we just plugged them into the car charger or brought to work with us)
- Make lists on your cell. I use the memo app that is on my smart phone. I have one list for where certain things are in the house (extra batteries, flash lights, candles, etc). I have another one with links to specific websites that will update frequently. I have another with if we need to evacuate, what I should bring.
- Call 211 if you need information about shelters, getting medicine, needing transportation, where to get food, etc. Basically all non-emergency questions should go through 211
- download WMUR (NH) and Massachusetts Alerts apps onto your cell phone
