The Costco Connection - September 2015

for your health

By Barbara Bronson Gray

IT’S NOT IF, but when. Whether it’s a wildfire, a tornado, a bad storm, an earthquake or another major emergency, experts say that it’s likely you’ll someday have to leave your home quickly and under a lot of pressure. Are you ready?

Most of us aren’t. We tend to procrastinate and figure we’ll deal with the situation when it happens. But that doesn’t work so well. You’ll be sorry if you don’t have what you need when it’s time to evacuate, says Daniel Nyquist, a Denver, Colorado-based community preparedness officer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

It’s smart to create a “go bag” for every member of your family, including your pets, says Nyquist: “It’s something highly portable you can grab quickly to ensure you’ll have what you need until you get to a shelter or are settled somewhere else.”

Think short- and long-term

Think about what you’ll want for a few nights, but also consider important paperwork you may need to get back on your feet should your home be destroyed or damaged, he adds. Gather your proof of address, the deed or lease to your home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies, and tax and banking information, for example.

“Practice truly makes perfect,” says
Nyquist. “Just putting together a go bag helps
you think through the process and what you’ll
need, training your brain to respond.”
Ask Teresa Citarella, of Arlington, Texas.
When she moved from New York to Houston,
she had no idea what to expect from the local
weather, but after attending a safety fair she
packed a go bag, just in case. After a tornado
hit her neighborhood, she was prepared. The
windows and roof of her home were dam-
aged, and she and her children had to leave
suddenly. “The go bag was in the closet. I took
the bag with us, and we used it,” she says.

Ken Persinger, who lives in Cambria, California, and Eugene, Oregon, learned how to pack a go bag several years ago when he was a river guide, sleeping in a different place along the river every night. All of his personal items had to be kept in a highly-portable, rugged tote. He once was driven out of camp by a massive wildfire that quickly overtook his group, but his bag was ready to go.

Pack to your specific needs

Ever since, Persinger and his wife, Kathy, have each kept a go bag by the door. He has packed prescription medications, hearing aid batteries, a solar charger for cellphones and other electronic devices, sunscreen and a hat, and a short checklist to remind him of things he’ll need to grab on his way out, like the laptop he uses every day.

His bag also includes a first-aid kit, an
over-the-counter pain reliever, extra glasses,
eye covers and ear plugs (for getting sleep in a
shelter situation), a pocket
knife, headlamp, flashlight
and batteries, clothes, an N95
(respirator style) or surgical mask,
cash and even a bag for dirty laundry.

For his dog, Simon, there’s pet food already packed in the car and a leash ready on top of the go bag. Simon also has an implanted chip and a tag on his collar with contact information, just in case he gets separated from the Persingers during an emergency.

Nyquist says some people prefer to keep their go bags in the car, and may have one at work too.

Have a family conversation

Jim Judge, an emergency management director with the American Red Cross in Volusia County, Florida, and a Costco mem-

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