Emergency evacuation is imminent when your home is in the path of destruction. If a natural or man-made crisis is threatening your safety, you should get as far away as possible as you need for full safety. A successful emergency evacuation requires proper planning.
The best way to prepare for an emergency evacuation is to have everything packed and ready to grab. Everything covered in this article is a must and should be included in your prepping plan. When disaster hits, make sure you don’t have to scramble around looking for the following:
People
This is the first “P” and the most important one when it comes to emergency evacuation. It includes your family and any loved ones in your vicinity. You have to make sure you are able to contact everyone before disaster hits. They should be able to follow a simple plan to get home or to the nearest safety point. When disaster hits, most of your family members could be at work, school or any other facility that is prone to social chaos. If possible, go gather everyone and keep in touch with them constantly.
Papers
There are a lot of important documents in your home that need to be taken care of. When emergency evacuation is imminent, you need to have all your documents in order. You should have multiple copies and place them in your bug out binder. The binder you chose should be easy to care and have laminated pages with easy access. Here is what you should have:
- Copies of medical records for all family members
- Health insurance cards
Binding contracts- Living wills
- Divorce papers
- Child custody paper
- Lease or rental agreements
- Insurance policies
- Important receipts
- Firearm serial numbers
- Concealed weapon permit
- Diplomas
- Military documents
- Social security cards
- Birth certificates
- Passport
- Driver license
Pets
If emergency evacuation is triggered, in order to protect your pets you must take them with you. Animals left behind during a crisis can easily be lost or injured. Since your pets are like family member, you should plan in advance for them as well. Consider friends of family outside the affected area who can take in your pets. Bugging out with pets is a difficult decision. A lot depends on how you plan to get out of doge. If you go by vehicle and your pet has to be carried, there aren’t complications.
However, if you get by foot and your pet cannot walk on its own, you may be forced to leave the pet behind. It’s a heart breaking decision, but the additional weight of your pet can slow you down. It would make the bugging out process more tiring and put you in danger.
Related article: Saving Pets During Disasters
Prescriptions
The elderly or your kids might need specific medication. You won’t be able to get those without the proper prescriptions. Besides the prescriptions, there is also medical equipment that some people may need. If that’s the case, don’t forget to also bring the batteries and power cords. Eyeglasses and hearing aids are also vital for some people. It may not be obvious at first, but you need to have backup solution for these types of items. You are used to see them every day and you will develop a false sense of safety. Think about how would your family members survive during austere times.
Provisions
Anyone who plans to evacuate needs to carefully plan a bug out bag for each family member. Emergency evacuation is a less stressful process if you have a good bug out bag. Collect clothes for the season, food, water and any survival gear that helps you survival. Your bug out bag should be designed to help you survive in any type of environment. However, there is no use in preparing a state of art bug out bag if you don’t know how to use it.
A brand new, bug out bag is useless since it doesn’t come with instruction notes. Learn how to use your bug out bag on the field and test each items you’re bringing along. You don’t need any surprises during an emergency evacuation and that’s certainly not the time to figure out how things work.
Personal needs
There are no two people alike and we all have our needs. What may seem disposable for you may be vital to the person right next to you. There are people with disabilities and there are people with access and/or functional needs. There are persons with limitations that need certain items to function properly. If you have a 90 year old mother and a bad back, you won’t be able to strap her to your back an travel for a few miles.
And last but not least, there are moody kids that cannot go throughout the day without their favorite toys, video games or snacks. The last thing you want to deal with during an emergency evacuation is your kid crying because you forget his teddy bear.
Protection items
When it comes to self-defense, there is always a big debate about this topic. Some prefer firearms, while others prefer no-lethal defensive items. Regardless your views on this topic, you must be prepared for when evacuation is necessary. Stick to the items you know how to use and the ones you’re comfortable using. In a perfect world, the authorities would still be present during an emergency evacuation. However, this is not a perfect world and you have to think about your safety. If things get harsh and supplies run low, you might have to defend what’s yours.
Suggested article: 5 guns every prepper should own
Priceless items
This may not seem important for your prepping plans, but you might want to reconsider. If you have a watch collection that’s worth more than your home, would you live it behind? I know a hardcore prepper that has a collectibles dolls collection that’s worth thousands of dollars. He told me that he’s bringing it with him if he will be forced to bug out.
Not because it has sentimental value, but because he could sell it and rebuild his life if his home is destroyed. Besides the valuable items that you could sell if you’re forced to do so, think about the other priceless items. If you have time and space to spare in your bug out bag, bring photographs, irreplaceable mementos and other valuables.
In preparation for an emergency evacuation, make sure all the above things are covered. Make a list with all the items you need or want to take with you if you are forced to evacuate. Put the survival basics on top of the emergency evacuation list. Review and update your list every year so that it remains specific to your circumstances.
Preparedness and Survival solutions recommended for you:
SPEC OPS Shooting (A Green Beret’s guide to combat and shooting and active shooter defense)
The LOST WAYS (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)
Survival MD (Knowledge to survive any medical crisis situation)
Blackout USA (EMP survival and preparedness guide)