7.  Leave Your Home Temporarily Disasters

 

Oh no!  There is a wild fire near your house.  OR There is a chemical spill on the freeway near your house.  OR a gas line blew up three houses down and the neighborhood gas lines are considered seriously dangerous until further notice.  OR there is a maniac holed up next door and the SWAT team is evacuating all the surrounding homes. OR – you fill in the blanks.  There is honestly potential for something to happen that would put you out of your home for a short amount of time with no consequences after a week or so. 

 

Are you prepared?

How do you get prepared?

 

If you are in a good position you might just be able to go to the home of a family member or friend and stay there a few days. 

You should take this very seriously in advance.  If there is close family in the general area you still need to talk to them about a potential emergency situation where homes might need to be shared in an emergency.  This is more than just talking.  It is setting up a definite plan in case of an emergency.  It may be that while one relative cannot take anyone into their home because of size or neighborhood restrictions, you may still be able to take them into your home.  Everyone needs to understand that in case of an emergency temporarily moving in with a relative or close friend for a few days is the plan.  It really could happen.  So, if someone is uncomfortable with that possibility becoming a reality they need to speak up in the planning stage.  Don’t wait until someone shows up on your doorstep to decide you really can’t stand having them in your home for a few days.  And you sure don’t want to show up on someone else’s door step and find out they were just kidding when they said you could stay there for a few days in an emergency. 

If your church has potential to allow people to stay there in an emergency, that needs to be set up in advance.  Many churches with space would allow faithful church families to spend a few days there.  Some even have plans for taking in general community members in a dire emergency.  Check out your options in advance.

In a situation like this other than the bare necessities for living the most important thing is for everyone to focus on getting through the situation as safely and cheerfully as possible.

 

Of course if you have a Portuguese Water Spaniel and a Saint Bernard it is going to be a little more difficult.  You have to figure out what to do with or for your pets in such a situation.

Scenario one – let’s assume you are going to an easily accessible safe place.  

This still falls into two catagories.

Category one is you get to take things from your home.

Category two is that you are out of your home and are not allowed back in until’ it is safe to return home’ – whatever that means.

 

There are several things you would need to grab in an emergency.  A hint is that it wouldn’t be you new espresso machine unless you planned to set up a stand and sell drinks until the disaster was over.

 

The first thing would be to make sure you have your hands on any child or ill family member who is in the house. 

Grab any prescription medicine and your ‘jump and run’ bag. 

If you have time grab a change of clothes.

Leave the house.

Assemble the entire family as soon as possible just to make sure you are all safe and following the plan for a temporary home evacuation. 

Thank God that you are only inconvenienced for a limited amount of time.

 

An unpleasant twist on this type of scenario is that you are not home in the first place, and you will not be allowed back into your home for several days.  This means the main part of your plan is still in effect, but you will not have the luxury of getting a few things out of your home.

 

In such a situation it would be very helpful to have a few things in your vehicle and the vehicle of each family member.  It doesn’t have to be elaborate.  A list of phone numbers for things your pharmacy would at least give you access to getting any prescription medicine filled. Phone numbers are pretty easily available now, so that isn’t as important as it used to be.  If you are good at keeping your cell phone right with you you will probably have all the phone numbers you actually need already in the phone.  Even if cell service is down the your phone numbers will be available as long as your phone is charged. On second thought, a written list of phone numbers would be a really good idea. 

A list of items that are really necessary for you on a day to day basis would be good.  That way you won’t be in Walgreens picking up a prescription but forgetting infant formula and Excedrin migraine.  I know it seems like you would remember all those things.  However, you will be knocked out of your comfort zone, and it is amazing what you can forget when you are suddenly out of your routine.  Emergency cash is good.  If you can possibly put back even $50 in small bills you will be a step ahead of the game. 

 

A money belt is a good way for some people to stash cash because it isn’t readily available for impulse buys.  For instance, I do my very best to keep $100 in my husband’s possession at all times.  His job is 40 miles from home, and he has to travel on a very congested traffic artery.  Recently he actually spent his emergency money on a WWII Japanese bayonet because it would look so good on the end of the Japanese rifle his father brought home from Japan in 1946.  There is cash hidden in his car now vacuum sealed in plastic.  He has to call me to find out where it is.  

 

It is possible to have a back-pack full of necessary things that you carry in and out of your home each time you go in and out, but that is a little extreme.  However there a few things that can be done fairly easily that will help in a disaster as well as provide potential help on a daily basis.  For instance my husband carries a lunch box every day.  He doesn’t carry his lunch, but he does carry some ice and Dr. Pepper.  The top has a zipper for sandwiches and food items.  Instead I have it stuffed full of medicine and first aid items.  He seldom uses it, but you never know when it will come in handy.  I stuff bottled water and Gator Aid under the passenger seat.  He has been stuck in traffic for three and four hours.  I don’t want him to dehydrate!  If your car stays immaculately clean then you will probably have to put things like this in appropriate size packs and boxes and store them neatly in the trunk.  Go ahead and do it.  Be careful not to spend and a fortune on the storage containers or you won’t have any money left to spend on the actual things you need.  I do stuff things under the seats, but I don’t put anything under the driver’s seat because it might roll out toward the front if the driver hits the brakes hard.  Actually, I usually tie the water and gator aid in used grocery bags.  That keeps them from rolling around, but I still don’t put anything under the driver’s seat.

 

God willing you will soon be back in your own home and your normal routine will be back in place.  Always remember to use any routine break as a learning experience.  Ask yourself questions like, ‘What was the worst thing that happened and how can I make it better next time?’  And, ‘What was the thing that went the smoothest and how can I build on that in case something like this happens again?

 

Remember to thank God for His wonderful goodness.