Message #53923

[countrigal]

My plan depends on the disaster.  Most that I deal with are tornados or flooding, normally due to the hurricanes hitting the coast.  In my camper, I have a camping stove that works off of bottled gas, along with canned or dried foods, bottled water, extra blankets and clothes, etc.  If we have to evacuate, we would hook up to the camper and take that all with us, along with the fire-proof box with all our important papers in it, probably some momentos (ie: pictures), some more clothes, and as much food from my freezer as we could pack into the coolers, because even if they thaw faster than we could eat it, we would have something to share with others in need.

If we don't have to evacuate, then I have bottled water in the house next to my box of important papers in an interrior room, along with some canned and dried goods.  I have a generator that can feed my house electricity enough to keep my refrigerator going (if it's still there) and another cooking stove is kept in the house that runs off of bottled gas, in case the camper's no longer there.

The only time I've had to implement any type of plan was the ice storm in Little Rock, AR that kept us without power for 6+ days.  I had a wood burning fireplace, and plenty of wood kept in the back yard, so I had heat.  I blocked off the front room, so we were living in the one room, able to keep it heated easier.  Cooked on the cooking stove, kept the freezer closed as it had plenty of ice in it and it was in a cold section of the house, so nothing thawed there, and any new stuff was placed outside in the cold to keep frozen.  I had a gas hot-water heater, so we could shower, though the bathroom was chilly when you got out, even with the hot coals placed in there to warm the room prior to and during the shower.  All in all, I weathered that 'disaster' better than a lot of folks, mainly because I had my plan and stuck to it.  Had friends stay with us, since they had no way to heat their home, so we basically had a slumber party that week.  I enjoyed it really.  I guess growing up in South Dakota, where you could get blizzarded in at any time, lose power for who knows how long with any snowstorm, and have any other problems arise from the weather really prepared me for these types of issues.  I keep a well-stocked pantry, plenty of frozen foods and plenty of ice (in bags, milk cartons, etc), and plenty of bottled gas to run my cooking stoves and/or grill.

At work, there is a Disaster Contingency Plan for almost any type of disaster you could imagine, since we're a hospital and can be involved in any number of scenarios.  My role is the same for any of them -- if I'm at work, I could be called upon to assist in any number of ways and need to be prepared to do so.  If I'm at home, they may call me in to assist, but not very likely since I'm not clinical.

CountriGal
Peer Moderator