Beans & LegumesWhat’s Your Grab-N-Go Plan?
While each potential disaster that you face will present it’s own unique challenges that you should plan for; with every disaster you need to determine if it’s going to require that you “Shelter-in-Place” or “Grab-n-Go”. If you’re facing a situation where you determine that you need to Grab-n-Go. There are a few fundamental things that you should plan on.
My brother is a member of a national emergency response team, USAR (Urban Search & Rescue), from the devastation of the World Trade Centers to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he’s been sent in to deal with the after math.
In talking to him about Katrina he indicated that the items most people had wished they had above all else was Water, Food & Fuel. He indicated that a large majority were operating under the fallacy that in an emergency situation the government would be able to provide everyone with these necessities.
In a Grab-n-Go situation, take the following suggestions to get the most out of your plan:
1. Do Not Delay. If you decide you need to get out of town you need to have the mind set of getting out as quickly as possible. You don’t want to be stuck with the masses in bumper to bumper traffic in the middle of the freeway consuming what fuel you have while your vehicle sits idle. The rule of thumb here is that you make the appropriate plans to mitigate this possibility understanding that in some disasters it may be inevitable. It makes good sense to always keep your fuel level above half a tank. You should also have a couple of Fuel Containers on hand.
2. Know your destination - How severe is the disaster? Did it impact just your house, your neighborhood, your city, your state? You should designate destinations that are safely out of the disaster area but minimize the amount of travel required. If only your neighborhood was impacted, don’t waste time and effort traveling across state if it can be avoided.
3. Identify Alternative Routes - Take the time to identify multiple routes and take the time to drive these routes before hand. Using Google Map is a great start to laying out your routes, but it’s just a start. Driving your routes will give you a better understanding of which routes are likely to be congested or present other challenges.
4. Have Your Supplies Ready – When the time to act has arrived, the time to prepare is over. Not only should already have your food, water and emergency supplies already purchased, but you should also have them packaged, secured and in a place that’s easily accessible. There’s a reason we use the term Grab-n-Go. It’s not, Run-To-The-Store-Really-Quick-Throw-Some-Things-Together-And-Then-Go.
Don’t put off getting your Grab-n-Go plan put into place. Create a plan, write it down, get supplies and do a dry run and put you in your family in the best position possible to weather the storm!
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I agree.
However, the problem (especially with #1) is that you can’t be too “trigger happy” with your assesment to leave the area. Neither can you dither on the decision. You need to indentify (somehow) specific criteria that if met means you must leave ASAP.
If you leave too soon you risk wasting resources at best. And while better safe that sorry is a nice concept, the reality is I don’t think your boss will be too happy if you suddenly disappear for days or weeks at a time several times a year!
Like wise, if you wait until the emergency is obvious by then it will also probably be obvious to all your neighbors and the route out will be jammed with thousands or millions of other people.
I don’t have an answer. Still working on it myself.
July 13th, 2010 at 9:07 pmSomething else I thought of: Papers.
You should have your most important paperwork in folder or envelope you can grab and go.
Things like birth ceritifcates, marriage licenses, passports (for ID if nothing else), POA, at least a copy of titles, etc.
July 28th, 2010 at 9:31 amAs a recent consumer of Ready, we have concentrated on this Grab N Go idea. It was not easy to spend several hundreds of dollars on Emergency kits, however, when they arrived last week it felt like Christmas! We took everything out and we’re very pleased at the quality of the backpacks (deluxe 72 hour for 4) and the products included. Since I’m pretty sure none of us will “savor” the ration bars I included a 3 day supply of complete MRE meals and water in our order.
I just had to taste something so I tried the Peanut Butter and crackers. They are great!
I would definitely recommend getting one of the kits. Think about including pet food for your four-legged, feathered, etc. family members.
Now we need to map out several evacuation plans, and get our papers in order. Then try it out in practice. We are very fortunate where we live we are safe from hurricanes and major earthquakes, Major dust storms, outlying fires, and occasional freezing temperatures is our worst. However one housefire can ruin anyone’s life. Knowing I can grab and go important things is some security.
August 24th, 2010 at 3:28 pmI am happy to hear that you are happy with the supplies that you have received. We at The Ready Store do our best to strive for the highest quality goods, and by doing that when the emergency supplies are needed you will not be dealing with any broken or low quality goods.
September 10th, 2010 at 10:56 amHappy Thanksgiving. Thank you for the perspective.
November 25th, 2010 at 11:20 pmWe’re not in a hurricane or coastal/flood plain area. I work 20 miles away and wife works from home. mainly concentrate on a shelter/defend at home strategy, keeping provisions/supplies in each vehicle to ensure/expedite safe return to home, however any new advice greatly appreciated. Also, really appreciate your Saratoga Farms products. We aren’t wealthy people and the economical as well as space saving attributes of these products over Mountain House, as well as greater availability is greatly appreciated. God bless you all for what you do.
April 24th, 2011 at 9:32 pmBesides planning for your human family don’t forget to have supplies prepared for your pets. Food, extra water, leash or carry containers, etc. I have a rotating 6 month supply of food at home as well.
April 24th, 2011 at 9:53 pmI am still sorting through your products and matching to my needs as to what to purchase. While comparing your products and prices to others, I generally find the prices to be reasonable for what is being offered. Nicely done by the way.
As to advice, Most of what your site has shared is pretty sensible, The one off about water purification, because of the fairness to let others post against what was being recommended and the why the information was getting some negative input was fair, so I will still recommend your site to others.
April 25th, 2011 at 6:40 amWe have been filling softdrink two-liter bottles with water for some time now. People do no thnik that the water will stop flowing, but why take the chance. If an emergency happens, where will you get your water? If you do not have to move, you will be prepared, and if you do have to move, you can take a lot of water with you.
April 25th, 2011 at 9:07 amRegarding water purification; the best solution I have found is gravity fed water filter. The R.S. offers a Katadyn model, I had not noticed this product in their line up before I purchased my Berkey Filter. I will research and may add the Katadyn to my stock. The 39,000 gallon capacity per filter is astonishing. I believe that the Berkey unit filters out “everything”, including VOC’s and viruses. The Katadyn “appears” to require purification tablets to kill any viruses, but since the Katadyn filters last 6.5 times longer; I could get used to boiling water if needed..
April 25th, 2011 at 1:57 pmCAN YOU EXPAND ON ” SHELTER-IN -PLACE” PLEASE
From The Ready Store:
Shelter in place is the situation where you are “hunkering down” in a spot and setting up for a longer term stay. Grab N Go is the situation where you are fleeing the emergency and need mobile solutions since you are moving (on the go).
Hope this helps!
April 25th, 2011 at 7:16 pmNo doubt many of you have been hearing about or experiencing the rash of heavy rainfall and tornadoes that have been impacting much of the Midwest and states farther east and south. Too many lives and too many homes have been lost in the past several days as a result. Perhaps you have already seen news footage of the direct hit by a tornado at the St. Louis airport last Friday night. Please say a prayer for those who were affected during these times.
Fortunately, the loss of life has been minimized by improved weather forecasting techniques and abilities to notify the public in advance as soon as possible. One thing for certain, the approach and destruction of a tornado happens so quickly, there is NO time to spare for gathering supplies. Seeking shelter nearby is the ONLY thing a person should be concerned about when seconds count.
Another product of the recent storms is the tremendous amount of rainfall received along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, including those regions that ultimately drain into those rivers. That water will flow past Cairo, IL (pronounced KAY-ro, not KIE-ro, as in Egypt!) where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers come together. A series of levees have been protecting towns and farmland around here for about 80 years. Unfortunately, the accumulation of heavy rains we have all been experiencing over so much of the eastern half of the country has (not quite) slowly brought up those rivers to above flood stage levels. This has strained many levees and despite sandbagging efforts locally, there have been a few breaches in various places.
Tonight, we have word that Major Gen. Michael Walsh, of the Mississippi River Commission and the Army Corp of Engineers, has announced that plans are underway to blow the northern end of the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway levee on the Missouri side to alleviate flooding concerns at Cairo, IL. People who live along the Floodway are being told they will have some warning to evacuate their homes before the detonation, expected by this Saturday. “There is no Plan B,” Walsh said. Over 130,000 acres of prime farmland will then be lost in Missouri, perhaps for generations to come, due to the amount of sand that will be deposited as a result. For those people who live there, this will not be a “Grab-N-Go” event, but rather a total removal of everything they own from a home that will probably not be there to return to.
Southeast Missouri has always been known as “Swampeast Missouri”, because our area is so flat and was at one time actually a swamp. Around the dawn of the 20th Century, our area was drained by a network of generally north-south drainage ditches, spaced approximately one every mile as one travels east-west. Usually this system is capable of handling most any heavy rainfall events. However, this past week’s total has been more than these ditches and rivers could handle, and every day the locally accumulated water has backed out into the fields that now look like lakes. The area’s corn crop was already up and growing prior to the flooding, and is now presumed lost.
We do thank God that we have thus far been spared any major damamge in our immediate area from tornadoes. While our own home is completely surrounded by water, it is high enough that water will most likely not rise high enough to come inside. There are people, however, that have not been that fortunate. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
April 27th, 2011 at 9:44 pmWow Dave, no doubt you and all of the people out there will be in our prayers.
That is the tough thing about disasters is you can plan and get what you believe to be ready and sometimes curveballs are thrown (in the case of the people living along the Floodway) and nothing can really be done. It can be very difficult to foresee ALL scenarios (especially ones that have never occurred) and plan for them. Hopefully good communication is being utilitized so everyone can make the best decision for their specific situation – example hopefully all the people in the floodlands learn about the detonation as soon as possible so they can pack up all of the most important items they will need to sustain life.
Best of luck to you and your family and neighbors!
Gene – Product and Marketing
April 28th, 2011 at 7:29 amThe Ready Store