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You’ve got to be prepared for something or you’ll fail at everything.
We don’t usually know what kind of disaster will hit us or when it will hit us, but we can usually know what kind of weather patterns are common for where we live and therefore what kind of natural disasters we should be prepare for. September is National Preparedness Month and before it ends this weekend I wanted to make sure you’ve thought about what you could do to prepare your family just in case something happens where you live.
Where we live here in Houston, TX, we know that we need to be prepared for our hurricane season which happens every fall. We’ve learned over the years it doesn’t even have to be hurricane winds and rains to cause problems for us here in Houston. W
We’ve experienced four major natural events together in our nearly 22 years of marriage. Allison, Rita, Ike, and Harvey. The hardest ones on us personally were Ike and Harvey. For Ike we were without power for 16 days and missed 2 weeks of school and with Harvey our community was basically closed off like an island from the rest of our city and school was closed for 2 weeks again.
Water
The recommendation is one gallon of water per person per day. That’s quite a lot of water and after the event, you may not have easy access to clean drinking water. It’s always good to have some water saved up at home. It’s cheap enough to buy at the grocery store and cycle through the bottles or gallon jugs. But another good thing to have just in case is the ability to clean the water. So your choices are boiling water in which case you’ll need access to fire, a grill, or a stove or you can use a product such as a Sawyer Filtration System. Don’t forget you’ll need a way to light the stove too!
Taking a bath is extremely nice after major events. We took a few cold baths and a few lukewarm baths thanks to boiling water after Ike. They felt amazing after only towel bathing for a few days. But you’ll need to be able to have the water on hand or filter it before you bath in it. Be sure to find out if your local water is safe to use for bathing, brushing your teeth, or drinking after the event.
Food
Always buy food you will actually eat. There’s no sense in stocking up on just rice and beans if you aren’t willing to eat rice and beans for every meal. We had a good supply of canned foods and freeze-dried foods to choose from. We also did the traditional grocery store run before the hurricanes actually hit. You will not have that option for all events though because many of the natural disasters are unannounced. So stock up on some can goods or freeze-dried foods and make sure you have a can opener. If you want your food hot you’ll want to have an outdoor grill or a camping stove, just in case you don’t have power or gas available after the event.
When Ike came through we were not prepared enough. We took turns eating at our family members’ and families’ houses. We all kinda made our own potlucks where everybody brought something to eat and we put it all together on the table and called it dinner. It worked and I’m so very thankful we always had enough for everyone to eat every night.
Don’t forget the pets on your grocery story run!
First Aid/Toiletries
Stock up on your daily medicines. IF at all possible you want to have plenty around. When Ike came through we had multiple friends with asthmatic children who were unable to get access a nebulizer. Thankfully they were able to get to our house so that we could loan them our son’s nebulizer.
Keep the basic items on hand, aspirin, anti-itch creams, antiacids, and allergy medicines. Moist towelettes are good to have. We took a few “baths” by baby wipes during our events.
Another good thing to have is an ace wrap. In trying to make repairs around your property it’s not unusual to trip over something that wasn’t there before or strain muscles trying to reach out a bit too far to cut dangling limbs from trees.
*Note for the ladies, I always go ahead and buy feminine hygiene products on my grocery store run because you never know how long you might be without access to the store.*
Safety
Flashlights. Tools. Weapons. Bug spray. A fire extinguisher.
You will find that a flashlight really comforts a kid and helps entertain them too while things are not quite normal. We made a night of Toiletries shadow puppets after Ike while we were all laying on the living room floor. We had wind up flashlights during Ike which helped keep the kids busy some too, but if you buy regular flashlights or lanterns don’t forget the batteries!
You’re probably going to need some tools to make minor or major repairs while you are waiting too. Handsaws, hammers, nails, and screw guns can all help make emergency fixes possible. We had to cut fallen trees, patch holes in roofs, and window repairs.
Hopefully, I didn’t lose you at weapons, but you are trying to keep your family safe during a time of uncertainty and you might have unknown animals or people showing up at your house. The rats, snakes, and other vermin show up like crazy after floods. Thankfully we haven’t had any issues personally with people trying to harm us after events, but I’ve slept better at night knowing we had a way to protect ourselves
Yes, we needed a fire extinguisher after Ike. We tried at one point to run our refrigerator off of a welding machine and unfortunately
Comfort items
After Ike we slept (or tried to sleep) for 4 or 5 days in our living room in the September heat with the windows open. It was miserable, hot and humid and lots of mosquitoes. Finally my parents were able to get us a window unit that we ran off of a generator that they were able to get for us too! GAME CHANGERS! The world is so much better when you can actually sleep at night! Seriously!
Other comfort items that are good to have: sleeping bags or a blanket for each person, pillows, and inflatable mattresses. We usually all end up sleeping in one room together during hurricanes and the following days for safety and especially if we are using the window unit to stay cool. If your child has a particular snugly or stuffed animal friend, be sure to grab them too!
Something to entertain the kids. Card games, balls, dolls, books, crayons, and paper. Anything that will keep the kids entertained for a while at their age. During Ike, we had a 7-year-old and a 1-year-old. We read lots of books and played with toys. We played outside with the plastic house and wagon as much as we could and took daily naps. I read through all of my magazines that I hadn’t gotten to read yet at the time.
A car charger for your phone. In order to keep in touch with our family and friends we had to charge our phones in our car. Thankfully that wasn’t too big of a deal and it really helps keep you sane during a stressful time.
Other things you probably already have that are nice to have after a natural disaster are an extra pair of shoes–work boots or rain boots and rain jackets.
Like we stated at the beginning, you cannot prepare for everything, but you’ve got to prepare for something.
It is your responsibility as the parent to take care of your family at all times and this includes emergency and disaster situations. Don’t let them down. Make it easier on yourself and start gathering supplies now.
Comment below and let me know what else you say are basics for being prepared.
Best wishes,
If you’re looking for a more detailed list of items you may need to be prepared for a disaster take a look at our camping checklists.