Short term evac location

     Many people may or may not have a plan in place for a short term emergency that necessitates them leaving their home area. For some reason due to natural, civil or terrorist unrest you have been ordered or you decide to take an unscheduled involuntary vacation. What is the plan? does your immediate family know the plan?



     A situation that makes you vacate your primary residence can happen at anytime and to anyone, no one wants to be forced or voluntarily  leave their home but sometimes it has to happen. Short term evacuations can be caused by any number of things beyond our control. Hopefully you get to evacuate from  home with some of your supplies, that's the best option. Some situations mean you may not even be able to get to your home, You came from work. You would hope that you have your vehicle in your possession, having your vehicle means that you can have access to supplies that you should have stored within, not the best situation but still viable for the short term.  A worst case scenario is the shirt on your back and two good feet, not an ideal situation by any means.


     For a situation short of an end of the world event lets focus on a short 5 to 7 day evacuation. In most cases it could be as simple as a week's stay in a local hotel or a guest room of a close friend or family member. A worst case is you get to make an improvised shelter in the woods or a field. If the situation affects enough people the Red Cross might step in and open up some shelters.

     If you are not a single person and you have a significant other with kids you need to have a plan in place, nothing is worse than wondering where someone else is, communication is absolutely vital. We all remember from school that we had a designated location that we had to go to during a fire drill, do you have a location for your family? One good option for communications can be a cell phone for every member of your family, another option if that is everyone goes to work within a mile or so could be simple bubble pack FRS or GMRS radios, these are very low cost and can work at very short ranges. Another good option that can be used is to have a friend or relative that you have a prearranged agreement with that will receive collect calls from your family members so that you can coordinate a meet up location and pass on information.

     Cash, credit cards and checks, do you have enough in your wallet for a week out of your house? If you can set aside a small amount for this type of emergency you can mitigate the situation somewhat. Every situation can and will be different but having some sort of plan now can take some of the stress away down the road if you ever have to implement it.

Prepology