Just the other night there was a nasty storm that kicked up north/north west of Wichita which developed the 'tornado hook' on the radar. It was in the county so the sirens went off and the coverage was all about the speed of the storm, the wind, the wall clouds, and possible tornado that these types of storms can create. In anticipation of needing to go to the storm shelter (which was not needed), we gathered up what we thought was needed. I like to think of it as an urban bug out bag. It's just a backpack full of stuff that we find important.
A traditional bug out bag has stuff for about three days including food, water, first aid, and fire starting equipment. Because we're in a city, we packed stuff like our laptop and charger, the phones and phone chargers, some food. Minor things. We have important documents like passports, car titles, birth certificates, marriage certificate in a small lock box that we can grab if absolutely necessary (the keys for it are easily accessible as well). And for those of you who are concerned about it, the cat's carrying cage is out and we found out it's not as difficult to get her in it as it once was. During the first major storm I half joked and was half serious about filling both of my flasks with scotch to throw in the bag. I think I may keep them out and easy to find to fill up. At the very least, it can be passed around to calm nerves. Plus, you can clean out wounds with it, I've seen it done in the movies (so it must be true!).
You can never be too prepared if you have to leave your house or apartment, but you don't want to be lugging around a suitcase full of shit. The major items that I think you need are the follow:
- First aid kit
- Water
- food that requires no cooking
- ways to communicate (phone and charger)
- important papers
No comments:
Post a Comment