When I was a little girl every time there was an event, hurricane or such, my mother would run out to the store and get canned goods, bread, milk and Daddy would gas up the car. That was so ingrained in me that I did it even though I really didn't think out the why of it. My husband used to laugh at me, because no matter "emergency" I would always run out to the store an make sure I had those things done for my family.
On 9-11, we were living in Missouri. I was driving home from dropping DH off at work when I heard the first news reports. I immediately stopped to fill the tank and shop for emergency supplies. DH had a good laugh until that evening. We were watching the news about gas lines and empty store shelves. My family had the needed supplies. I didn't take it to the next level though unil Katrina.
During Hurricane Katrina my niece lost her house and all her possessions when the levee broke near her home. We thank God that she was safetly away with her family at her parents' farm. Unfortunately, she really thought the hurricane would veer left or right as it has always happened in the past. She had 3 days worth of clothes for each of them, and a few papers, but nothing else. My sister's home, her mother, lost electricity not for days, but a couple of weeks. Food was difficult to get. Gas was difficult to get. It was summer in Louisiana. It was hot. Cell phones were hit or miss, but we were able to get my niece on the phone, and invite her and her family to stay with us. When she got here, the baby had lost weight due to heat. We began to immediately look to get help for them. This was about a week after Katrina. There was no organization. Every day we would go out looking for information and products for her family. Our store shelves were emptied for weeks after the hurricane, so we were not able to purchase all the things we needed. She was not able to access her bank, because the computers were under water. We thank God for the Church of Christ in town, because through them we were able to get formula, baby food and diapers. The Catholic Church in town had clothes and toys to give away. (I only had adult children and few toys.) Governmental agencies were of no help.
Hurricane Rita came through western Louisiana later that year. My husband was in California due to work, so it was up to me to get out with our children (ages 18 and 20). It was so hard to decide what to pack and what to leave under this duress. We were blessed with family on the eastern side of Louisiana who invited us to ride out the storm with them.
During Hurricane Gustav, my family still had our mobile home in Lafayette as well as an RV in Houston. My husband had been transferred, but we hadn't sold our mobile home. During a hurricane, a mobile home is not where you want to be, so we left Houston to go prepare the Lafayette home for the hurricane, and pick up our children, (who attend university here). Getting to Lafayette was not difficult, but packing up all the important things, and closing down the house was difficult. Going back to Houston was a nightmare. Gas stations had run out of gas. It was difficult to find food or water. Lines were long, and the owners ran out of change so you had to pay more to the nearest dollar or not buy anything.
Because of this experience, my family has chosen to prepare an extended 72 hour kit. I bought each family member a backpack. Nothing fancy, I picked them up at the thrift store. Inside the backpack each child has:
1 change of clothing
3 pairs of underwear
3 pairs of socks
Bible
Novel
1 flashlight
batteries
Mini first aid kit
$20 in small bills and change
small sewing kit
Feminine items for daughter
silver foil blanket
toothbrush
travel size toothpaste, soap and shampoo
mosquito repellent
cards
pencil and paper
water
crackers
dried fruit/nut mix
granola bars
1 pkg. chewing gun
1 roll of tp (flattened, in baggie)
hard candy/lollypop
Now this isn't a complete 72 hour kit. I have those in bins stored in our home. They are a work in progress. The backpacks are to take care of small emergencies that happen everyday.
No comments:
Post a Comment