Lessons Learned for Family Preparedness

Over the years I have learned many things about family preparedness.  This posting, I'll focus on a few lessons learned during emergencies both as a family man and as a former deputy sheriff.

I was a Deputy Sheriff during the 2007 Angora Fire and assigned to a traffic control point at US 50 at the California / Nevada state line.  South Lake Tahoe was being evacuated.  The only traffic headed into California was emergency vehicles.


During my shift, I encountered many families returning from school, work, and errands.  Since these families left their residence with the intention of returning, very few of them had brought anything with them.  I distinctly recall one desperate mother with her small children trying to return to South Lake Tahoe to retrieve diabetes medication for the boy in the front seat.  She was very tearful and scared.  Another family was crying, pleading for me to allow them to pass to get their dogs who where in their house.

In 2006, the Carson Valley (Minden/Gardnerville, Nevada) flooded.  This isolated and 'islanded' many locations from the local towns for several days.  Additionally, it blocked the main road used to access Lake Tahoe from the valley.  People traveling to Lake Tahoe had to drive an additional hour to get there.

In another instance, a fatality accident on Highway 395 south of Gardnerville isolated the southern portion of the county from the remainder.  While there are two alternative routes to get into town, both would require anywhere from one to three additional hours.

Change focus from a rural area to a large metropolitan area - Washington, DC - also known as the National Capital Region (NCR).  In 2010, the NCR experienced a series of major snow blizzards.  These blizzards locked down the region for about five to seven days, depending on location.  Many people, including a co-worker, were unable to leave their driveway because the roadways were not plowed.  Public transportation was not running and the local supermarkets were closed.  While there was ample warning of the impending blizzard, many people were unprepared. Two other co-workers who were assigned to the night shift, were stuck at work for three days before they were able to return home.

During the Friday evening, 2-4 hours prior to the event, I observed scores of people loading up their shopping carts with food and supplies.  However, their supplies were contingent upon having electricity.  There were frozen meals, packaged meals similar to Hamburger Helper, and other perishable items.  Power was subsequently lost for hours to several days depending on the location.

So, what are the lessons learned? 

1. Keep medications for your family with you.  Regardless of whether it's a quick errand to the corner store, or a day trip to the next state.  This ensures that if you are unable to return home, you can continue the medical protocols.
2. Evaluate taking the pets with you on trips.  However, when evaluating this option, it's important to evaluate the risk of taking them with you, i.e. weather (hot/cold), distance, space in the vehicle, or even a traffic accident.
3. When assembling a first aid kit for your car, toss in a few non-perishable snacks that the whole family would eat.  Take note of the expiration dates on the wrappers.  Protein Bars are great, but only if the kids would eat them.  Also, as a father, I would keep a toy or book in the car for each kid that they haven't seen before.  This is great for the surprise traffic jam or the alternative route home that takes a few hours.
4. Know your neighborhood, community and surrounding area.  Do you know a minimum of three routes home from work that are completely isolated from each other?  Where is the nearest hospital?  Where is the nearest police/fire station?  What about the areas to completely avoid?  Is there an intersection with abnormally long lights thereby causing a large traffic jam?  Would your current gas level allow a large deviation in normal routes?  These are just a few questions you should consider.
5. Keep non-perishable foods handy in the pantry.  If the power goes out, you still have food.  Canned goods are typically able to be eaten without heating them first.  This ensures you can still eat safely, not to mention easily.
6. Don't wait until the day of or night of the event to buy your supplies and groceries.  Unfortunately, I completed my grocery shopping on Friday evening after work.  This meant I was in the thick of the grocery grabbing mayhem.  While I had sufficient food supplies for the coming week, I was out of the normal items, milk, toilet paper, etc.  I waited in line for 45 minutes, simply because of the impending storm.
7. Additionally, having supplies and food in a work locker would add to your overall resilience.  Just a few things to assist you through a few extra hours at work, or overnight if needed.  Assess the likelihood you would be stuck at work, and for how long, then adjust accordingly.

These are just a few of the lessons learned through other people's experiences.  Only you know what's best for your family and your situation.  The purpose of these are to provoke thoughts about everyday living.  Assess your habits, mitigate against the risks, become resilient.