Spring has arrived in Oklahoma and, although it feels more like summer, it is time to think about tornado safety. Having been in DC on 9/11 we consider our overall emergency preparedness plan as well. When we lived in Virginia, I literally had an emergency kit in my trunk, just in case. Now, in Oklahoma, most disasters are a bit more remote. We have, however, had a tornado shelter installed and stocked it with some basics.
Below is our collection/plan so far, which has grown out of much web browsing and slow accumulation over the last six months of things that seem essential for a generic emergency. That said, we appreciate any ideas or suggestions you may have to help us work through our preparations and family plan for emergency situations.
Storm Shelter - Flatsafe
Supplies now stored in a plastic tub in the shelter:
PS - The Red Cross does have lots of helpful worksheets related to various emergency preparedness issues like this one they are distributing today in advance of the pending storms in Oklahoma.
Below is our collection/plan so far, which has grown out of much web browsing and slow accumulation over the last six months of things that seem essential for a generic emergency. That said, we appreciate any ideas or suggestions you may have to help us work through our preparations and family plan for emergency situations.
Storm Shelter - Flatsafe
Supplies now stored in a plastic tub in the shelter:
- Inventory of contents
- Mainstay Emergency Food Rations - 9 bars
- 2 cans of Tuna
- 1 can of beans
- Can opener
- Paper Towels
- 8 diapers
- Package of Wipes
- 8 sets of plastic tableware and napkins
- Datrex Emergency Water Pouches Case of 64 for Survival Kits, Disaster - expires in 5 years
- First Aid Only American Red Cross Emergency Preparedness W/first Aid Kit,
- Wind Up Radio
-- this includes a flashlight
- Emergency Thermal Blankets (4 Pack)
- 100 Hour Plus Emergency Candle Clear Mist
- Waterproof Matches
Supplies we plan to add:
- List of emergency telephone numbers -- both family, friends, and government
- Extra clothes-- this is tricky with small kids, but a common recommendation so we'll see what we can come up with
- Cash
- Trash bags
- Toilet paper
- Soap - and maybe hand sanitizer
- A bit more food designed for long term storage
- LED lights to adhere to sides of the shelter
- An additional windup flashlight-- the kids usually bring kid flashlights with them, but that assumes they are easy to locate quickly.
- Bottle - maybe formula, but need to figure out how to deal with expiration/temperature issues
- Water purification tablets?
- Gloves -- there are medical gloves above, but maybe work gloves
- Cell and/or other chargers
The problem is we have fairly limited space to add anything before it starts to reduce the number of people that can fit in the shelter. We also are unsure what emergency might require us to shelter in place at our house for more than a day or two as our basic plan is to drive to the farm with whatever we can grab should a longer term emergency occur. With that in mind, we keep fairly full pantries that we could pack up and take with us if we needed to evacuate.
Most of the above items are not particularly key for tornadoes, but more for other possible situations like losing electricity or something of longer duration than our most likely threat.
We (and Uncle Able) also practice with our kids getting in and out of the shelter as initially they found it kind of scary--- as did I as it is a bit like being closed in a tomb in the ground (hence the need for more lights). Able and my Mom are the ones most likely to be here with the kids when we are not and have also been trained on how to use the storm shelter.
We have conversations witht he kids about other possible emergencies now and then, including most recently fire safety. We try to keep it easy, general, and not scary as they are still quite young. We are also trying to remind them that they need to help each other as they evacuate or head to the storm shelter. The familiarization also includes going to things like touch a truck or community events where they see and can interact with police, EMTs, and firemen. Happily, these folks also come visit their school.
So, that's the situation now. Any suggestions? Any good resources we should consider?
PS - The Red Cross does have lots of helpful worksheets related to various emergency preparedness issues like this one they are distributing today in advance of the pending storms in Oklahoma.
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*note the links above are amazon affiliate links for products I've independently chosen to purchased as part of this project. This post is not in any other way sponsored or encouraged by amazon or others.
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