WE went out last night to learn the ins and outs of caring for a large group of horses while their owners are out of town. We returned home just as a light rain was starting to fall. My sister called just as we got inside and told us that a tornado warning was posted for our town and that we should make our way to the basement.
First bad thing: For some reason our reverse 911 did not happen. This is a huge problem as many people around here don’t have television. We do but days go by without us turning it on for more than a check of the market action. I realize that I should have a list of people to call with this kind of warning.
Second bad thing: Tornadoes are an entirely new phenomenon around here but after decades without a warning, we’ve had three this year. I am just plain not ready to shelter in my basement. We spent a frantic few minutes collecting the emergency radio and flashlights as well as a few blankets, shoes and jackets. A lot of this should be pre-placed although my cellar’s dampness makes storing much down there impossible.
Bad thing number three. I couldn’t find my shoes. At least I couldn’t find my muck boots which would have been my footwear of choice.
Bad thing number four. I forgot to grab my daughter’s medication box.
Bad thing number five. I couldn’t get the weather channel on the radio to come in. I have used that radio exactly once and I am nowhere near proficient with it.er six. No one thought to grab the money or the paperwork from the safe.
Bad thing number six: Nobody grabbed the cat.
The list, unfortunately, goes on. Car keys and my address book, some bottled water and the raingear, there are so many things that might really matter and we just weren’t pulled together on this. I have always claimed that I didn’t need to prepare to bug out as we live in such a safe place. Guess what? WRONG!!!! Stuff happens. We dodged a bullet again but someday we might not be so lucky. I am working with Maggie today to pull together a basement plan. I can pick up some of those vacuum bags and position a few things in the basement. I also need to put a list on the door of what to grab. If this had been the middle of the night, who would we have managed? I am more than a bit red faced. Prepared my foot.
August 22, 2011 at 9:12 am
Bug out bags – named that for a reason. You are lucky that nothing happened and that you now have the foresight to prepare.
I know you have a number of people to prepare for so each one should have their own bag. Make lists – lots of lists – to get things done, what needs to be packed, where the bags will be stored so you can just grab & go get to safety.
Duplicates of things like your boots will be needed, copies of important papers, bank account numbers, credit cards, etc. will also be needed and you may want to have these with someone out of the area also, food & water, blankets, etc will need to be packed and ready.
For my husband & I, living in a house with no basement, we have a designated closet for quick take cover and our house has hurricane shutters for a safe house that takes no more than 4 hours to prepare. I always have at least one month’s food and 3 days water on hand. I try to keep laundry done so we always have about a week’s worth of clean clothes. Keep vehicle gas tanks at least 1/2 full. Have oil lamps, candles (be very careful for safety reasons), light sticks stored and ready to use. Whistles, so you can find each other and signal for help, for each person are good in the type of scenario you are looking at.
The Red Cross site has lists and recommendations, there are lots of blogs with the same, your own knowledge of what your family needs is very important. Now is the time to prepare for natural disasters, you’ll very glad you did even if you never have to use any of it.
August 22, 2011 at 9:17 am
I can remember ONE twister-type event in all my years in WMass before this year – I was about 4, so… about 1970. The times, they are a-changin’….
August 22, 2011 at 9:27 am
Kathy,
Please consider a weather radio w emergency alert if you have reception in your town.
In alert mode it goes off for such warnings
August 22, 2011 at 10:46 am
This was a very interesting post for me because of its similarities to a tornado warning earlier in the summer for us. We live near your area, and have also been forced to adjust from a “no tornadoes or much other natural disasters around here” assumption to a “we have tornadoes” acknowledgement. Honestly, we also have potential for earthquakes from a fault line in New York State, and hurricane damage, while not terribly likely, is still definitely possible.
Anyway, the last tornado warning of the season found us equally unprepared, with very similar key points. As we made the decision to move to the basement we realized that DH and DD did not have shoes on. DD’s shoe problem was particularly vexing because we did not know where they were. She takes them off “wherever” and forgets where. I have started to insist they go in a particular place near the front door – it’s still not totally resolved though. We, too, had no supplies for the basement – no water, no food. I knew where the weather radio was but I didn’t really care enough to grab it. A minor point, but we had no comfortable place to sit or stand in the basement – a very old and damp and cobweb-y place. Need to clean it up. Minor, sure, yet I would hate to have an unpleasant basement be a reason to hesitate to move there if we think it’s prudent. Also, the cats. I assumed we’d grab our beloved cats. We did not – even though there was no funnel bearing down on us, it still seemed too urgent. I’ve made my peace with that.
August 22, 2011 at 10:48 am
Preparedness is a state of mind. You clearly live in it and have a great plan after realizing you weren’t prepared as you wanted to be. I think that totally counts!
August 22, 2011 at 11:05 am
Gosh, no one can prepare for everything. Now that this is a known hazard, your response is reasonable and appropriate. And I love your honesty in sharing what you see as a shortcoming.
We northerners are going to have to prepare “Bug Down Bags”, for heading downstairs. Our family also can’t keep textiles or other moldables in our basement, so we use our Bug Out Bags when we have to head “down cellar”. If we ever had a house fire, we would also hope to grab them before leaving the house, so long as it didn’t increase the hazard.
Its kinda fun to play with the emergency weather radio. Very dramatic! Until the repetition of the announcements gets monotonous, that is.
August 22, 2011 at 11:16 am
Dodging bullets is good! lol I can’t get the emergency weather station to come in here either…on ANY radio. As for all the “bad things”, these are learning things and you can practice with the family and work on them! Have a family emergency night (after fixing all the issues), it’s especially important with special needs kids that they are familiar so they don’t panic.
We try to have one once a year, but I don’t think it’s enough (especially now we seem to be living in the new “tornado alley”).
Glad you’re ok!
August 22, 2011 at 11:46 am
Looks like those of us in the southeast will get a chance this week to practice our preparedness skills with hurricane Irene. It’s time to get things lined up, just in case we are in the storm’s path.
August 22, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Its not uncommon around here for the warnings to go off after the danger has passed. By the time it’s been called in, the rader checked, the radio/tv program interruppted, etc, etc. I live near a big city and have wondered more then once if the microclimate changes from farm field to concrete just speed things along because the national weather service station just south of us seems to miss the pop-up funnels all the time. If the sky is green, head for the basement.
And depending on the break in rate in your area, I’d re-think the safe situation. If a funnel cloud is bearing down, you really don’t have the time to open a safe. Either opt for a portable lock box, or a larger safe boxed and bolted to the floor in a central, protected location. If you’re hit directly, things can still get pretty scary in the basement. I’d rather dig through the rubble to get to a safe under the staircase then lose my paperwork altogether.
Nor do I grab the cats – I grab the cat food.
The scariest part of your post – that this is new for you.
August 22, 2011 at 2:45 pm
In North Texas, we get very violent storms every spring. Nobody here has a basement, and we’re living right in tornado alley. When the neighborhood sirens go off (and they do, every Spring), we just grab our kids and dog and sit in an interior closet and pray. Many people here don’t even take that step, because they figure, if a tornado wants to flatten your house, it will, and there’s nothing to be done about it. Really wish we all had basements. Oh well — our closet has all the shoes in it, plus my purse and important papers !
August 22, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Great list. I’m curious about why you’d remove anything from the safe, however. Wouldn’t it be ‘safer’ to leave the papers in the safe?
August 22, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Please forgive the terrible editing. I was really tired this morning and didn’t do a read-over. Some very good comments, as usual. I did have to think about the safe. I think it might be safer left behind. I have duplicates of most of my important papers anyway. The rest is just stuff when you get right down to it.
August 22, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Kathy-this is a great reminder for people in the northeast that times are a changing and we need to be prepared. I am so far behind in my preparedness but hope to be there by the end of the year with your help! Love your book and your blog. Thanks!
August 23, 2011 at 1:54 pm
I have lived in tornado-prone areas with and without a decent basement. I am quite paranoid about tornadoes after a very close call when I was in my early twenties.
With the damp basement you described, I suggest that you seal copies of your paperwork in ziploc bags or food saver bags, as well as a spare set of keys, some socks and a change of undies for everyone, etc. Then, get some cheap water-resistant fabric chairs, and also a couple of garage-sale-cheap blankets, and put them downstairs, double-bagged in garbage bags – both the blankets and the garbage bags can be used in place of jackets, if necessary. Add a can opener, some canned food and water, some alcohol hand sanitizer, a bit of pet food in a bucket, a deck of cards (or other entertainment) and a few candles (plus matches or a lighter), and anything else you might need – also in plastic if necessary. Pre-positioning the ‘stuff’ means all you have to do is get downstairs, which makes life much less stressful if you see a funnel cloud bearing down. Trust me on this – if you actually see the funnel, you have no time to run around collecting things, and just need to get your butts to the safe place.
For the cat, if you call her for feedings (‘here, kitty kitty’ or whatever), and occasionally feed in the tornado shelter area, she is highly likely to come if you call ‘here kitty kitty’ from the basement – at least, it worked with our cats. That way, you can get the humans to safety (priority one), then call the pets to join you.
Best of luck in developing an appropriate plan for your situation!
August 23, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Do you shelter in your cellar, or do you have a separate underground space? Is there a particularly strong part of your cellar if you go there? (I’m thinking ‘what do you do if the house is damaged or falls down?’)
Traditionally one is supposed to go into a sturdy workbench or something like that.
August 23, 2011 at 4:25 pm
I was checking out my basement after reading your latest post and today we felt the earthquake here in central Pennsylvania. My dog always has a meltdown an hour or so before a thunderstorm. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him today when the sky was blue with big puffy white clouds and then . . . Guess I’ll be busy the rest of the week making some lists and definitely some changes downstairs. I don’t think we have long to prepare.