Building your emergency kit!

[amerline]

Originally Posted by ShoppingCartDiva I live about 2 hours (I think) inland in North Carolina (1/2 hour east of Raleigh). Does anyone who lives in the area have any experience with this? I am from the midwest, so used to tornadoes, but have no idea what to expect if a hurricane popped up. Can it really affect me this far in?

I don't know if you are in hurricane territory, but emergency preparedness is important anyway. I lived in Michigan where there there are not problems with earthquakes, hurricanes or floods. Maybe the rare tornado hits. But the importance of being prepared for an emergency became clear when my son was 1.

Do you remember that HUGE power outage that spread over parts of southern Canada, the upper midwest and the Northeast? A very large portion of the power grid collapsed and it took days before we were up again. No power meant that our cell phones didn't work (no way to charge them) our landline didn't work (because it was a cordless phone that needed to be plugged in. Fortunately we had a radio that could operate on battery power, otherwise we would have had no idea what was happening. Our neighbors who had no battery powered radios were even more panicked than us.

Because the city water system needed electricity to power its pumps, we had no water. It was summer, so there was no need for heat, but of course we had no air conditioning either. All refrigerators stopped working, so we all had to try and eat what was in there or kiss the stockpile good bye! Many people could not cook what was in their fridge because they had electric stoves. Stores were not open because they had no power to light them or run the registers. People were very afraid of crime because security systems stopped working (and many of us had no phones for reasons described above). People who used cloth diapers had to switch to disposable (no water to wash them), but how could they buy any when stores were closed? You couldn't get cash from non-functional ATMs.

I could go on, but you get the picture. This situation lasted for days.

That's when I realized that you can never predict what type of emergency could occur and that every family really does need to be prepared.

[powercat24]

To answer your question, it can affect you depending on the size and power of the storm and also the direction of the storm as well. I remember when we lived in Jacksonville, NC (on the coast) the one Hurricane that made landfall near us went all the way up the coast, On land, up past Pennsylvania that time. SO yes even if you don't have an ocean near you, you can be affected by a hurricane. Also, just to let you know, Hurricanes usually spawn tornadoes too. Not always, but it does happen more often than people realize. And just an FYI-They don't have a warning system out there for tornadoes like they do here in Kansas so I would HIGHLY suggest getting an emergency radio so you know whats going on at all times. I know we had a tornado that was headed straight for us in NC also and I would have never known had I not been watching TV. Crazy huh? I hope I haven't rambled but I probably have... I hope this helps in some way. I am a big believer in being prepared! We have 72 hour kits here in our home for each member of the family. The kids each have a back pack with a few extra clothes, food for 3 days, snacks, a few toys, water, a spare blanket, and a few other things. My husband and I have the same except more with sleeping bag, first aid kits, toiletries, extra food, cash, and lots of change too, etc, etc, etc,.

Originally Posted by ShoppingCartDiva I live about 2 hours (I think) inland in North Carolina (1/2 hour east of Raleigh). Does anyone who lives in the area have any experience with this? I am from the midwest, so used to tornadoes, but have no idea what to expect if a hurricane popped up. Can it really affect me this far in?

[ShoppingCartDiva]

Yeah, we have one of those radios that you can crank to give it power. :D No warning system is crazy though! Come to think of it, I haven't heard the familiar Tuesday morning test...

[MrsPinecone]

Tropical Storm #1 (I think it's Alma) is out there. Happy Hurricane Season!

[ladyg0thelder]

Hi all

I live in Colorado and I have one in the trunk for cold weather, including a blanket, a space blanket, waterproof matches, several cans of food, fisrt aid kit, can opener, radio and batteries. There's other stuff I can remember but it feels good should I have to head out and a blizzard happens. And lately we've had some!

There are some websites that sell ready made kits too in case you don't want to do all the work yourself.

[cmricha2]

Originally Posted by ShoppingCartDiva I live about 2 hours (I think) inland in North Carolina (1/2 hour east of Raleigh). Does anyone who lives in the area have any experience with this? I am from the midwest, so used to tornadoes, but have no idea what to expect if a hurricane popped up. Can it really affect me this far in?

Yes, yes it can. The first year I moved to Raleigh (1996) Fran hit. It was the first time in decades they had canceled classes at NCSU due to a hurricane (or so I was told). Power was out in some locations for over a week. Trees were down EVERYWHERE! And I think the closer you are to I-95, the worse it normally is. When Dennis hit a few years later, it came inland and flooded quiet a bit. I remember they had to declare a federal disaster zone. I don't remember how far inland it came though.

As a kid I still remember a hurricane hitting and coming up through Charlotte (I lived in the foothills of NC then, 4 hours west of Raleigh). It knocked power out for awhile then too.

So, inland NC = Hurricane territory.

[nmeadows0101]

yes, several years back a bad storm came through nc and I think everyone that was close by remembers it .
His name was HUGO!
I was out of power for about 3 weeks.
On CNN it is showing the next storm is coming in through S.C. like HUGO did. The next few weeks , I would be watching and packing what I could.
several weeks with no power is a long time and longer if you have kids.

[emotley]

Originally Posted by nmeadows0101 yes, several years back a bad storm came through nc and I think everyone that was close by remembers it . His name was HUGO! I was out of power for about 3 weeks. On CNN it is showing the next storm is coming in through S.C. like HUGO did. The next few weeks , I would be watching and packing what I could. several weeks with no power is a long time and longer if you have kids.

I lived through Hugo man was that an experience. We too were without power for over a week. I hope that this storm takes a turn and leaves us alone. But like you said it's on that exact path. SC has not had a direct hit since Hugo, so I know the time is near eventually.
I have already bought my water and have my stockpile, the only thing I would love to have but cannot afford is a generator.

Good luck to all in this storms path.

[puakinikini]

We are no where near the hurricane danger zone in AZ - but due to monsoons we were without power for almost a day - I was happy to have lots of candles, food, and batteries for the flashlights - thanks to Glade candle deals at Safeway last holiday and CVS for an endless supply of batteries for pennies. It is important to be prepared in case of any type of emergency related to down power lines.

[tmsmalley]

As someone said in one of the first posts, it can be overwhelming to try and go through the entire Red Cross or FEMA list of stuff to have (although couponers are certainly ahead of the curve on having food around!).

To specifically combat that problem, here's a list that has been distributed in hard copy to over 1,000,000 people and is now on thousands of websites. It is a 6 month planning guide to get ready for ANY disaster that might knock you back for a few days. Each week there are only a few items to acquire and the most important items are towards the begining for those with short attention spans. Again, I'm sure many of the people here will have all the food and thensome, but there are also tools and other items to have and specific tasks to do each week. After 6 months, you can start again and refresh things as needed. Also a great tool to use to help your neighbors, relatives, etc. to prepare, especially those with special needs. There are several versions of it online, but this lay out is one is best for printing out and checking off.

http://slocity.org/fire/download/family%20disaster%20supplies%20calendar.pdf

And remember, there are emergencies in every part of the US. Hurricanes, earthquakes, severe weather, tornadoes, power outages, hazmat spills, fires, flooding... everyone can use this.

All the best!

Tess