Disaster Survival: Escape

Now that we have a plan and are equipped to execute that plan let's talk about what we're doing when disaster strikes. You'll hear it from me time and time again, but the most important thing in crisis is to not panic. You already know where you are going if you need to leave your home and either way you have plenty of equipment and supplies to tide you over until help arrives, so there's no need to worry.

Once we made sure we were set up for the next week these goobers and I went and helped out at the local shelter.

If you need to leave your home then the next step is quite easy. You already have a plan for where you are going to and how you are going to get there. Things never go quite as you expect but more then likely you won't have a problem getting to at least one of your BOLs, and if you can't you'll be the best equipped folks at the town shelter. If staying at home is an option then get out your supplies, take a minute to eat something, change into clothes you can be comfortable in for a while, and "set up camp" by sorting out your cooking situation if you don't have gas and setting up lighting for night if you don't have power. Once you have set yourself up for the next few days and taken a moment to ground yourself, you can either hunker down or if you decide to go out and help, you'll be much more effective.

Congradulations, you have now survived your first disaster. Next week we will be talking about recovery, arguably the hardest part.