Planning Ahead

   Understanding your
health choices before a crisis

    September 12 - December 2, 2005

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Portable Bag of Essentials

If you have to leave your home or if access to home isn't possible, it's a good idea to have a portable bag of essentials. The San Francisco Office of Emergency Services and Homeland Security calls this a "go-bag" and suggests the following contents:

• Some water, food, and manual can opener
• Flashlight
• Battery-operated radio
• Batteries
• Whistle
• Personal medications and prescriptions
• Extra keys to your house and vehicle
• Basic First Aid kit and instructions
• Walking shoes, warm clothes, a hat, and rain gear
• Extra prescription eyeglasses, hearing aid, or other vital personal items
• Toilet paper, plastic bags, and other hygiene supplies
• Dust mask
• Pocket knife
• Paper, pens, and tape for leaving messages
• Cash in small denominations
• Copies of insurance and identification cards. (Also, don't forget your will, contracts, deeds, stocks and bonds, passports, social security cards, immunization records, bank account numbers, credit card account numbers, important telephone numbers, and family records.)
• A recent picture of your family members and pets
• In your child's go-bag include a favorite toy, game, or book as well as his or her emergency card with reunification location and out-of-area contact information

Keep Kits Fresh

Make sure you store your kits in airtight, easy-to-carry containers, and in places that are accessible and that will not likely be affected by disasters. For instance, if you live in a tornado zone, it would be inconvenient for your emergency kit to be on the second floor of your home while you and your family are in the basement.

To keep the items in the kits in good condition, store them in cool, dry places that are not exposed to varied conditions. Also, update your kit every six months. The needs of your family change, and items such as food, water, and batteries can become stale. It's a good idea to write the date of storage on each item.

"The reason to keep your kit fresh is it enables your family to survive longer," explains Hudgins. "Foods that you just refreshed six months ago have a longer shelf life."

The Red Cross offers the following guidelines for food storage:

Use within six months:

• Water
• Powdered milk (boxed)
• Dried fruit (in metal container)
• Dry, crisp crackers (in metal container)
• Potatoes

Use within one year:

• Canned, condensed meat and vegetable soups
• Canned fruits, fruit juices and vegetables
• Ready-to-eat cereals and uncooked instant cereals (in metal containers)
• Peanut butter
• Jelly
• Hard candy and canned nuts
• Vitamin C

May be stored indefinitely (in proper containers and conditions):

• Wheat
• Vegetable oils
• Dried corn
• Baking powder
• Soybeans
• Instant coffee, tea, and cocoa
• Salt
• Noncarbonated soft drinks
• White rice
• Bouillon products
• Dry pasta
• Powdered milk (in nitrogen-packed cans).

For more information about disaster plans and emergency kits, check the web sites of the Red Cross, the Department of Homeland Security, and your local government. Some of the web sites also have suggestions on purifying water in an emergency, and on alternate water sources inside and outside your home.

"The information (about disaster preparedness) is always changing in terms of more suggestions and more access to information, so they should check back to all the web sites regularly," says Hudgins.

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