How to Prepare for an Emergency & Make a Disaster Kit

Some helpful tips on How to Prepare for an emergency & make a disaster kit. Relevant for all types of emergencies including wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes & tornadoes.

Over the last few years, I’ve become more and more aware of preparing our family for any sort of emergency or natural disaster.

Two years ago, my home town of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County was hit by a destructive fire. The Tubbs Fire burned parts of Sonoma, Napa & Lakeside counties. With the greatest losses occurring in Santa Rosa. Over 5200 homes and buildings burned down, making it the state’s most destructive and deadliest fire.

I grew up in two of the neighborhoods hit hardest by the fire, Mark West (Larkfield) and Fountaingrove. The homes I grew up in, the neighborhoods we played in, all gone. So many of my friends and family were affected, it’s impossible to count.

Two years later, the Kincaid Fire is blazing through Sonoma County. Residents are being evacuated, power is being shut off, people are feeling a scary and eerie sense of deja vu as another massive fire rages.

At the same time, I’m currently living in San Diego and seeing fire warnings throughout San Diego, Los Angeles & Baja. Mandatory power outages are occurring and tensions are high.

To ease my own fear and hopefully help some of those following along, I decided to share our emergency plan & disaster kit.

Even if you’re not in California, it’s important to be ready in case something happens. Whether it’s a fire, hurricane, earthquake, tornado, flood, etc.

Learning how to prepare for emergencies at home is a huge step in ensuring your family’s safety. Preparedness isn’t just about knowing where the best exits are in the event of a fire, or having some extra batteries in your drawer. It’s about awareness and preparation.

How to Prepare for an Emergency & Make a Disaster Kit

Knowing the most common disasters your area is susceptible to is a really good place to start. Some areas are prone to flooding or hurricanes, others wildfires or tornadoes. Knowing the difference between different emergencies and disasters can help you prepare the tools and the plans.

In addition to making sure you and your loved ones are safe or reach safety, you also want to prepare for emergencies that might ground you / keep you in one place. With flooding or earthquakes, you might get stuck inside for hours or days; so having a well stocked pantry and first aid items, along with water, is key.

Food, water & shelter are always important. But what else do you need to do?

Step One: Answer these Questions with your family, friends & loved ones.

How will you receive emergency alerts and warnings?

During an emergency, alert and warnings officials provide the public with information. Sign up for local and state notifications.

What is my shelter plan?

To effectively shelter, you must first consider the hazard and then choose a place in your home or other building that is safe for that hazard. For example, for a tornado, a room should be selected that is in a basement or an interior room on the lowest level away from corners, windows, doors and outside walls.

There may be situations, depending on your circumstances and the nature of the disaster, when it’s simply best to stay where you are.

Use common sense and available information to assess the situation and determine if there is immediate danger. If you see large amounts of debris in the air, or if local authorities say the air is badly contaminated, you’ll want to stay put.

What is my evacuation plan?

A lot of emergencies require evacuating. Planning ahead is vital to ensuring that you can evacuate quickly and safely.

Plan how you will leave and where you will go if you are advised to evacuate. Pick a few different places to go depending on the emergency. If you have pets, make sure you have a list of pet friendly options. Whether it’s a friend’s house, a hotel in a nearby town or a few family members in different cities.

Step Two: Figure Out the Needs of Your House

It’s important to take into consideration the number of people you live with, pets, ages, daily needs, medial needs, etc. How many “day supply” do you need to be covered for?

As you’re putting together a plan, talk to each other about each others needs and responsibilities. As well as people around you who can help with kids, business, pets, medical needs, etc.

Step Three: Create your Emergency Plan, Disaster Kit & Grab and Go Checklist.

There are tons of resources online. To prepare for an emergency or natural disaster, planning is key. You can google depending on your area, different types of disasters or specific needs of your family. But I’ve put together a few templates that you can also download.

How to Make a Disaster Kit

There are a ton of ready to go disaster kits you can buy quickly on Amazon. You can also build your own. Remember to take into consideration different emergencies in your area. For instance, if your area is prone to flooding, be sure to have sand bags on hand. If you live somewhere that is more likely to have wild fires, stock up on dust masks for the family.

One of my top tips as you prepare for an emergency is to make sure you’ve catered your plan and supplies to your area, family size, needs & possible outcomes.