Why a ‘go bag’ can mean the difference between life or death during a disaster

By Matt Villano, CNN

(CNN) — When hurricanes bear down, floodwaters rise, wildfires rage and that big earthquake finally strikes, it’s critical that you and your family members are ready to evacuate.

Perhaps the most important thing to bring with you: a “go bag” full of emergency supplies. Go bags exist to save you from having to run around and gather items when a threatening situation is imminent.

These bags are designed to provide everything a family of four needs to survive for several days after a disaster, especially if tried-and-trusted services aren’t available.

The bags don’t have to be bags at all — they can be boxes, cartons or crates, so long as they contain all of the important supplies.

The contents of a family’s go bag could mean the difference between life or death, depending on how bad a situation becomes, according to Jonathan Sury, senior staff associate at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, or NCDP, at Columbia Climate School.

“Having yourself and your family be prepared will ease the burden on our response system but also make you more mentally ready for what lies ahead,” Sury said. “Preparation is the difference between being panicked and being calm, collected and cool.”

Disaster preparedness certainly is an important topic; a 2015 NCDP survey indicated that only 35% of respondents had an adequate disaster plan and supplies.

Whether your home is currently threatened, now is a great time to put a plan together.

Your must-haves

Most of the items disaster preparedness experts suggest you include in a go bag are things you can find around your house. You also can purchase items separately or as part of package kits designed to offer one-stop shopping.

Whichever strategy you choose, the Federal Emergency Management Agency website says a basic emergency supply kit should include:

• One gallon of water per person, per day

• Three-day supply of nonperishable food per person and per pet

• Your family’s prescription medications

• Battery-powered or hand crank radio

• Flashlights

• First-aid kit

• Wrench to turn off utilities

Some of the items on extended lists include emergency blankets, extra cash, solar cell phone chargers and a multipurpose tool such as a Leatherman or Swiss Army knife.

People also should include digital copies of all their important documents such as birth certificates, insurance policies and passports, Sury said, as well as ample supplies of over-the-counter and prescription medications for every person in the family.

Are the roads clear?

Another key component: good paper maps.

It is critical to have printed maps of the area with two exit routes marked clearly, said Samantha Montano, assistant professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

“Have plans on how you would evacuate your home including what type of transportation you would use, how you would afford it, and where you would stay,” Montano wrote in an email.

“This is particularly important to think about early on because the pandemic may have made your existing evacuation plans obsolete.”

The American Red Cross also published a checklist that echoes these sentiments.

Is it time to leave yet?

During the pandemic, many families rethought their “go plan” and considered leaving before an official warning, if for no other reason than to get out of harm’s way, said Eric Alberts, assistant vice president of emergency management at Orlando Health, a health care system in Florida.

People can still catch Covid-19, the flu and other contagious illnesses, so those who are immunosuppressed or currently ill need to be even more careful as they evacuate, packing masks and hand sanitizer and their specific medications. (That’s good advice for everyone.)

“If people are in a location that requires them to evacuate, they should be proactive and leave before it is too late,” he said.

A video record of your home

If you have time to prepare, do a walk-through of your home and take video of the contents. If the structure is destroyed, your insurance company will want to see what your home was like.

Sury, the expert from Columbia, said that while doing so isn’t a must, it’s always a good idea to have such a record.

“Anything that can be required for your identification or compensation after disaster,” he said. “If you’ve got a way to make formal record of everything with value, it will help you in the long run with recovering from a disaster.”

Sury’s organization has put together an app to help people determine how ready they are to respond to a disaster. The tool, dubbed the Preparedness Wizard, is fun and educational but also offers important practical information and input about how to maximize readiness and minimize risk.

Don’t forget the stuffed animals

In addition to whatever medicine and other basic supplies your children will need, remember their teddy bears, blankies, favorite books, tablets (and chargers) or other things that will help calm their fears as you leave your home.

Sonoma County, California, resident Rosie Monson learned this firsthand. In 2019, as the Kincade Fire was bearing down on her Alexander Valley home and she and her husband were evacuating, Monson made a pass through the house for her kids’ most cherished possessions.

“In our case it was My Little Pony dolls, a Nintendo Switch, jewelry and stuffies,” Monson said. “I didn’t have time to pack everything and couldn’t fit everything in our car with the pets and kids, but I didn’t want my kids to feel sad or stressed or different from other kids because something in their normal routine was gone.”

Monson and her husband lost their home in that fire, and she said her kids still cherish everything that was saved. Her advice on packing for evacuations: “If your kids don’t have their favorite stuff, the tears start every time they think of something and it’s so sad.”

Always be ready

The bottom line: always be ready, even beyond the bag. Just because someone puts together a “go bag” does not mean that person is prepared, Montano warned.

“We know from the research that it’s much more complicated than that,” she said. “Your social network, your economic situation, the preparedness of your local government (and) other factors all influence how ready you are to go through a disaster.”

Matt Villano, a writer and editor based in Northern California, has evacuated from three wildfires in seven years. This story was updated from Villano’s November 2020 article.

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