Emergency Preparedness - Shelter

When thinking about emergency preparedness, take some time to think about our basic needs. What would you do to meet the needs of water, food, shelter, and sanitation if your everyday solution was no loner available?

This is where you allow yourself to start brainstorming the answer to the "What if?" question. Where would my family go if . .  . our home was left unlivable by a tornado, fire, or flood? Maybe your emergency will be as simple as a furnace that is not working in the dead of winter - you will still need somewhere to go or a plan to keep you and your children warm enough until repairs can be made. Shelter really is a big need in this life. 

I'll share a few thoughts that we have come up with and maybe they can provide some direction for you.

We are blessed with quite a bit of family in the area as well as close friends. We know that a disaster is unlikely to take out the entire Boise area. We know we would be able to stay a short while with friends or family until a long term solution could be reached. We have homeowners insurance that will cover the cost of living somewhere else while our own home is being repaired or rebuilt. It may take a few days to work this out so our quick solution would be to stay with family. 

We have a kerosene heater that would allow us to keep the master bedroom of the house quite warm. We could all sleep on the floor in there for a few days if our furnace were out or the power was off for some reason. It will be easier to keep one room of the house warm and all huddle together. We have collected quite a few blankets, sleeping bags, coats, snow pants, etc. over the years that can also work to keep us warm. We store enough fuel to keep the heater going for a few days. This is not a long term solution. It is meant to get us through a short term emergency.

We have a tent large enough to sleep our family. Again, this would be used as a short term solution if needed as we worked out more permanent shelter.

Hopefully, these thoughts get you thinking about your own situation. Everyone lives in different areas where the likelihood of certain disasters is different. Take some time to learn about what disasters are more likely to hit your area and then brainstorm a plan with your family as to what you would do if . . . A plan brings a lot of peace when you are faced with an emergency. It brings hope to know you have thought about it and you have an idea of what you would do.

Check out www.ready.gov for more ideas.