If you've been lurking around the old blogaroo for a few years, you might know that my sister and her family went through a nasty, life-altering tornado back in 2007. {If you missed it and want to read my posts about that - they're in the May/June archives of 2007.} Anyway, this experience has made me a bit more sensitive to the whole idea of severe storms, and I wanted to take a minute to offer some ideas of things you might not think to do when bad weather comes your way. Here are some of the things I learned from that day in 2007 - and put into practice myself this past Sunday.
* As hard as it is, take the warnings seriously even when it feels like reports are crying wolf. This is a HARD one for me - even given all watched my sister go through. A few years ago, here in our fine city, they started running the tornado alarms for ALL storms. Even thunderstorms. As a result, I usually utterly ignore warnings, because I'm immune to them. But it's a good idea to have a cautious spirit even when warnings seem to pop up far too often.
* Pack a bag. With shoes. When warnings roll around, it's a good idea to pack a bag to get you through a few days. Shirts, underwear, pants, jackets, socks - and don't forget the shoes. My niece didn't pack shoes and was barefoot when she went to the basement for the tornado warning. When they had to evacuate after the storm, she was fortunate to encounter all her shoes outside in what had been the garage...but if they had blown away, she would have been in trouble!
* Don't forget the other essentials. Do you take medication? Have glasses and contacts? Don't forget to include those in your bag. They're the things you might not think of in the moment...but if you're displaced, you'll need them! Sure, you can get some of them replaced, but it's a good idea to have your supply on hand if you can.
* Chargers and flash drives. Stuff can be replaced, but sometimes stuff WITHIN the stuff cannot. Do you have flash drives, camera memory cards or external hard drives that hold important memories and information? While it would be great to save scrapbooks and hard copies of documents, if you have the contents saved digitally, that at least gives you the bare bones!
* Don't just gather your important stuff - put it in the safe place. It's great to have a safe or bag that holds all your important papers...Social Security cards, passports, vehicle titles, birth certificates, marriage licenses, etc. - but it only helps if you take it with you.
* Inventories!! This one is a little impossible once the warning has been issued, but if you have time to prep, it's a GREAT idea to inventory your house. {If you have a move in your future, that's a good time to do it!!} Some insurance policies require a detailed list of what you own, and that's hard to do when it all blows away. My sister said she couldn't believe how much she forgot she owned once it wasn't sitting in front of her anymore. From clothing to appliances to books - make lists of what you own, so you can turn that in.
* Heirlooms - The one thing you can't replace is an heirloom. So if there's something you just can't live without - make sure you take it to a safe place!!
So that's what I've got. Be safe out there, y'all. Seems like stuff like this crops up with no warning these days.
(Photo from the tornado my sister lived through.)
Thankfulness, Day 19: Thank someone you've caught in the act of making an impact in someone ELSE'S life. You weren't the recipient. Just the observer. Thank that person for investing - might be just the encouragement they need!
2 comments:
This is sobering to think about but such good advice. And with our weather getting more severe all the time more people are going to need to prepare for events like these.
Natasha, do you get much of this kind of thing where you live? I guess I never hear about natural disasters in Canada, so I didn't know if they just don't get mentioned here or if you don't have them to the extent we do!
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