Emergerncy info in your disaster bailout kit

11 years ago

In recent weeks there have been many posts concerning how to make preparations in case we have to evacuate our homes as a result of hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, floods, etcetera, and in each post ppl always suggest methods to carry or otherwise safeguard our important papers.

The problem is that if we hand carry those documents there is a very high risk that they can be lost or stolen but if we leave them in the house they can be destroyed by wind, fire or flood, so the question is, what to do?

I have hit upon a solution:

I scan all the documents to my computer in JPEG format, then I arrange them in files in the same manner as I sort my photos.

By example,

Under my name I have files marked:

"Personal ID" and it has my Birth certificate, Drivers license and the personal information page of my passport.

"Military Records"..Both of my "Honorable Discharge Wall certificates", both of the DD-214 discharge papers.

"Education"- HS Diploma, all 9 college & technical school diplomas and my ham radio license.

Then I have a file for the house:

The deed & land title, the Mortgage, Homeowners insurance documents and a series of photos showing all four views to document the condition of the exterior of the house plus additional photos to document any special improvements inside.

Vehicles: A separate file for each vehicle: Title, registration, and photos from all views.

Once I had all the documents on the computer it was easy to print a hard copy for file in my home safe.

I then copied all the files onto a 4GB thumb drive that is attached to a landyard

I have all the original documents safely filed away in a safe deposit box at the bank, and I have hard copies on hand in our home safe for those occasions when I only need a copy to show someone.

If it becomes necessary to leave the house I can simply hang the thumb drive around my neck on the landyard and I have all the records sealed in a compact water tight container and if i need to produce a copy all I have to do is plug the thumb drive into a computer, pull up the file and print the document.

Now here is another idea for those of you who have children or if you have grandchildren you might pass this on to their parents. God forbid that one of our children should ever go missing, but in the event that should happen one of the keys to their successful return is how efficient the information you can provide the police, so they have something to begin looking for. Having once been through the agony of loosing a child I can tell you first hand that it is difficult to keep your wits about you to provide the necessary info to the police, so I have designed a form which the parents can fill out about one every year or two and keep it on file. Then if one of the children goes missing you can just pass the form on to the police to get them started.

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Comments (7)

carol_in_california
11 years ago
Thank you for the information....sorry about you losing a child.
minnie_tx
11 years ago
Thank you so much for the info and hugs to you too
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lazypup
Original Author
11 years ago
OOOOOOH no.. i did not loose a child,,she was only lost for three days.....but bless her heart, even then she did exactly what I taught her.

My daughter and I used to do a lot of canoing so when she was in high school she and three of her HS GF's decided they wanted to make 100mile trip down the river by canoe. I had full confidence in my daughters abilities but I did not know the skill level of the other girls.

They carefully laid out their plan on a map and figured it would take a full 7days. Most of the trip was through a rugged wilderness area and this was back before the day of cell phones. According to their original float plan on the 3rd and 5th days they would pass a marina on the river and they would put in and call to report thier progress.

On their 4th day out we got a severe storm that lasted two days, with high winds, heavy rains and thunder & lightning.

Sitting in a metal boat on the water during a lightning storm is not a safe place to be, so my daughter convinced the girls to go to shore and find a campsite well above the river in case of flooding to wait out the storm. The storm lasted two days and with the high water they waited a third day before they got back on the water. When she failed to make the check in call I was in a panic. I knew that she knew what to do, but I could not be certain that the others wouldn't convince her to try something stupid.

They finally completed their trip as planned and non the worse for wear, even though they were 3 days late. To this day those girls still laugh about there great conoe adventure, and my daughter always thanks me for having taught her to carry an extra three or four days food ration.
wanda_va
11 years ago
Wonderful post! I have started getting all my "stuff" together, but have not finished. We do have an "In case of death" notebook in the safe that has copies of everything important, notification information, etc. I still need to take pictures of everything. Once it is all done, I will make a copy of everything to give to my brother for a safe backup.

How great that you had taught your daughter survival skills--you probably saved her life and the lives of her friends.

You and Frog are a wealth of information, and among the MVPs on the KT!
tami_ohio
11 years ago
Thanks, Lazypup! I would like to add my 2 cents worth. I will be taking your suggestion and adding to it.

I currently keep ALL my emergency medical information in my wallet, and in each vehicle, and in my phone. I designed my emergency medical form based on the Girl Scout over night permission slip/medical form. It includes all my doctors, including what that doctor is for, thier phone numbers, Any allergies, any surgeries, all the medications I take, and emergency contact information. I have a form for my DH, and both of my parents, also. I keep it updated, and in the computer also.

A friend who is a full time RV'er, and cancer survivor, also keeps copies of all of her exrays and mamograms and lates blood work on her thumb drive.

Something I learned a long time ago to make a copy of my blood work orders and mamogram orders. It was a good thing I did, too. Where I had my diagnostic mamogram messed up and coded it as a regular mamogram. As I had already had on for the year, the insurance wouldn't pay it. Needless to say the imaging center tried to get me to pay the bill, and would not change the coding. I explained it to the representative, who tried very hard to help me, but the higher ups wouldn't let her change the code. I happened to remember I had made a copy, and sent it to her. I was absolutely amazed, and grateful, that she took the time to call me after hours on a Friday, saying that she had gotten it fixed, it would go thru insurance as it should be. And she appologized because she couldn't call me the day before, because she and her son had been in an accident! Even with being in an accident, she was thinking of me. I made certain she knew how much I appreciated it.

Glad to hear your daughter finished her trip safely.

Tami
nanny98
11 years ago
What a great thread of information. It will be my (and DH) next project. Thank you Everyone!
marie_ndcal
11 years ago
Thanks for the information. It is always good to be as prepared as possible no matter where you live or travel.

Emergerncy info in your disaster bailout kit

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carol_in_california

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Emergerncy info in your disaster bailout kit

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carol_in_california

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