As we plan ahead and prepare for emergencies and natural disasters, it is important to consider all members of our households and that includes our pets. Check out these tips posted recently by Tanika C. Whittington, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Legislative and Public Affairs, on the USDA blog.
Working with the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Alert System, NWR is an “All Hazards” radio network. Known as the “Voice of NOAA’s National Weather Service,” NWR is provided as a public service by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), part of the Department of Commerce.
It broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, directly from the nearest National Weather Service office.
One of the Prepare Kansas week 3 challenge tasks is to begin assembling grab-and-go bags for family members, including household pets. You may be wondering how these are different from the emergency supply kits you assembled in weeks 1 and 2.
The short answer is that they may contain some similar items. In our minds, there are differences though. A basic household or vehicle emergency kit will be used whenever there is an emergency. A grab-and-go bag will likely only be used when you and members of your household need to evacuate quickly. Sometimes it might be hard to decide what the outcome of the emergency will be and you will want to grab both.
Items to include in grab-and-go bags for individual family members include those that are listed as additional items to consider on FEMA’s emergency supply list as well as the supplies for unique needs listed at http://www.ready.gov/kit
Individual and family needs vary and so will needs over time. Be sure to include items that will meet your current needs and update your grab-and-go bags at least once a year.
One of our 2014 Prepare Kansas online challenge participants, asked the following:
I am still working on putting our kit together but as I’ve been gathering items I realize that the original fireproof box I was planning to use is not big enough. The next size larger is too heavy to really carry.
What are people using for a “bag” that is fireproof, waterproof, and lightweight?
I would appreciate any suggestions.
Please share your suggestions in the comments!
P.S. Thanks to those who shared pictures of their grab-and-go kits! These are some of the images they shared.
