Given the recent Hurricanes, we have all seen large evacuations recently, either on TV or by being stuck in traffic. Hurricane Harvey was instructive as the wide spread flooding occurred in places that had never been known to flood previously forcing evacuations from places that were not routine. Large scale evacuations are chaotic events, with clogged transit routes, sold out gas stations, and other obstacles to make the experience unpleasant.
I’ve been in a number of evacuations, particularly from New York, and once from the Florida Keys, but never from home. On the other hand, I have family living near the Georgia coast. They seem to have to evacuate about once every five years, and have it down to a science. Their most recent experience was Hurricane Irma.
Let’s assume you have to evacuate from your home on a few hours’ notice. What are the challenges? What do you need to do? How do you link up with family members? What do you need to do after the fact?
Evacuation = Bug Out
If you are going to evacuate, from home, with your family, it is best to have a plan with a few contingencies. The first issue is, where are you going to go? We preppers would refer to this as a Bug Out Location (BOL), but whether you use the terminology or not, you need to know where you are going, or you may just be making your situation worse. Lots of preppers tend to think of a BOL as some sort of hideaway in the woods. In my case I have arrangements with extended family to put them up if they come here, and to put me up if I come there. Easy. 😊
Next you need a vehicle that is well maintained and has a full tank of fuel. There will be traffic tie ups. Gas stations will run out of gas, or be unable to pump due to loss of electricity. A few extra jerry cans, filled well in advance, can dramatically improve your odds of getting where you are going.
You also need to know what to take with you. This is where your Bug Out Bags, BOBs, come in. You do have a BOB, don’t you? Entire books have been written about what should go in a BOB, so I won’t try to cover that here, but do include copies of the family’s important documents, e.g. birth certificates, passports, etc. If damage occurs to your home, you’ll be glad you brought those documents. Don’t forget paper maps! 😊
Everyone should be dressed to be stuck outdoors, but as comfortable as possible, with good shoes or boots, gloves, and rugged clothes. So now that your car is fueled, loaded, and everyone ready to go, shut off your utilities. Leaving the gas or water on is a good way to find your home destroyed unnecessarily. Closing a few valves can make a huge difference in what you come back to. A running toilet can destroy a house.
Finally, take some tools for removing downed trees. My local utility needed to remove 45,000 downed trees after Hurricane Sandy. If one of them is in your way while trying to evacuate, I’m sure the utility will be there to remove it within a week or two. ☹
Assembly Point
There is also the problem of someone not being at home when the evacuation occurs. Phone circuits jam in an emergency. It is best to have an “Assembly Point”, i.e. a pre-determined place to meet. Also, leave a note in an agreed upon place that you have evacuated, and plan to meet them at the assembly point. Ultimately, you also need a rule for how long you will wait at the assembly point before moving on to your final BOL. Getting stuck at the assembly point could be as bad as getting stuck at your starting point.
So now you have your family assembled, either before leaving home, or at the assembly point.
Pre-positioning
If you are fortunate enough to own your BOL, or can store supplies there, you can make your life much easier by pre-positioning supplies at your BOL. You don’t need to pack stuff if it is already at your destination. By simply placing some food, clothing, and other basic necessities at your BOL, you free up room in your vehicle for people, pets, or other belongings. You don’t have this luxury? How about a storage unit in the vicinity of your BOL?
Enroute
You’ve managed to collect everyone and all the correct belongings and have hit the road. You even beat most of the traffic because everyone else is still figuring out what to take. Nonetheless, you will hit a traffic jam. Disasters always screw up traffic, and if they don’t someone will decide to stick a cop in the middle of an intersection to make sure to screw it up. Have you ever been stuck in traffic and seen a traffic light with a cop in the same intersection directing traffic and thought “This would go better if that guy would just stop what he is doing and allowed the light to work”? With a little bad luck, the power will go out taking all traffic signals with it, not to mention fueling stations. This is why your preps include a few jerry cans.
Having a 4-wheel drive vehicle will definitely be helpful if the traffic jam is bad enough. If you get a lot of stop and go, having a car that shuts itself off and restarts when you hit the gas will take you further. Without that get in the habit of turning off the engine when stuck.
Knowing alternate routes is also a good thing. Let’s say you’re going to your cousin’s home 150 miles away. Have you ever tried to do that without getting on an interstate highway? Maybe now is a good time to give it a try.
Arrival
So now you have arrived and the family has unloaded and gotten comfortable. What have you forgotten? If the power is on at your destination, go fill the gas tank and refill the gas cans. In most cases you are ultimately going home and will need fuel to get there. You also have the risk that the disaster will spread. How long do you think it will be before gas stations run out, with all the extra people in the area due to the evacuation? What if the power goes out at your new location, disabling all the gas stations? Fill up now.
Also, if you are staying with others, work, and be gracious for your hosts. After all, the next disaster may put them on your doorstep. 😊
Summary
Evacuations are generally forced affairs, with lots of chaos due to an overload of people hitting the roads at the same time. An evacuation will never be an easy experience, but with a bit of pre-planning, you can beat the crowd and have an easier time than most.
Cutting tools in the car? Brilliant! My most likely reason to have to bug out is a tornado after all…
On a similar vein, those of us whose travel may take us north should have something to handle frozen water with … a scraper, snow shovel, maybe some kitty litter or sand depending on space. (Those stay in my car all winter. So do dry gloves and socks and a chemical hand warmer. Been there, done that.)
I have to admit the scraper, etc. is just normal car stuff, not prepper stuff, around here. You can also scrape your windshield with the edge of a credit card (trick learned when traveling in Maine). One theme running through a number of my posts is that disasters will screw up traffic with “stuff” being dropped in the roads.
That’s one area where ones BOV having high ground clearance and 4WD would be an advantage… We have two options, one “high MPG” vehicle that (with stored fuel on hand at all times) could get us over 1,000+ miles without buying gas along the way, 1,500 if we stopped by The Place and grabbed what is there along the way… the other is a big, tough, tall 4WD truck that can go about anywhere (but range is limited by it’s wonderful 10MPG fuel consumption).
The high MPG vehicle have very low clearance, so that would be an issue… cutting tools, yes. Good plan.
I think range is really under appreciated.
Hmm. Cutting tools. Sounds like a good idea to get a plastic tool box to hold my second chainsaw and a bit of gas and bar oil. Something grab-and-go to stash in the back of the pickup. Already have a bowsaw in the cab, but chainsaw sounds better for road clearing.
Murphy says that if one tree comes down while you are evacuating, it will land in the road. 🙁
may I also suggest several tire repair kits , several light, head-worn lights that charge from the cigarette lighter in the car especially, and multiple hand guns and small rifles with LOTS of ammo. And STEEL jerry cans are cheap and very tough and almost never leak gas fumes, unlike plastic gas cans.
I second the notion of the head-worn lights, Spice and I need to add some of those to our preps…
I’m not quite as quick to jump on the “lots of guns and ammo in the car” bandwagon, though, because many people who read this live in, or near, states with harsh gun control laws.
Additionally, break-ins of cars are common, and explaining to authorities why somebody is committing crimes with guns that came from my care is not high on my to-do list.
I’m all for carry where and when it’s legal, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not a fan of leaving firearms in a vehicle in a parking lot, unattended.
I’m a fan of solar-rechargeable lights, with a battery or car charger backup system. I find those are most likely to be ready when I need them, and stay ready over a period of days.
I’m fine with most of what you said but the guns and ammo recommendation is good for 7-10 in PRNJ state prison. I’ll pass until I can get to a friendlier state.