Are You Are You Prepared for a Disaster? Lessons Learned the Hard Way

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling I had when the power went out on May 2nd.

It was Sunday morning and in the face of a second day of torrential rains and horrific flooding across the city, we already had decided not to attempt driving to church. Within a few minutes of that decision, the mayor of Nashville made a statement asking everyone who could to stay home that day.

So instead of getting dressed, I turned on the news, got online, and began monitoring the situation around town. One television station was live broadcasting the attempted rescue of a man here in Bellevue (a Nashville community), who’d gotten caught in the swollen river. On Twitter, pictures were being posted in real-time of various landmarks and neighborhoods around town that were quickly filling with water. I started to panic a little bit.

And then the power went out.

And somehow, I knew it was going to be out for a long, long time.

I was totally unprepared for a disaster. We were out of milk (a calamity in itself, as far as my 3-year-old is concerned) had no working flashlights, and my cell phone was dead. Worst of all, I had just one diaper left.

ONE DIAPER.

Hubs, therefore, decided to try and get to Publix before the floods got any worse. He made it the two miles to the store, where inside it was dark and chaotic. Water was rising in the parking lot and several cars already were underwater. While Hubs spent a few hurried minutes in the store, the flood waters moved about ten parking spaces closer to the supermarket. Shoppers were coming out to find their cars had become submerged while they were inside. By the time Hubs made the return trip, police were shutting down the street that provides the only access to our neighborhood- he barely made it home.

As I said. Totally unprepared.

Over the next couple of days, I would come up with a laundry list of items that I will ALWAYS keep on hand now, in the event of an emergency. Even before the flood, the idea of being stranded for days had become less and less farfetched. It wasn’t that long ago that we had a severe gas shortage here and had to face the possibility that we might be trapped at home until more gas could be trucked in. Then there are the occasional snowstorms and the tornadoes that periodically tear through our area. Really, you never know when the unexpected will happen. If this flood proved anything, it was that.

With this in mind, here are the things I think we should all have in our homes at all times- Trust me, if disaster unexpectedly strikes, you’ll be glad you were at least somewhat prepared.

1. A car cell phone charger.

I have often cursed myself for not taking the time to buy a car charger for my cell phone, but never more than I did in the midst of this flood. The power was out, Hubs and my stepdaughters had left home to try and get to his TV station, and I had a dead cell phone and no idea of what was going on. My husband and girls didn’t get home that night until 2 am, and I didn’t know where they were or what had happened to them. Dumb move on my part.

2. Flashlights and extra batteries.

Ordinarily, we’re pretty good about keeping working flashlights in the house- but that becomes a little more of a challenge with an inquisitive three-year-old boy who counts flashlights among his favorite toys. When Hubs went to Publix, he picked up plenty of batteries and an inexpensive lantern/flashlight like this one, which was invaluable. I plan to buy two or three more. I could use it to light a room as a lantern (much safer with kids than candles) or turn it on its handle and use it as a flashlight.

3. Acetaminophen/ Ibuprofen, for adults and children, as well as Bactine, Neosporin, and plenty of Band-Aids. And keep at least two weeks of your prescription medication on hand at all times.

I actually had these things in the house, but only after a few midnight incidents when my kids’ fevers shot up and I had nothing on hand to bring them back down. Hearing stories from around town during the flood, I can tell you that Murphy’s Law definitely went into effect- While so many of us were trapped in our homes, stories of illness and accidents abounded. Always be ready to treat illnesses and minor medical emergencies at home, whether you want to or not.

4. A car power converter.

For around $30, you can buy a device that plugs into your car lighter and provides an outlet. There are many possible emergency uses for a device like this one- My friends used theirs to help save a baby’s life. Incidentally, my son had a bad chest cold while our power was out and I would have absolutely used his nebulizer to relieve his wheezing if I’d had one of these in my car. We’re buying one, ASAP.

5. A weather radio and a battery-operated FM/AM radio.

When so many lost power during the flood, our local talk radio station provided wall-to-wall coverage so that we could hear what was going on, too. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a battery-powered radio, so the only time I heard the coverage was when I was in the car. NEVER AGAIN. I found this version for $30 on Amazon, which has AM/FM/Weather radio dials, an LED flashlight, a USB charger, and can also operate on solar energy or with a handcrank. Love.

6. Water.

I can’t stress this one enough. More than once during the last week, we came dangerously close to losing our water supply. By the time I could get to Publix to get ice and bottled water, they had run out of both. I will always keep at least one case of extra bottled water on hand from now on.

7. Firewood.

Obviously, this one only applies if you have a fireplace and firewood did us no good during the flood. However, we had a big snowstorm earlier this year and we were very low on firewood. If the power had gone out, we would have been miserable. I decided then to stock up on a few days worth of firewood each winter in the event of a long-term power outage.

8. Appropriate food.

We had food we could eat during the power outage, but it wasn’t very good. Be mindful of what you have on hand that you could use to make entire meals for your family if you were without power for a few days. Canned meat, potato chips, fruit snacks, and crackers won’t really cut it for more than a meal or two. I plan to find a few recipes online that don’t require cooking or refrigerated products and keep those items on hand in addition to snack foods.

9. Stay informed on what’s going on news and weather-wise, and when you hear of bad weather or a possible crisis approaching, take action immediately.

I’m generally pretty good about this one- The moment I heard about a possible gas shortage last year, I filled up our cars. That’s how we avoided waiting in 2-3 hour lines for gas a few days later. And when I hear about the possibility of snow in the forecast, I usually stock up on extra food and necessities several days in advance. Now, I’m going to be more mindful of approaching severe weather as well.

10. Cash

A reader mentioned this one and I’ve added it to the list. Our entire community was without power for several days, which meant that most stores that did stay open had to operate cash-only. We were lucky our Publix could accept credit cards- otherwise, we would have been in serious trouble.

I’d love to hear your ideas for disaster preparedness. What do you always have on hand? Have you learned any lessons the hard way? Let us know!