Vital Records, Morale Boosters, Cash, Reminders

VITAL RECORDS
Include in or near your 72-hour emergency kit copies of important, valuable, irreplaceable or cherished records. Keep these records in a waterproof and portable container with adequate desiccant (moisture absorbers). Conduct an inventory of your home, garage, premises, and place of business. Then make a written itemized list of the contents. Include serial numbers, make, model numbers, physical descriptions, where and when purchased, purchase price, and current estimated value. Attach receipts if you have them. Although it may seem like a daunting task, there are plenty of resources available to anyone for free on the internet to help you get past the overwhelming feeling of just getting started on a project of this size. Here is just one site I found that helps put things in perspective and gives you the tools you need to tackle the project: http://web.aces.uiuc.edu/vista/pdf_pubs/houseinv.pdf .
In some emergencies you may need to just grab-n-go with a few things beyond your 72-hour emergency kit. I recommend planning for several contingencies based on the time you have to evacuate and the way in which you leave. Many documents, such as computer files, genealogy, & photos today can be digitized and stored at internet storage sites. (Cox, now offers free internet storage for their customers. This saves having to photocopy many documents that you would otherwise need to carry with you.) The trusty bank safe-deposit box is still a very reliable place to keep valuables. Spending some time thinking about what you value and what you’d miss most if lost will guide you as you decide how to protect your belongings and valuables.
Another method of preserving documents is to purchase and install a fireproof, waterproof floor safe. This could be a pricy item, but may help solve the “prevent loss” dilemma of a number of your valuables and important documents.
Here is a checklist of documents and records you may need to consider preserving to prevent their loss following a disaster.
Academic records, transcripts Adoption or custody papers ATM card & PIN
Accounts receivable Information Automobile insurance documents Automobile registration, title
Awards, prizes Bank account passbooks Bank loan agreements, obligations
Biographies Birth certificates Bonds
Books (Important or Irreplaceable) Books of remembrance/Memory books Brokerage statements
Business & occupational licenses Business insurance Business records
Cash disbursements journal Cash receipt journals Certificates, awards
Charge-card information Checking account information Church records
Citizenship papers Collectibles Computer disks, software
Contracts Copyrights Correspondence
Court documents Credit or debit cards Credit reports
Death certificates Deeds Deed to cemetery lot
Debts Dental records Diaries
Diplomas Disability awards Divorce or separation decrees
Driver’s license Driving record Employee benefits records
Employment contract Employment paycheck stubs Employment records
Employment resumes Equities in stocks, mutual funds, treasuries, & corporate bonds Eyeglass prescriptions
Family histories Films/videos Funeral and burial plans –prearranged
Gas charge cards Genealogy Guarantees, warranties, sales receipts
Hazard insurance documents Health histories, medical records Health & hospitalization insurance documents
Home improvement receipts Home purchase or re-fi documents Home security codes
Immunization records Income property documents Inheritance documents
Insurance documents, ID Cards etc Investment account statements Investment portfolio
Jewelry appraisals Journals Keys, auto, RVs, etc.
Keys, house Keys, place of business Keys, safe-deposit box
Keys, miscellaneous Lease agreements Legal papers
Letter of instruction—in case of death Licenses Life insurance documents
Living wills Loans Long distance charge card & PIN
Major home improvement records Manuscripts Marriage certificate, license
Medicare/Medicaid/food stamp doc Medications/prescription records Membership cards, records
Memory albums Military papers Mortgage documents
Motor vehicle titles & VINs License plate numbers Names (full), DOB, SSN of all family
Net worth statement Paid loans documents Partnership(Business) documents
Passbook records (Savings accounts) Passports, Visas Patents
Payments on monthly bills & loans Pedigree charts for livestock & pets Pension plan documents
Personal history or autobiography Personal insurance (medical, disability, life, accident) Personal or family emergency and evacuation response plans (copy of)
Personal property loaned to others Phone numbers & addresses Photo of each family member (recent)
Photo inventory or video inventory Photograph of all valuables Photographs (slides, prints w/negatives, disks)
Precious metals investment record Promissory notes Property settlement agreements
Property tax records Purchase contracts Real estate property descriptions (financial, insurance)
Recipes (important or cherished) Record of hard assets Record of eyeglass prescriptions, medicine, allergies, immunizations
Religious records Retirement accounts Safe combinations
Safe-deposit box information Savings account number & address Savings CDs & account numbers
Scrapbooks Securities Selective service records/registration
Settlements Slides Social security cards/numbers/entitlements
Stocks Student loan records Tax records
Tax returns Title papers Trusts
Vacation home-ownership papers Vehicle/RV ownership papers Videos/films
Voter registration Wallet or purse contents (photocopy of) Website address information and contracts
Wills (& letters of instruction)


EMERGENCY CASH
An instant supply of emergency cash during or after a disaster is considered priceless. Returning home after evacuating may be, at the least, traumatic. Your home may have been swept away by raging torrents, covered by volcanic ash, destroyed by a violent tornado or hurricane, knocked off its foundation by a powerful earthquake, crushed by a wall of mud, or gutted by a devastating fire. In other words, your house may be uninhabitable. This would force you and your families to fend for yourselves until other provisions are made.
Having a ready supply of cash would help put you back on your feet and would permit you to obtain products and buy services you may be in desperate need of such as gasoline, lodging, food, ice, bottled water, and medical care. After a disaster, store merchants do not like to take personal checks and credit cards because they cannot verify them. CASH IS KING!!
CASH
• Currency—small bills (1s, 5s, 10s, 20s). $200 is a good minimal amount to start with. (Keep in a reclosable plastic bag or other waterproof container. Others recommend a minimum of $500.
• Pocket change. Include the following: one roll of each, quarters, dimes, nickels. (Coins can be placed in empty film canisters, or purchased in rolls from the bank.)
CHARGE CARDS (…if you use credit, otherwise, CASH, is best!)
• Duplicate charge cards
• Motor club cards
• ATM/Debit cards (which won’t work if the power is out)
• Gasoline Charge Cards
• Phone or Long Distance Charge Cards (check expiration dates on charge cards on an annual basis)

OTHER
• Spare wallet or purse
• Money belt
• Checkbook & register
• Check protection or guarantee card
• Money orders
• Traveler’s checks (in $50 or smaller checks)
• Bank information (include as name of institution, address, phone number, account numbers, bank official & loan officer phone numbers.)
• Spare keys (house, shed, padlocks, vehicles, safe deposit box, storage facilities, business, others) (Consider a key lock box stored in a hidden place.)

Note: College students should keep enough cash and necessary supplies on hand to be able to get home should an emergency develop.
MORALE BOOSTERS
Maintaining high morale is one of the single greatest factors in successfully coping with a major evacuation, emergency or disaster. Having a few diversionary items on hand will help to fortify a person’s mental, emotional and spiritual strength, especially is spending time in a public emergency shelter. Carefully selected diversion items will be your defense against despair and stress, brightening the mood and adding a sense of calmness and security. Recreational items can also help occupy long periods of time in which there may be very little to do.

While it is important to give some thought to entertaining children during the course of an emergency, parents should carefully consider which small toys and trinkets should be placed in a 72-hour kits. Several well-wrapped surprises keep children entertained for long periods, but one should be sure they are rationed out appropriately.

As soon as lifesaving measures are complete, the main focus should be on the emotional consequences of a disaster. Young children may not understand what has happened and may fear being left alone or abandoned. There may be a loss of cherished toys or security objects. In addition, there may be insufficient diapers or clean clothing, and sanitary conditions may be inadequate, causing stress and discomfort.

Use the following for ideas to include in your emergency plans. Again, make contingency plans.

Car travel games Card games Portable music player & batteries
Child’s favorite book Children’s workbook Colored construction paper
Colored pencils & sharpener Coloring books & crayons Crafts
Dominos Etch-a-sketch (mini-type) Favorite teddy bear
Security blanket Flannel board stories Quiet books
Flash cards Frisbee (large or mini) Game books
Harmonica (or other small instrument) Hobby materials Hymn book
Inflatable beach ball Journal/notebook Jump rope
Lap games Magazines Matchbox cars
Math & spelling games Needlework Newspaper
Pacifiers Pair of paper safety scissors Paper dolls
Paper paste or glue or glue stick Paper Paperback books/novel
Pencils Picture games Pocket camera
Pocket computer games & batteries Pocket sized games (chess, checkers, cribbage etc.) Pocket-sized TV
Puppets Puzzles Rattles
Rubber, plastic or foam ball Rubik’s Cube Scriptures/Bible
Small play toys Small wooden or plastic blocks Softball
Songbook Squirt guns Story books
Teethers MP3 player w/ headphones Watercolor paint set
Word games Yo-yo



HELPFUL REMINDERS
Following is a list of tips and hints. Hopefully, these reminders will further help families make emergency kits that are useful, reliable, and fit the needs of each family member.

1. Your individual or family 72-hour emergency kit(s) should be placed in a location that is safe, convenient, and known to all members of your family. It should be placed where it can be picked up quickly at a moment’s notice, preferably near an exit on the ground floor or near a window, such as in a closet near your front door or in your garage. The location should be cool, dry, dark, and up off the floor if possible. Try to avoid extremes in temperature.

2. You should have nearby for easy access a waterproof and fire-resistant container of your family’s most valuable personal documents, priceless photographs, etc.

3. Outside your 72-hour emergency kit, attach written directions for shutting off home utilities (water, gas, electricity). It is important to instruct members of your family how to turn off water, heat, and electricity sources. This will help protect the home from backlash effects that often accompany a disaster.

4. Your family’s emergency and evacuation response/plan should be attached to or nearby your 72-hour emergency kit.

5. Make a laminated master list of your kit’s contents, the location of various items, and instructions for the use of specific or unfamiliar items, and attach this list to the outside of your kit. Each family member should take notes on the emergency kit’s items and their uses. This will mentally reinforce recall when various items are needed.

6. Make an “if time and room allows” list of last-minute items to include when evacuating, and post this list near an exit in your home or attach the list to your kit. You may want to include precious items such as heirlooms, paintings, souvenirs, prized collections or other treasured items. These can be placed in your car it time, conditions and room allow.

7. Likewise, make a list of all items in daily use that need to be gathered up at the last minute that are not presently included in your emergency kit.

8. Small quantities of emergency supplies should be adequate for at least 72-hours. Additionally, a two-week home supply is highly recommended as a minimum reserve of water, food, fuel, medicine, and other consumables.

9. Have your 72-hour emergency kit(s) with you. That means keep a kit in your automobile. If you are single or are an older couple, there’s a good chance that where your automobile is, that’s where you are. And chances are that you won’t be home when disaster strikes.

10. A smaller, miniature version of your 72-hour emergency kit and first-aid kit should be placed in the trunk of your car for long trips.

11. Remember, most disasters occur when family members are separated. Seventy percent of the time, women will be away from their homes and family when a disaster occurs.

12. Inform babysitters where the 72-hour emergency kit and first-aid kits are located.

13. Your 72-hour emergency kit will need to be individualized according to your personal needs and your family’s situation. Be sure to keep in mind such things as your family’s size, your climate, and potential emergency situations likely to happen in your area, such as flooding or earthquakes. Try to project possible needs under various emergency conditions. Also, consider the health and age of each family member. It may limit how much an individual is able to carry or pack, and may also limit how far an individual may travel on foot. Additionally, don’t necessarily count on having a car to pack everything around in during an emergency.

14. Highlight those items you would like to include in your 72-hour emergency kit, then when you actually start gathering the items, simply check them off to show you have taken care of a particular item.

15. All items or groups of items should first be placed in air tight and water-resistant reclosable, heavy-duty plastic bags. These bags will organize and protect items, and will prevent liquids from spilling on other items in your kit.

16. You may want to color-code various sections of your kit according to function (such as first-aid, light, communications, food, etc.)

17. Try not to include glass bottles of any type in your kits. They only add more weight and are breakable.

18. If possible, try to obtain small trial-size or sample size containers of various items.

19. Film canisters (harder to find, now-a-days) are great containers for small items, such as matches, medications, safety pins, etc. They are airtight and water-resistant. Use self-sticking labels to identify the contents.

20. Try to avoid expensive or exotic items. Instead, use ordinary, everyday items found around your home whenever possible. You can upgrade your kit when your budget allows.

21. To assemble supplies economically, make an effort to pool your resources with those of neighbors, friends, relatives, and church groups.

22. Make a label to be sewn or attached to the outside or inside (if concerned about identity protection) of your kit using an indelible marker or pen. You may want to include the following, especially on children’s kits: name, names of parents; home address; phone number; birth date; person to notify in emergency, name of close friend, neighbor, or relative; blood-type, allergies, and serious medical conditions; etc. A luggage tag may work too.

23. Rethink your 72-hour emergency kit and family needs at least once a year. Replace batteries, food, water, medications, and other perishable items, and reevaluate clothing sizes.

24. Remember individuals with special needs such as infants, toddlers, invalids, the chronically ill, the blind, the disabled, and the elderly.

25. Do not test your preparedness kit by going camping with it for 72 hours. Doing this only depletes your supplies, disorganizes items, and puts you in a state of un-readiness should an actual need arise.

26. IMPORTANT: Acquire and maintain at least a one-year supply of food, clothing, and fuel, such as wood or coal, and a two-week supply of safe drinking water, and other basic commodities. A year’s supply of family necessities will increase self-reliance and help provide for non-evacuation emergencies such as financial stress, loss of employment, food shortages, and the absence of commercially available products for an extended period of time. Having a year’s supply also allows you the flexibility to wait for good sales through the year to restock, thereby saving considerable money.

27. Don’t count on having a car, a functioning gas station, or accessible roads to leave an emergency area. Emergencies may occur on holidays, weekends, or perhaps in the middle of the night when gas stations are not likely to be open. Gas pumps do not function without electricity, which is usually the first service to be disrupted in a disaster. Always maintain your car in good working order with the gas tank at least ¾ full at all times.

28. Your family should discuss orderly and efficient evacuation of their home so that if a disaster occurs, they will be prepared to evacuate immediately.

29. Each family member should know where to go, what to take, and for whom he or she is responsible, such as a younger brother or sister.

30. At least twice a year have a meeting with your family to discuss and update your family-emergency plan and determine what training, equipment, and supplies are needed. Occasional drills will assure quick reaction and avoid injury and panic in an emergency. Share your plan with neighbors, friends, relatives and co-workers.

31. Minimize detailed planning in your emergency plan. A written plan should be brief. Emergency procedures should be clarified in periodic, suitable training sessions rather than through lengthy written documents.

32. Know the daily schedule of each member of your family and make sure they know your schedule.

33. Be able to locate the heaviest furniture and appliances in your home from the floor below.

34. Plan ways to relieve people with special skills of their family duties during emergencies so they can use their skills to help others.

35. Each child should know his or her full name, address, telephone number, and the full name of his or her parents.

36. Every family member should have a fire safety program to teach family members how to prevent fires and how to reach the fire department in case one occurs in your home.

37. All children four years of age and older should be trained to use 9-1-1, the emergency phone number. In this training, they should know how to
• Dial 911.
• Tell the operator what the problem is.
• Tell what your address is.

38. Organize a daily check-in for children who stay alone. Find suitable back-up people to whom your child can turn in an emergency. Think about who in the neighborhood is usually home in the afternoon. Make sure your child knows he or she is welcome to call on the back-up people for help.

39. Make sure a duplicate copy of your family’s emergency and evacuation plan is in each child’s 72-hour emergency kit. Each child should be familiar with important information, names, and phone numbers the plan contains.

40. One area children can actively participate in is helping to assemble the individual and family 72-hour kits. Don’t forget, children can pack books, puzzles, and games to help them pass the time if you must leave your home for another shelter. Make sure your children know how to use each item in the kit.

November 2008

Hi Preparedness Group,

Attached is the handout for the last class. Thanks so much, Janna, for putting this together!

Thank you everyone, for coming to our Preparedness Classes over the last 7 months. I hope these meetings and handouts have been helpful to everyone and that you have been able to make some good progress this year on your family's emergency preparedness supplies/plans. We've now covered all the topics needed to get our 72 hour emergency kits together.

Thank you, Janna & April, for teaching the last few months of classes. It was great to learn from your experience. Thank you, Stephanie & April, for letting us use your homes for the classes.

Keep up the great work and keep working on those emergency and food storage goals!

Have a great day.

Debbie