One week until hurricane season begins – and anyone who doesn’t have an evacuation plan ready is an idiot. When the Corps, well known for obfuscation and happy talk, says things like this:
then you know the situation is dire.
Since evacuation is the only sensible option for New Orleans at this point for pretty much anything above a Category 1 direct hit or a brush by a Category 2, here are some tips to prepare that I first posted on May 23, 2006. (Remember that Katrina was a Category 3 when she brushed past – NOT directly hit – New Orleans. She had a stronger storm surge than the average Cat 3, but she was not the Category 5 killer storm so many people think she was when she hit.)
Next week a new hurricane season starts. I’ve been making evacuation preparations so that if we have to bug out again, it will go more smoothly than last time. Here are my recommendations:
1. If your plan includes a stay with other people, buy a copy of Ken Sande’s The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict
2. Inventory your house, at a minimum, with pictures but ideally on paper as well. You have a lot more in your video and CD collection than you realize, for example, and if you had to itemize that for your insurance company, it would take a while. It’s easier to do now at your leisure than after catastrophe strikes. If you only have time for photos, don’t forget to photograph the insides of closets, cabinets and dresser drawers.
3. Scan pictures you love. Your photo albums and photos that are on your wall are things you will miss. If you get those on a CD you can just reprint them later, and a CD is very easy to bring with you.
4. If you don’t intend to bring your computer with you, use the Windows Files and Settings Transfer wizard to make a backup. (For Windows XP, go to Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Files and Settings Transfer Wizard.) Put that on a CD or DVD. If you can’t burn a CD or DVD, and if it’s not practical to bring the computer with you, you can also just open up the case and remove the hard drive. It’s smaller than a VHS and very transportable. For a nominal fee, the folks at your local computer store can show you how to do this. It’s a worthwhile investment, because you can always plug that hard drive into a new computer setup and still have all your data and settings. And as for bringing the computer with you – remember that you don’t have to bring the monitor, mouse and keyboard if space is a problem. You can buy those things anywhere. Just bring the actual computer, the box.
5. All the important papers – birth and marriage certificates, insurance policies, diplomas, your most recent resume, anything you think is important – gather them together, along with your photo CDs and computer backup and put them in a briefcase. If space is a consideration, for things you don’t need originals of like your resume, scan them and get them onto CD or DVD as well.
This stuff takes a little time, but it is well worth it. Once it’s done, you only have to maintain it which is a lot less work. I recommend backing up your computer at least every two weeks. It really doesn’t take long to do, and you never know when you’ll need it.
Phase Two of preparations will include more planning and pets, as well as a new website I’m rolling out later this week to help you form a plan on how to evacuate with your pet. People had to make heartbreaking decisions on what to do with these members of the family during Katrina. I know people who left their pets, who turned out to be fine, and others who left their pets and the pets drowned in their homes. Still others chose to stay home and risk their lives instead of abandoning their pets. There are more solutions available for this problem than you might realize, and advance planning makes all the difference.
