Do you have an evacuation plan?

For those of us on the gulf coast, hurricanes are a part of life, and as with most, the future of the activity in the gulf is uncertain currently. We are living a couple hours at a time watching for updates. We have plans on where we would go if evacuated, and a list of items we can fit in vehicles should we have to leave. We usually ride out most storms/hurricanes, but if one bad enough comes, we can be ready to go in about 30 minutes. Those of you that don’t live in my region, do y’all have established evacuation plans, or preparations for weather? Whether it’s hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, snow, etc., it’s always good to have a plan for what to do if it’s time to go.

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Yes. Ride it out usually. But if it’s bad enough we have an exit strategy.

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A bug out plan is always beneficial.

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I spent a couple of years doing home safety inspections as an add-on for real estate investor clients of mine. In my observation, the vast majority of folks in Tornado Alley and on the Gulf Coast don’t even have fire extinguishers and can’t find a 1st aid kit without ransacking their house for a half hour cussing and blaming their kids, spouse, roommates, etc. Ironically, these landlords provided fire extinguishers and smoke detectors. But most of the time the batteries had been removed from the smoke alarms and the fire extinguisher “wasn’t here when we moved in.” So I don’t expect many folks have much of an evacuation plan no matter what they might say. FYI, most of these tenants also had firearms, and I never found one stores in an unsafe manner…even in the homes without kids living in them.

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Yes. It’s one advantage to having a big loving family spread out across a couple of states. :+1:

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Been guilty of taking the batteries out of the smoke detector, but I learned that lesson from an unfortunate friend :pensive:. Never again!

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I took the battery out of the alarm in the kitchen up North because my #2 ex wife would set it off all the time while cooking, cooked every thing on High. :roll_eyes:

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Tell you another secret…

In recent years, I’ve done a lot of force on force training for LE (local, state, fed, and international). This includes live fire and Simunitions in shoot houses, vehicles, etc. Only about 1 in 6 people showed up at the range for live fire with an IFAK of any kind. Less than half even had 1 in their POVs.

2 years ago, I decided to start charging men $1 each whenever they borrowed my pocket knife, Leatherman, lighter, or any first aid supplies. I always have that stuff on my person or in my bag or in my emergency kit in the vehicle (first aid stuff)…never more than a 10-15 second sprint from me. And I got tired of being the only guy in the group carrying a pocket knife and a lighter and constantly having to lend them to other men who should be toting their own stuff. But I quickly learned they don’t carry a dollar, either.

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All in fun :joy::innocent::eyes:

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I soooo totally forgot to mention them borrowing my flash light! :laughing:

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Intresting overall testament to prevailing mindset and level of preparedness.

Next time you be the one to ask for a light. I’ll bet: if there are ten people on the line, nine cell phones will fly out quicker than you can say ‘is the line ready…’

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LOL. For clarity, most of the borrowing of my man tools occurs in unstructured interactions like during breaks, during outdoor rec events, at work, at the beach (NO ONE but me has a pocket knife or first aid kit on the beach!), in a boat while fishing, at the range, on a hunt, at a charity 5k, …you get the idea. During shoot house/range activity, most of this stuff goes on during breaks. I’ll walk up and ask to borrow some “tough guy’s” pocket knife or lighter. They say, “Sorry. I don’t smoke.” I’ll look confused for a second and ask, “But you are a free man, right?” Then the conversation begins about what makes a man a man: tools, controlling fire, measuring time, keeping records, pursing our dreams…that sort of stuff that separates us from beasts. Later in the day, I’ll move to what makes a man FREE: the ability to thrive and survive in the widest variety of scenarios with what he carries on or about his person at any moment. Self-sufficiency! That is what makes free men free. And freedom is ultimately necessary to the pursuit of one’s dreams; which is the ONLY path to happiness.

Men used to get embarrassed when they had to borrow a knife, lighter, matches, ask someone what time it is, etc. Then they would self-correct to keep it from happening again. NOT ANYMORE! So I thought the $ would add value when I gave them some advice. But most of them don’t have any cash or change, either. They carry a smart phone. That’s it. IF they drive, they carry keys. Many don’t even have their DL or a gov’t photo ID on their person when they are outside their homes. It’s ridiculous how helpless, irresponsible, and totally dependent upon others the majority of American men under the age of 40 are.

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Well I guess that explains why I carry all that stuff and keep all that stuff around the house. I’m well over 40

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You and me both, amigo!

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Living in California with all the fires being so close, we started bug out bags last year. I have one for each my husband and I and 1 for the dogs. any recommendations would be great. I have basics so far…ID, Cash, flashlight, meds,…

@Laura Unless you think you can bug out early enough what about full face respirators? I have seen seen the pics and vids of people trying to evacuate through the smoke and fire in their vehicles chocking and trying to breath.
Nancy and I both have one in a kit we keep in our bedroom in case the railroad we have behind us had a chemical leak. If we cannot get out we would hunker down in the bedroom and seal off the windows, doors and vents. :+1:
The price is about $200.00 from ULINE and you can get the filters from them or any hardware store, we use the ones for chemical and paint spray. Stay safe, Bruce and Nancy.

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Yes, we have an evacuation plan. Living in the southern half of Florida, it isn’t worth much. You have to leave days before everyone else decides to pull chocks. With most of our “head there for refuge” peeps being 2 or more tanks of gas away and with a toddler in tow, I’d probably choose to stay here even if Godzilla was attacking the city. But you never know!

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It would take a lot to dislodge Nancy and I from our home, we have very little to worry about other then strait line winds or fire, If its just her and I we are good for a year with plans for past that. :+1:

I agree with @BRUCE26. Respirators are definitely a good thing to have even though you may think they are overkill. We had to evacuate for Laura, and on the way out they were doing controlled burns in the marsh. I am allergic to something in the smoke that makes my eyes, nose, and throat burn and swell. I knew they were going to be burning so I brought my work respirator…no issues :+1::metal:. Another thing is important paperwork… we have a lockbox for passports, titles, deeds, "shoebox cash, etc.

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