What would you do in a natural disaster

[yoko]

I know this has been talked about before but there are new people, dogs, and possibly updated plans.

I didn't want to take over the other thread with so thought I'd just make it.

In the last couple years I've been working with Yoshi. We've got to the point that when the storm radio alarm goes off *it's a freakishly loud tone before the announcement* She'll run straight to the door leading to the storm shelter and wait there. Once it's opened she's finally to the point she'll climb in and out of it on her own. I have a leash and a collar down there with copies of her vet papers.

I keep enough food and water for both of us for about a week and enough changes of clothes for the same amount of time. I have flashlights/batteries/a radio/first aid kit *human and dog*

I also have an old school nokia phone down there that I charge once a week and keep extra batteries for. Since it's amazing at finding and keeping the smallest signal which should be enough for me to call for help.

I have a couple places lined up that I could stay with Yoshi if it came down to it and a few friends who have offered to be a place to stay for both of us while I get everything figured out.

If those fall through I do have some money on file at the hotel where I stayed when my car broke down. They allow animals and I have prepaid a week and a half there in case of an emergency *natural disaster or otherwise*

Does anyone else have supplies/well thought out plans for if something happens and they need to evacuate the area/house is destroyed?

[sillysally]

Wow, you're prepared! You guys get a lot of tornados though, don't you?

[Laurelin]

Hide in the closet? My dad's getting a tornado shelter so if possible, we'll go over to his place and stay there. With the hurricanes in TX we just stayed low for one and fled up to OK for the other. We waited out Ike and poor Summer was not having very much fun with that.

I hate tornados though. There's such little advanced warning.

[JessLough]

For natural disasters? Not really, I can't say what I'd do because I've never been in the situation.

We have a basement, we keep the ferrets carriers and leashes on their cage (actually, I should put a second one there for Nacho, though in an emergency they CAN go together), and rosey has some leashes by both doors and her collar on at all times.

[AllieMackie]

Just in terms of getting my pets to safety... all the small animals have emergency carriers/cages, and Finn has many leashes/collars. I don't tend to let food run entirely dry, but if I ever do let one run dry, the ferrets/cat/dog foods are interchangeable in an emergency situation, Yuffie can survive solely on hay for a short time.

In a Real Big Natural Disaster, it's likely the small animals would have to be left behind... I hope I never have to make that call.

[Fran101]

I would stay in the city. No car.. no way of leaving before evacuation was necessary and if it was..

He has a "go bag" which includes..
-Copy of current medical records including vax, microchip etc..
- Current care instructions
- Copy of my drivers license
- Extra leash and collar
- Extra cheap ID tags
- Picture of him/description & picture of us both together
- 2 collapsible bowls
- 3 days worth of food
- bottle of water
- Harness
- Proof of ownership
- Poop bags
- Baby wipes
- Back up plan for him.. his breeder is listed as his second contact if I can't be found. I also have two co-workers here in Boston and a family member in florida listed.
- Very basic first aid kit for him (vet wrap, bandages, hydrogen peroxide, tape, neosporin, alcohol)
- Musher's secret (paste to protect his paws)
- Dramamine (used for car sickness in people/dogs.. also a pretty good sedative)

We live in a city and don't have a car. Like with Hurricane sandy, it's fortunate in that in many cities, shelters and evacuation sites are welcoming pets/have pet plans in place. but way before that I would start with calling co-workers who live outside the cities (in homes better suited for emergencies than my tiny apartment) and whom I could contact as they have vehicles/keys to my place.
I also have family members I would go stay with if I could fly out..all over the country, with Merlin of course.

My go-bag includes.. (my mother packed this thing.. I keep it in a closet with Merlins lol it's intense)

- My medication
- Passport
- Cash
- Laptop charger
- Water bottle
- Power bars
- Rain jacket
- Socks
- baby wipes
- Underwear
- Toothbrush/paste
- Extra phone charger
- Long sleeve shirt
- Sturdy Leggings
- Deodorant
- Feminine items
- Sunblock
- Basic first aid kit
- Swiss army knife
- Whistle
- Tiny flash light
- Dust mask
- Battery powered radio
- Warm hat
- Local map
- Permanent market, notebook, duct tape
- Photos of self and Merlin
- List of emergency contacts/drug allergies
- Hand sanitizer
- Emergency blanket
- Work gloves

EDIT: Holy crap I had no idea that much was in mine. My mom is officially a dooms day prepper!!!!

[yoko]

Originally Posted by sillysally

Wow, you're prepared! You guys get a lot of tornados though, don't you?

There was a tornado that destroyed the school *right near where I live. I can see it from my upstairs* about 20 years ago I think... 91 if I'm correct. It was before I moved here so I didn't see that. But my aunt's house was completely destroyed when one when through Muskogee a long time ago and i remember going down to help her and her neighbors and it was horrible.

It's not usually full blown tornadoes but the winds get so high it does damage without actually forming a full tornado :/

[Shakou]

A couple years back, my husband and I were camping out in the woods in New England with Charlotte and our cat, Spore. Spore, who was a VERY out door savvy cat and who had grown up from the time he was very young going on camping trips with us, loved camping and NEVER went far from our site. That morning started off really nice. The sky was blue, the sun was beaming, it was warm but breezy, and we started cooking breakfast. I fed Spore and Charlotte (this was before we had Ma'ii) their breakfast, and all was well.

An hour later, I was running through the woods SCREAMING on the top of my lungs for Spore, my husband and Charlotte tight behind me, as lightning was flashing like a strobe light and hail the size of golf balls were pelting us. A freak, completely random tornado had touched down on my city with absolutely NO warning. One minute the sky was blue, the next it was PITCH black. You could see the tornado from the woods, all the way on the other side of town.

But I wasn't going to leave my cat.

We did eventually find him, hiding under a log about 10 feet from our camp, and we all got out of there safely. Spore no longer camps with us. After that incident, he went to go live with my mother in her house as an indoor cat only, and he's happy that way, as are we.

But the point is, I don't get out unless we ALL do. I'll admit, I don't have much in the ways for plans in natural disasters, but I'd risk my life in a heart beat to make sure my animals were safe.

[Red.Apricot]

We'll either drive to meet my parents at their house, drive to meet them somewhere else or walk to their house, with the dogs. They live four miles away, and in our area the only natural disasters likely to happen are fires and earthquakes, neither of which should make it impossible to get there. Luckily we're not in a floodable area.

My fish are going to have to weather the storm, unfortunately. There's no way I can transport them. There's too many of them, and the tank is too large.

[JessLough]

Oh, yah, I'll add that in a real emergency where I couldn't get back into my house for a while (say, fire), I have friends that would gladly take care of my three ferrets, since they can't be separated. If I had a foster, I could find another friend to watch that one alone.

We would probably go to Montreal where my moms family is to have a roof, and Rosey would be most welcome there. If that couldn't happen, I'd crash at a friend's with her while family went elsewhere (she can't be away from everyone)