The following topics are merely items to consider. You must critically evaluate your own needs and environment to determine what items are essential and which are irrelevant to your unique situation.
If you have not read through the Short Notice Evacuation Bag please do so. In any evacuation you will need your short notice evac bag. The following guidance is what you need to consider in addition to your short notice evac kit.
The time you have to prepare is what makes the long notice kit so different. Short notice is mere minutes whereas long notice could be hours to days. There are many circumstances where you will have ample time to evacuate. For instance, an approaching hurricane, a forest fire miles away, a rising and flooding river, civil unrest, etc.
Your mode of evac transportation will determine the quantity of items you can take. Big difference between a Honda Civic and a full-size truck pulling a utility trailer. Keep that in mind when you start planning your evac…will it all fit?
In our household we plan to evac using plastic storage bins/totes as our main means to pack our two trucks. Storage bins offer a solid way to not only move your gear but store it during peaceful times. Totes can be labeled with contents and include checklists for your annual inventories. We struggle with spiders and field mice in the Northwest and a high-quality tote can keep those critters away from your gear. Just ensure if you are loading a trailer or open truck bed that your storage container lids can withstand highway speeds.
Backpacks, duffle bags, and luggage. Soft sided items like duffle bags can be used to fill the voids in your vehicle and is ideal for clothing or items that will not get hurt by being squished. Hard luggage can be used for more protection of anything fragile using clothing as cushion material inside.
Some of our totes stay packed year around while others stay empty and nested inside each other in anticipation of pantry food, valuables, etc.
You’re going to want to take any cold/frozen food you can but consider your destination. If you are driving to a friend or family member they may have space for your food whereas a hotel fridge won’t cut it and you will be buying ice for your coolers until you can eat it up. Older coolers also make a great way to move family framed pictures and breakables.
We have a couple of different coolers we have collected over the years in varying size and quality. The one we use all the time is this Igloo 12v plug in cooler for our road trips. It keeps things pretty cold and if you pack it with frozen food, it will help keep it frozen for at least a day.
You already have lights from your short notice bag and that may be enough for your needs. We have a little Energizer LED lantern in one of our totes. I like this particular one because it can use D or AA batteries. I shy away from rechargeable lanterns for evac purposes because they don’t seem to withstand storage very well. If you inventory once a year and charge your light, what are the chances it will be charged when you need it a couple months down the road.
We always keep two to three flats of Costco water bottles on hand near our basement fridge. We keep them rotated as we use them for normal life but they are also our evac water should the need arise. Water is one of the first things to get wiped out at the grocery store during a natural disaster. Always have some on hand and ready to go.
You do have a few meals worth of food in your short notice evac bag but if you have time, it is natural to want to pack as much food as possible. We keep one tote full of dry soups and freeze-dried foods. This storage bin alone would last us two weeks of meals and possibly three or more if we rationed. If it is a natural disaster you are leaving for, your environment is permissive/friendly and once you leave the evac area you will find restaurants and grocery stores as normal. That is why I wait till last to pack food, the amount you take is dependent on why you are evacuating.
When packing clothes keep in mind the season you are in and what you really need to get by with. Your one expensive suit in the back of your closet is probably the last thing you need with a hurricane pushing you inland. Be practical in your choices and don’t forget the swimsuit and flip flops for the hotel pool! lol
Your environment and reason for evacuation is a big player in deciding what you are taking. I personally have allotted room to take my most valuable and important firearms. I do have an embarrassing number of “safe queens” firearms I haven’t touched in years that I will leave behind in my safe and hope they are there when I return. It is just a matter of physical space in my evac vehicle. Just make certain everyone has a means to defend themselves and it is at the ready when rolling out. A handgun buried under a pile of stuff will do you no good if you get robbed at the first gas station you stop at. There are a lot of bad people out there who prey on evacuation chaos and vehicles filled with the most valuable items people have to offer.
A family size tent may be in your cards for evac, or you may be towing a camper trailer. We certainly would be towing our camper if evacuation orders were given. My poor truck may groan under the weight of a completely packed truck and trailer, but we will make it to one of our pre-determined safe spots.
Your primary medical bag should be part of your long notice evac. Keep it on top and ready to be deployed.
On top of my envelope of cash in my short notice bag, I also recommend taking any other cash and jewelry you may have saved in your home. Do you have anything else of monetary value such as gold or silver coins or family heirlooms that could not be replaced by insurance?
How much gas is in your vehicle right now? Could you refill locally if power is out? How many gas cans do you have in your garage for your yard equipment and can you safely take it with you. I highly discourage putting gas can inside your vehicle. It is not only nauseating but quite dangerous. Truck beds, trailers, and even a roof rack are fair game, and another ten gallons could make all the difference getting you out of the danger zone. Remember gas does not last forever but only about 6 months before it starts to seriously degrade. So keep it rotating!
I know this is not part of your checklist, but it is part of being prepared to evacuate. Your home is filled with stuff and almost all that stuff can be replaced. Having a well thought out insurance plan that covers natural disasters likely to happen in your area is a critical part of being ready and being prepared for anything.
Laptops are great entertainment for kids in hotel rooms as well as keeping you connected to family and friends. If you own a laptop or iPad make sure it is on your checklist.
Kindle readers are big in my book…get it. Anyway, I am a big reader and always have a book or two being read at any time. However, I will not be stuffing my truck with reading books during an evac but I will always grab my Kindle which has hundreds of books I have already read but also super easy to download more without the weight or bulk.
You should always have a way to take your data with you. External hard drives or larger USB thumb drives are a solid choice. From $50 to $500 will get you an appropriately sized drive to backup your data and take it with you. I caution this takes considerable time. If you plug in an empty 2TB hard drive and tell it to copy your entire home pc hard drive, it will take hours if not all day. Plan ahead! Every so often copy important files to an external drive and keep that drive in your safe.
Offsite storage is finally becoming economical. Many people use Google Drive or Dropbox style sites to store their data away from home. I’m sure you are already seeing the big drawback to this…privacy. I get it, I really do and if keeping all your private digital photos and critical documents in the magical cloud makes you shudder than I suggest using your own large-scale storage. Our home uses a Synology DS418 4 bay NAS with 8TB of mirrored drives. I admit it is pretty nerdy and a smidge complicated to set up, but it has been a game changer for us. You also can keep this inside any high-quality gun/fire safe that has a network connection port.
Batteries – I will take every spare battery I have space for. My short notice bag has some batteries, but I know if we get stuck in a hotel for weeks I will need more for radios, lights, and electronics.
Bedding – Pillows, blankets, and bedding should be on your check list and taken if space is available. We all know how miserable hotel pillows can be. It can also make getting stuck in evacuation traffic more comfortable for kids or a napping spouse.
Having a carefully and logically constructed checklist will save you from a ton of stress during an evacuation. Consider your evac vehicle size and storage capacity, and also what disaster you are likely to face in your area. In Montana I don’t worry about hurricanes, but forest fires happen every summer. My evacuation danger zone might only be 10-20 miles for a fire, but hurricanes push evacuees hundreds of miles. So build your personal evacuation checklist for you and your family. Take care and keep on researching.
