Are You Prepared For A Disaster?

Last week, while I was watching Hurricane Ike and thanking my lucky stars that I live in the Midwest, another disaster was looming. In Chicago, we had severe flooding that led to evacuations, and where my sister lives in Ohio, wind storms knocked out the power. I'd had a bad feeling going into the weekend and was watching my basement, preparing to bail water in case it flooded. What I hadn't thought of in advance? I hadn't bought any groceries.

By last Monday, I had relaxed a bit as the rain ended. Then my sister called to tell me that she had no electricity and they estimated it wouldn't be restored until Friday. She had an electric stove that was now useless for cooking the food that was going to spoil in her refrigerator. She managed to find a flashlight, but had no batteries on hand and Target was sold out.

The American Red Cross has some good read-it-ahead-of-time information, as does FEMA. As for myself, I'm stocking up on canned food and picking up one of those Costco cases of bottled water that take a year for me to go through. I have extra batteries on hand (and a flashlight, somewhere) and I have a spare travel charger for my cell phone in the car. I would like to convince my sister to get a landline for emergencies, but she doesn't feel that the cost is worth it just yet.

One habit I picked up when I had a dog was having a spare leash next to my bed, since he slept in my room. That way, if we needed to get out of the house in a hurry, I had a leash ready. In retrospect, it would have been a good idea to have him micro-chipped and know of a few emergency kennels.

How are you prepared to deal with a disaster? Share your lessons and tips in the comments.