Disaster Kit

This weekend, Jeff and I started a tradition. We put together our first Family Disaster Kit, in accordance with American Red Cross recommendations. (See the photo above.) Given that we are entering hurricane season, I thought it important to spend a few minutes putting together the food, water, and supplies we might need in the first few days after a large disaster.

Jeff was skeptical as to why we needed to do this at all, but after a few hours of convincing, he was on board. So we headed to the exchange (the military term for Walmart) with the "Preparing for Disaster" brochure put out by the Red Cross. Secretly, I just couldn't do another presentation on why people need to have disaster kit without having one myself. I'm always terrified that someone is going to ask me, "Do you have a kit? What's in it?"

The biggest problem with the kit was that Jeff wants to re-think the whole disaster-preparedness thing, while I am content to follow the list provided by a rather reputable organization on the subject. Either way, we came up with some good additions: sunscreen, playing cards, and tequila. (If I'm going to be stressed, I'm going to need a way to relax!)

Many people donate the food from their kit at the end of the year so that it feeds people in the community and doesn't spoil - you can plan your annual kit maintenance around the Letter Carriers' Food Drive, for example. Jeff came up with a better idea: next Memorial Day weekend, we are going to live off of our kit for the three-day weekend. Jeff is convinced that this will not allow the food to go to waste, plus we'll have a better idea of whether we have planned well. (We'll know if there is too much tequila, or not enough.) Though I must admit that I am not looking forward to consuming only canned foods and bottled water, I am willing to participate in the project. (If you live in Hawaii, please invite us over for dinner next Memorial Day weekend. Please.)

The second part of the deal is preparing a Family Disaster Plan. A plan should include a meeting place outside your home (the park across the street), an alternate meeting place (the 24 hour bakery down the street), and an out-of-town contact (our moms). Much of this planning is frustrated by the fact that Jeff and I have no idea whether we will be able to be together in the event of a hurricane. I will be working at the Red Cross headquarters, but he will likely be flying planes to a safe location, which means that I will be here by myself, which will make the tequila all the more important.

So, we're prepared - at least as much as we can be for something as catastrophic as a hurricane. Hawaii is threatened by more natural disasters (volcano, blizzard, flood, hurricane, earthquake, tsunami) than any other part of the U.S. Plus, we're isolated, so there's no getting away from things before, when, or after they occur. That's the nature of living on an island.

For more information about how to prepare you own family, go to www.redcross.org.