The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

 

You need water every 3 hours and up to a gallon every day.

After three days you will need food.

Hot coffee, warm chocolate milk on a cold night, or a cold drink on a hot day would be nice.

You will need comforting, clothing, liquids, food, and a place to go.

Who will help you?

 

You won't need any help because you planned for this, trained, and got your critical items together before the disaster happened.

Now you just work your plan.

 

If your house is gone, you will need to go somewhere? A Red Cross Shelter, a friends house, a relatives house?

If your house is damaged, you might need to stay in the backyard if you can?

 

Do you have supplies that survived? What do you need?

Try giving each person a can of tuna, a can of beans, and a can of vegatables, and gallon of water. Will that get them by for a day? What else will they need?

Want is different than need? Can opener, spoon, something else?

Cooking will require utilities to be on and cooking pans.

 

End of day, it's getting dark, do you have flashlights, extra batteries, candles, matches?

 

Did you contact people to help you? Your family and friends?  Do you know the numbers?

 

Did you remember you medicine, prescriptions, special items?

First aid for injuries. Anybody get hurt? Did you know what to do? Did you have bandages and other first aid items?

 

Do you have copies, and did they make it out with you?

Do you have some cash. Credit cards might not work.

 

Plan and Training

This will go much better if you have several plans and you have prepared yourself

Did you have a plan? What's not working? What do you need?

 

Maybe TV, Cable, Internet, Cell Phone are non operational. How will you find out about anything?

Amateur radio might be the only contact with the outside world.

 

Run for the border. Full tank required for Las Vegas or Arizona. What if you only have half a tank?

Will there be gas stations open on the road? Do you have cash?

Will the roads be operating or will overpasses be down? How will you know?

If  you run out of gas can you proceed on foot? You won't be able to carry everything.

Will someone come looking for you? Do you have relatives in another state? Where can they meet you?