Do you keep a "Go Bag"?

[Pellice]

As I declutter in preparation for my move, I went through my "Go Bag" today (a rubbermaid container revealingly labeled "Y2K".) I had apparently gone through it a few years ago, because all the food was removed except for a jar of instant coffee, a jar of cooking oil, and a tin of sardines, and because the "change of clothing" all fit. Need to add some fresh batteries and a tiny box of cat litter and a list of things to grab.

Do any of you still keep a "go bag"?

 

[Texas Proud]

Nope

Never have either...

 

[Sunset]

Never have.
Do live in a very safe area environmentally speaking (no flood possible, no wildfire, no earthquake, no hurricane). Only possible thing is Tornado, and then impossible to predict path with enough time to do anything other than run to basement.

A list of things to grab could be handy, if needed to leave due to invasion, but would have days to pack.

 

[treeofpain]

Where are you "going"?

 

[aja8888]

No, and I have moved twice in the last ten years.

Next time I move, I'm getting rid of most everything (furniture and other personal use items) and only keeping a few momentos, important documents and a few flash drives with photos, etc on them. I'll buy new things at my new place, cheap ones too!

I have a suitcase packed in case of a hurricane event for my hotel stay up north somewhere! Bringing no food.

 

[MarieIG]

Well, I used to keep a go bag for the office - with a tin of sardines, bottle of water and a protein shake. I'm not sure if that counts. DH has a go bag with medications and supplements so that he can pack with the speed of light if he is needed to help with the DGC.

 

[rk911]

Nope, don't see the need.

Y2K memories in the 9-1-1 call center. I was interviewed by NBC News national reporter (can't recall his name) a month before Y2K. He kept pressing me to admit our computer system was vulnerable and would crash at midnight on NYE despite my detailed explanation why that was impossible (all 'year' issues had been fixed months earlier and, with the exception of the external database that matched caller phone numbers with addresses, our internal dispatch system was air-gapped. He wasn't pleased and the interview never aired.

BTW... NYE was usually very, very busy but that night it was eerily quiet. We had asked the public go NOT check their phones at midnight to see if they had dial-tone and they followed our advice.

 

[pacergal]

We have a back pack of 3 day emergency supplies(food, water, small stove, blankets, etc) in the trunk of each car, and I have a bag near the safe to throw in the contents if we need to leave.
We have emergency supplies in the shed for home and more in the house. I have made clothes and meds handy on the way to the car.
We have been on "be ready to go" during wildfires, and I have always kept supplies ever since Y2K--they came in handy a few years ago when we were without power for a week both summer and winter due to power outages.
We almost always lose power during the winter, for at least a day, any heavy wind will knock a limb down and there goes the power!

Wildfire and possible "the big one" earthquakes are always touted as a reason for emergency preparedness here.

 

[Koolau]

Reminds me that I need to put together a Tsunami/Hurricane go bag. We're less than a mile from the ocean.

 

[Aerides]

If I lived in an area prone to wildfires or earthquakes I would, but I'm in a hurricane state so I get a day or three to prepare. It would not be food, but things i'd always want to take withe should I return to nothing.

We do usually try to keep a decent supply of non perishable foods on hand during the season

 

[cbo111]

We put together go-backpacks at the start of hurricane season that includes clothing, medical, food, a water filtration device, a Glock 9mm w/two clips (in case anarchy breaks out), flashlight, paper and thumb drive of critical accounts and passwords, a wad of cash, and a few other essential items. This year we got slammed by three hurricanes, with Milton being a direct hit. Having a go-bag gave us a little extra comfort.

 

[Lewis Clark]

I'm not in sn earthquake or tsunami region. I have lists of things to take if we need to evacuate from a hurricane, since there is usually time to collect the items.

 

[RunningBum]

No, but I have a prioritized list of things I would need to take if I needed to evacuate due to wildfire. I figure if there was a threat and I was unprepared I'd forget things. A couple times when the threat was high (very dry conditions and high winds) I've started gathering things together. This amounted to putting my lock box of important documents near the door, gathering my meds, a few keepsakes, and I think I even packed some clothes in a suitcase. Fire can move quickly up a mountain side, and I live on one.

There was one time when a chimney fire burned down a condo building early one morning, and the fire jumped the road, and there was a path it could get to me without crossing another road, and depending on the route could box me in. The fire chief said it quickly passed their "advisory" stage and warranted a voluntary evacuation notice But the winds were shifting and they correctly judged it would quickly be under control so there was no warning given. He said that it was 4am was really not a factor in his decision. They did knock on doors of an adjacent building but none were occupied.

I'm in the east and we are not as threatened as many places in the west, but the threat is real and I would evacuate under a voluntary notice. But it's just not convenient to have the stuff on my list in a go bag ready to go at any time. I review my list and keep it up to date.

 

[erkevin]

I do: tp, batteries, flashlights, solar rechargeables for electronics, transistor radio, emergency weather radio, paracord, duct tape, lifestraws and water purification tablets, bowie knives, thumb drive with every important document encrypted on it, gloves, sunscreen, Glock 17, sunglasses, firelighting supplies, cribbage set, solar shower, soap, solar blankets, 1st aid kit, hand sanitizer, cash, N95s, and a few other items I can't recall right now.

 

[audreyh1]

No, but we have plenty of canned fish in the pantry.

 

[Car-Guy]

Not since we moved away from Houston. We are not in a flood or hurricane area anymore. Also, far enough away from heavy wood areas (a hundred+ yards) that we are okay there too. (Could get pretty smokey in a bad fire though ) Tornadoes are possible but by the time the alerts comes out and I get to my to go bag, the Tornado would have come and gone. Mostly likely event that I would need a to go bag is if the DW would throw me out.

I guess a truck chemical spill on the nearby highway could be a problem or and jet or meteor hitting the house would be bad, but now we are getting out there on the probability scale like a Zombie invasion.

 

[razztazz]

I have a backpack I keep certain items in, in case of a short notice need to bug-out. I live in Tornado Land plus there are many railroad tracks in this area. A spill of some kind is a possibility. The food, water, and medications are loaded after the balloon goes up and we have an idea of the situation.

I don't think a real NO-notice bug-out is even a possibility. A house fire, maybe? I'd just throw on some clothes grab the phone, wallet, & meds. Won't be time for any more "logistics" than that. Train wrecks and the weather will allow some time to execute a plan

 

[pb4uski]

No. Only go bag is when we are taking a long trip we have a separate bag with our clothes for the few days of travel. Other clothes are packed separately.

 

[Car-Guy]

No, and I have moved twice in the last ten years.

Next time I move, I'm getting rid of most everything (furniture and other personal use items) and only keeping a few momentos, important documents and a few flash drives with photos, etc on them. I'll buy new things at my new place, cheap ones too!

I have a suitcase packed in case of a hurricane event for my hotel stay up north somewhere! Bringing no food.

Is your new place north or south of Lake Conroe (and the dam)?

 

[aja8888]

Is your new place north or south of Lake Conroe (and the dam)?

It's east of the lake about 5 miles east of I-45. No impact from the lake here.

 

[SecondAttempt]

We live downslope of an active volcano (Mauna Loa), theoretically in a hurricane zone, and in an area with one road in or out. We keep go bags in our cars and bins to go at home as well as stuff to live off of for months.

I'm not a prepper and really don't worry about the volcano or hurricanes. We have lived through several and noticed high humidity, drizzle, and slight breezes after ominous NWS warnings. I think the native Hawaiian stories of Pele, the goddess of fire (volcanos) being more powerful that the rain gods is prescient. They use Florida models that simply don't work here!

What I do worry about is power outages. We have had several multiday outages in the last few years. My partner had to dig into her go bag about 2 years ago after a car accident closed the road a half mile from our house. She could have walked but abandoned vehicles get stripped quickly here.

So we keep emergency kits that are well planned. They tend to be relatively extreme because where we are, if power is not back on in 2 hours it is likely to be several days. We have a 20,000 water tank but need a way to pump it out if there is no power. So we have emergency pumps, filters, sterilization, storage, and so forth. Hopefully we never need it. We've had multiday loss before and went to a hotel after a couple of days to wait it out.

But yeah, we have go bags!

 

[Dtail]

We have emergency supplies for potential hurricanes. Since we are inland 30ish miles, not sure if we would evacuate, but more so for stores being closed post hurricane. Milton was the worst so far in 8 years and some things were down for 1 day.

 

[HarveyS]

No. Never have. I do like the idea of making a prioritized list of things to take. I'd also add that if I were to gather up those things for whatever current catastrophe was happening, I'd put them in the car and high tail it elsewhere. If the SHTF so much that I thought I should gather those items, I'd leave until the dust settled.

 

[mystang52]

Although it's stable, I have a heart condition so I have a go-bag for any trip to the E.R. with presumably inpatient admission.

 

[pjigar]

Never have.
Do live in a very safe area environmentally speaking (no flood possible, no wildfire, no earthquake, no hurricane). Only possible thing is Tornado, and then impossible to predict path with enough time to do anything other than run to basement.

A list of things to grab could be handy, if needed to leave due to invasion, but would have days to pack.

We are kind of the same but even tornados are rare in our area. Last tornado touchdown was almost a decade ago. We have local power generation and well stocked pantry so we can weather any event by just staying put.