Parenting & Family

What important documents are needed during evacuation?

Everyone knows you should always be prepared for emergencies. Whether you learned it in the Boy Scouts or you’re one of those parents who showed up at the airport four hours early with a printed flight confirmation email and a physical boarding pass, we all know this is true. But preparing for an emergency can be overwhelming, and the “advice” that moved me the most was the “don’t forget your important documents” part when evacuating.

When you’re fleeing your home due to a wildfire, flood, hurricane, or tornado, suddenly being able to remember every important document in your home, where they are, and whether they’re actually worth finding when you’re evacuating is just too much. .

Of course, some disasters only give you a few seconds to evacuate. Not everything can be planned ahead of time, so know what important documents actually are yes Can help relieve a lot of stress while keeping your children, family and pets safe.

What are important documents?

Not only do you want to grab these items so they don’t get destroyed, but they can also be incredible resources and items necessary for recovery efforts. The official Ready.gov website provides some guidance – if you can copy these, that would be even better. Here’s what you should have on hand when evacuating:

  • Original birth certificate (these can be used to establish family ties if you are separated)
  • Social Security Card (for any government assistance you may need from FEMA, etc.)
  • Photo ID
  • military ID card
  • Any identifying information about your pet (in case you need to reunite)

The easiest way to handle these documents in the event of a disaster is to have them ready at all times. Whether it’s in a binder by your front door or a fireproof safe, keeping these items safe and stored inside year-round can be extremely helpful in locating them in the event of an evacuation. You can grab them and leave. If you’re in the middle of an emergency evacuation or don’t have time to think about grabbing anything other than your loved ones, a fire-resistant safe can help protect your belongings in certain situations.

What other items should you bring?

Try to think about what is irreplaceable. Let me be clear – you can get new copies of your birth certificate and social security card. Don’t run back to the burning house to get a copy of your marriage certificate, you know? But there are some other things to remember. You can probably access a lot of this information online, but if you need to leave the house, it can be helpful to know where they are (probably in the same location as your birth certificate). These are not required items to bring, but Ready.gov recommends keeping them on hand depending on your situation and situation:

  • insurance policies and cards
  • Immunization records
  • health insurance card
  • source of income
  • tax report
  • house payment
  • List of important phone numbers (in case your phone dies or gets damaged)

When it comes to sentimental items, preparation is key. If you know where your photo albums, recipe books, and baby books are and can easily access them during an evacuation, this is your best bet.

Ready.gov does recommend taking old photos and storing them digitally, but you may want to do this task before evacuating. So if you’re thinking about all the sentimental items you don’t want to lose during an evacuation right now, go ahead and take this photo or store it in a special place where you can easily reach it. The same idea applies to keeping copies of documents, photos, etc. on a flash drive or cloud-based storage service that you can take with you.

Firefighters and other emergency services professionals often recommend keeping a packed “emergency kit” or “getaway” bag at home into which you can easily place a binder of emergency documents if you need to evacuate your home. Among other important documents, your “carry-on luggage” should include a physical map with local escape routes.

bottom line

Being prepared in advance is your best option—even if your area has never experienced an earthquake, flood, wildfire, or other catastrophic disaster.

It’s always wise to invest in fireproof or waterproof boxes. You can even make copies of important documents and keep them in a binder or folder, and store the originals in a safe. You can also make digital copies of everything, and then if you find nothing, you can at least find some clues to get you started on whatever information you need.

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