Getting Together Your GO Bag

It’s an awful situation if you must evacuate your home. There will be things you want to grab to take with you, but you probably won’t have much time.

The best way to prepare is to have certain documents and information available online (in the cloud) so you can access them from anywhere. Especially important if you’re not home or close to home when a situation arises forcing evacuation.

That won’t work for everything though – you’ll want some physical items as well. Some cash, keys, photographs, medications, snacks, water, etc.

Everyone’s situation is different. You may have small children, pets, disabled family members.

There are entire books and detailed websites about preparing your GO bag. I’ve included some links to those, along with a basic list of the minimum items to get you started. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by those listing everything imaginable. Start with the basics and then expand from there.

The Red Cross has a list of the basics:

https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/survival-kit-supplies.html (one thing I would add to this is gas in your car (I try to fill up when mine is at half full) or a full energy charge if you have an EV.

NPR offers a list as well:

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/24/1195621892/a-go-bag-is-an-essential-tool-during-natural-disasters-heres-how-to-build-your-o