Disaster Kit: Quick, Cheap And Simple

Editor’s note: Sept. 1 was the start of FEMA’s Disaster Preparedness Month, but recent weather-related events remind us that everyone needs to be ready at any time of any month. Below are tips to build a simple disaster kit at home from Carlene MacPherson, president of the Windward Neighborhood Security Watch Coordinators Group.

Disaster Myth: Disaster preparedness is too expensive and complicated.

Do we pay attention now or continue to hit the snooze button? Try now – because there are many simple, economical ways to get started.

(To learn more about disaster preparedness, come visit us at the mini disaster fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at Castle Medical Center, where you can enter to win a disaster starter kit for free.)

By using items already around your home, plus about $5, you can put together a starter go kit. Using a cloth shopping bag (99 cents at Longs), add the following items:

* Plastic trash bag (can be used as a poncho, to cover items during a storm, or to sit on at a shelter)

* Snack items and canned food (granola bars/hard candies)

* Space blanket, which costs $1.69 at Sears (to keep you warm and dry; it’s lightweight and compact)

* Flashlight and spare batteries

* Can opener, which costs $1.99 for a two-pack military style at Sears camping section

* Plastic cutlery and napkins from recent takeout order (put in a zip-lock bag)

This pack can now be stored in a closet.

Reminder: If you have an immediate evacuation order, quickly add final items – water, medications, important documents stored on a flash drive – and you are ready to go within 5 to 10 minutes!

For more information, call Sgt. Duane Samson at 723-8874 or email kailuareadiness@gmail.com.