FIVE

GO BIG WITH YOUR GO-BAG

What would it take to get home if you were in your office when the earthquake hit? Or at soccer practice with your kids, at your parents’ house, or anywhere else you go regularly? And what supplies would you need to get home? Those items, enough to last you the journey home, are what should be in your go-bag. But what if you are frequently so far away that walking home would take days or be impossible due to collapsed bridges? Then your go-bag needs to have what you’ll need to get to somewhere else you can find shelter until you have a better option.

Go-bags are often used because of the need to quickly evacuate before or after a disaster like a flood, hurricane, or fire. In those cases, help and safety are often a few hours away. In the case of a Cascadia earthquake, your go-bag can’t cover your needs for every situation you might find yourself in. Just as in preparing your home, focus on the places where you spend the most time and choose supplies given your most common destinations.

Your go-bag will be in your car, if that is your common mode of transportation and you don’t park in a structure that will collapse in an earthquake. Include supplies for anyone likely to be with you, including pets. If you use public transportation, you’ll need to think about what you can carry with you in a purse, backpack, or briefcase, and what supplemental supplies you can keep in a bag at your workplace or school.

Each go-bag will be slightly different, depending on where you plan to keep it and who it is for. Once you read through this chapter, use the checklist at the end to figure out what you will want in each go-bag and how many you need to assemble or purchase.

TOP PRIORITIES

If your journey home is likely to take more than a couple hours, water will be a top priority for your go-bag. For a go-bag that will be in a car or office, that means including packets or containers of water as well as a high-quality camping water filter or water purification tablets. For a small go-bag that lives in a purse or child’s backpack, a package of water purification tablets and a collapsible water bottle to collect water for treatment may be all that fits. Because water is so heavy, most people won’t be able to carry enough water to stay ideally hydrated; this is another example of the imperfect trade-offs you’ll need to make in getting prepared.

In all cases, you’ll want to have an emergency whistle—it’s very light and can be lifesaving for signaling danger or scaring animals. An emergency poncho to stay dry and an emergency Mylar blanket for warmth will help ward off the dangers of hypothermia.

If you expect to walk any distance, sturdy shoes and leather-palmed work gloves will protect hands and feet from injury. A crank flashlight, a small first-aid kit with manual, some duct tape, and an all-in-one tool will be important for solving a multitude of problems.

Food to help you think clearly is vital. A hyperdense food ration like a Life Raft bar is an easy choice. High-calorie granola bars will work as long as you rotate them regularly.

You also may want to add an N95 mask which fits over your nose and mouth and filters particles out of the air. These help in the case of dust from collapsed buildings or smoke from fires.

CHOICES AND TRADE-OFFS

There are trade-offs in putting together your go-bag(s). Time and money, certainly, but also how likely it is your bag will attract thieves where you plan to store it, how many people may need get-home supplies, and the weight of supplies you can carry.

CAR GO-BAG

If you keep a go-bag in your car, it can also be a handy source of emergency supplies if it’s nearby—whether you’re at home or work—when the shaking starts. Even in your rattled state, you’ll know exactly where critical supplies can be found.

However, be aware of where you usually park your car and how frequent car prowls are in your neighborhood or near your workplace. The fact that backpacks and bags are useful as easy-to-grab go-bags also makes them attractive to thieves. If you’re concerned, try to disguise or hide your go-bag contents. You can keep critical supplies under your car’s seats or in the spare-tire well.

GO-BAG FOR CAR

OFFICE GO-BAG

If you usually take public transportation, don’t drive, or park your car in a structure that is likely to collapse, store a complete go-bag at your workplace.

Actually, a smaller go-bag at your workplace is a good idea for everyone. Since space may be limited, make sure to include the most critical items (see this page). Check whether there is already a first-aid kit on-site, which could mean that you might not need to stash your own.

If you work far from home, you might want to add supplies that would let you stay put at or near your office. If you store food at your workplace, you may also want to consider sticking to canned food, as many buildings harbor pests. Alternatively, store granola bars or other provisions in tightly closed metal containers.

Or arrange to stay with someone who lives near your workplace. Contributing a good supply of water or food to store at their home can help formalize the agreement.

COMMERCIAL VS. HOMEMADE GO-BAGS

There are trade-offs whether you buy a commercially prepared go-bag or put together your own, including the cost and quality of a purchased pack and how much time it will take you to make your own go-bag. Putting together your own go-bag is time consuming, but you’ll probably end up with higher-quality items at a lower price than if you buy a get-home pack.

Expect to pay between $50 to $350 for a premade go-bag. Commercial packs vary greatly in quality, but if you are rarely far from home, even a pack with lower-quality items might work fine. If you need to walk a long distance to get home, however, you’ll want to ensure that your items will hold up throughout your trek.

Because commercial packs aren’t specifically designed for a get-home go-bag, use the “Necessary” and “Nice to Have” checklists (this page) to compare bag contents to what you need. You should expect to add or remove supplies to customize any pack to meet your needs. Extra eyeglasses, critical medications, cash, and good walking shoes are things nearly everyone will need to add to a commercial pack.

Commercial packs often profess to have seventy-two hours’ worth of water but hold barely more than one cup of water per person per day. Supplement whatever water is in a purchased pack with additional water packets or bottles as well as water purification tablets or a high-quality water filter to make other sources of water safe to drink. Don’t forget pets if they will be with you. While a gallon of water per person per day is the recommendation for drinking, cooking, and washing at home, a go-bag can’t hold that amount. Aim for as much water as possible, given the space and weight constraints you have. (See Chapter Four, this page.)

GO-BAG WEIGHT VS. NEEDED SUPPLIES

How much should you have in your go-bag? Common advice is to include only what you can carry and use. My car go-bag and supplemental items are too heavy for me to lug more than a few blocks. If I’m alone and need to walk home when the earthquake comes, I expect to partner with someone nearby who will share the load in exchange for me sharing my supplies. If that doesn’t work, I’ll need to guess at how long my trip home will be, take the things I think I’ll need and can reasonably carry, and leave the rest behind for others to use. Extra water and food, unneeded clothing or shoes, and excess first-aid supplies will all be welcome finds for others.

OFFICE GO-BAG

PURSE GO-BAG

GO-BAG CHECKLIST

NECESSARY

□ Backpack or other sturdy carryall

□ Drinking-water packets (rotate every five years) or other water options as outlined in Chapter Four (with consideration for potential freezing if kept in a car), adapted to the likely length of a trip home, and/or high-quality water filter or water purification tablets

□ Emergency Mylar blanket for each person

□ Emergency waterproof poncho for each person

□ Emergency whistle (police, referee, or marine with loud decibel rating)

□ All-in-one tool

□ Walking shoes

□ Hand-crank or solar flashlight(s); children are often comforted by having their own source of light so include one per child if you have space

□ Leather-palmed work gloves

□ N95 mask per person

□ Emergency Life Raft–type food ration bar (rotate every five years, more often if in extreme temperatures) or granola bars or other high-energy foods (rotate every six months, more if in extreme temperatures and containing oils that go rancid)

□ First-aid kit and small first-aid manual

□ Critical medications

□ Extra eyeglasses

FOR LARGER KITS

□ Feminine hygiene products, if necessary

□ Matches—waterproof or in a waterproof container

□ Duct tape

□ 20 feet of paracord or similar strong, durable rope

□ Wet wipes and waste bags

□ Hat and gloves

□ Pet supplies, if appropriate

NICE TO HAVE

□ Mylar emergency tent and sleeping bag(s)

□ Hand warmers

□ Paper maps of area

□ Cash (small bills and coins)

□ Warm jacket

□ Hard hat

□ Waterproof shoe covers for outdoor use

□ NOAA-enabled hand-crank or solar radio

□ Female urination device (silicon or plastic funnel that allows women to stand to pee)

□ Safety goggles

□ Sunglasses

□ Fire starter

□ First-aid kit upgrades (magnifying glass, good tweezers, burn gel, trauma sponge)

□ Sunscreen

□ Insect repellent

□ Earplugs

□ Handheld folding fan

□ Zip ties

□ Stainless-steel camp cup

□ Small emergency stove (remove fuel pellets—they are not safe in a hot car!)

□ Notepad and pencil

□ Instant coffee, tea, coffee beans, or caffeine source

□ Items to meet other dependencies: nicotine, alcohol, etc.