Grandpa and I just returned from meeting new baby cousins in Northern California. The topic of discussion between the mothers of the babies was emergency baby bags and having more than one located in different areas of the house. I asked what they were talking about. They said they keep emergency baby bags full of baby essentials, even water and formula, to grab in case of an earthquake. Wow! We live in Florida and raised two children in Florida and no one I know kept an emergency baby bag in case of hurricanes. They said we have warnings of hurricanes and they have no warnings of an earthquake and have to keep emergency baby bags ready to grab.
Just when we returned, the Sun-Sentinel, on July 6, 2014 had an article distributed by Tribune Content Agency on the “Top 10 States Most At Risk of Disaster, “ which said:
Disasters can happen anywhere and at any time. But some places experience more than their fair share of floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, winter storms and severe weather – so much so that certain locales earn frightening nicknames, such as Tornado Alley. . . So where do these damaging events occur most frequently and severely? Kiplinger.com worked with the National Weather Service to identify the 10 states that have suffered the biggest estimated properly losses from disasters over the past eight years.”
Of course, this Grandma is concerned about loss of life and limb before property, but this gives us an idea how widespread natural disaster is in the U.S., as if we did not know watching the nightly news. What was a shock was that neither California nor Florida is on the list!
Here is the list:
NEW JERSEY. Weather –related fatalities 2006-13: 87. Most frequent disasters: damaging wind, winter storms, floods, flash floods.
TEXAS. Weather –related fatalities 2006-13: 313. Most frequent disasters: severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, wildfires.
TENNESSEE. Weather –related fatalities 2006-13: 224. Most frequent disasters: thunderstorms, winter storms, hail, tornadoes.
MISSOURI. Weather –related fatalities 2006-13: 346. Most frequent disasters: thunderstorms, hail, winter storms, floods, tornadoes.
ALABAMA. Weather –related fatalities 2006-13: 333. Most frequent disasters: thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes.
OKLAHOMA. Weather –related fatalities 2006-13: 162. Most frequent disasters: thunderstorms, hail, drought, tornadoes.
MISSISSIPPI. Weather –related fatalities 2006-13: 88. Most frequent disasters: thunderstorms, hail, flash floods, floods, tornadoes.
LOUISIANA. Weather –related fatalities 2006-13: 66. Most frequent disasters: thunderstorms, hail, tropical storms, floods, flash floods, tornadoes.
COLORADO. Weather –related fatalities 2006-13: 70. Most frequent disasters: hail, winter storms, floods, flash floods, drought.
ARIZONA. Weather –related fatalities 2006-13: 93. Most frequent disasters: thunderstorms, flash floods, drought, dust storms.
I went on Google and searched “emergency baby bag,” and got a fabulous article on
Consumer Reports which provides so much information.
Here is what they suggest in part:
Be sure that you and your immediate family, as well as any child care providers, know how to contact one another if you’re separated. It’s also a good idea to designate someone outside your immediate community as an additional contact.
When packing a go-bag, the idea is to include what you really need without packing more than will fit in a backpack or a bag that you can sling over your shoulder. Here’s a list of the essentials you’ll want to pack:
● Powdered formula (enough for at least 72 hours, preferably a week’s worth)
● diapers (and plastic bags for disposal)
● baby wipes
● medications
● basic first aid, like band aids, anti-bacterial ointment, gauze pads, anti-septic wipes
● baby food ( for older babies and young toddlers), with utensils
● bottled water
● clothing
● light blankets
● small size laundry detergent
. . . . it’s also important to have a printed sheet with information that includes an emergency information form a summary of your baby’s medical profile, including any allergies ( both food-related and medicines), emergency cell phone numbers of parents and other key family members, and a letter providing permission to treat your child.
There is no harm in throwing in some power bars, cereal bars, small cereal boxes, milk containers that do not need refrigeration for the young children too.
After hearing these young mothers, even if we do not live in Tornado Alley, this Grandma thinks anyone watching babies and young children should have an emergency bag ready, everywhere. If a grandma is not inclined to create one, ask the parents of the grandchild to create one and an extra one for grandma’s house.
Let’s just hope it is never needed.
Joy,
Mema
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