I am just blown away by the number of replies there have been to my questions. You guys (and ladies!) are so great. You have given me great things to think about and a good place to start. I am sure I will have more questions along the way.

Thanks again for the encouragement.

by the way.....I live in the Southern United States where the disasters can be frequent and varied. In my lifetime I have seen an entire neigbhorhood destroyed by a tornado, an ice storm that left people stranded at home for days, floods that destroyed an entire town (twice), temperatures so high that those without air conditioning (and knowledge) died of heat stroke and although nothing like in California, we've had the occasional earthquake. When I was a senior in high school, the police knocked on doors in our neighborhood in the middle of the night and told us we needed to leave immediately because of a gas main break. We left with our dog and the clothes on our backs. Everything turned out fine, but that situation gives me a personal point of reference from which to begin.

I think you have just answered one of your questions as to how to get your husband involved! Just point out to him what you have just told us. That would give me enough to get on board (but I am easy that way)

SuzieQ, some other reading material you may stash in the bathroom is gear and camping catalogs. There are alot of free ones out there. You can just go to their websites and request a catalog. Some good ones are Cabelas, Cheaper than dirt and Brigade Quartermaster. Everytime my neice comes for a visit, her husband and 2 boys clean me out of all my catalogs. The boys even hit me up for gear they don't have so I make a special effort to keep gear on hand that they dont have. They love coming to my house. I think deep down everyone loves gear, sometimes you just have to find the right motivation.

Living in that climate (it seems you listed everything but hurricanes), the first thing you need to address is your husband's mindset, because his seems to be defective. Unfortunately, if he doesn't get it by now, it will take a disaster that strikes too close to home to shift his view on preparedness.

Set the example. Don't talk -- Do. Find a way to store extra food that you already eat (not "survival" food). Just buy more of it a little at a time and find a way to rearrange what you have to be more efficient.

A car kit is easy, it stays in your car. If a disaster strikes while you're at home your car is likely parked there too so those supplies aren't wasted.

Good luck, stay in touch here.

Russ, you are right. I have figured that I would just buy stuff and not tell him too much. He won't be mad when he doesn't have to run to the store and fight crowds at the next sign of a storm! I forgot to mention hurricanes, but yes, we have had those too. They are rare. Usually when we get them, they are tropical storms, which can be bad enough. We've had power outages and neighbors with downed trees. When Opal reached us, she was still hurricane strength. That is remarkable because we are waaay north of the coast.

I went through Opal and Ivan and I was the one in my family that was prepared. Opal was worse than Ivan where I was (central Alabama) because the ground was already saturated so we lost more trees but I did have 4 tornadoes go through my back yard during Ivan, they didnt touch down it sure left a mess. I have noticed that those close to me listen more now than before and they don't think I'm as crazy.

With so many risks, IMHO, it is better for your family to relocate to another area that is less risky.

With jobs, family and many times the like for the weather it makes moving an option people don’t want to explore. I know I would not want to move away from my son.