Nice list of extra gear to bring to a shelter - red cross or otherwise

prior to hurricane Andrew, the school I worked in was a designated shelter... highway US19 parallels the west coast of Florida, and residents to the west (evacuation zone) became pretty good at shelter living... most of the old timers brought a chaise lounge, battery powered fan, flashlight, nylon shirt and shorts, wore flip flops.... and a small cooler loaded with coldcut sandwiches and snacks...

Shouldn’t our objective be avoiding emergency shelters?

Jeanette Isabelle

In hurricane country, especially, how to make shelter-stays more comfortable seems like worthwhile knowledge.

Nice to be independent but that may not always be possible or the best course of action (if I were elderly, a shelter in the company of others might be appealing).


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Some entertainment would be nice to add to the list. Cards, books, puzzles, etc.

It depends. In areas subject to floods or hurricanes, getting to a shelter might be by far the smartest thing to do. Likewise, in another thread hikermor mentions big wildfires as another situation where evacuating is the only sensible thing to do.

Different situations require different responses.

In a wildfire, a lot depends upon your local situation. Here in SoCal, where significant wildfires and evacuations are fairly common, shelters are set up, but typically they are underutilized; people seem to be able to shelter with friends or relatives, or else they just check into a hotel. Our plan would be to bunk with my mother in law (my MIL is a wonderful lady!).

One feature of our local emergency planning is the provision of emergency shelters for large animals (essentially horses). These are used regularly.

I agree that, while i would not generally prefer a shelter, there are plenty of times where seeking a shelter would be wise and prudent, and it wouldn't mean failure of your preps.

And a reading light...

Even so, it would be smart to include them as plan B or C.

It really shouldn't be that hard to tweak whatever bug-out-bag system you've adopted so it also serves a "survive emergency shelter" plan B purpose. You probably have earplugs, reading light and games/reading material in there already, as well as hand sanitizer, medications, toiletries and the like. If it's not there already I'd add something to eat and drink with (spoon, cup), and think real hard if the sleep-on-concrete-floor scenario warrants some inflatable pillow or if you make do just fine by resting your head on whatever clothes you're not wearing.

Im not going to a shelter and will avoid at all costs.I have 2 dogs,and they arent welcome so no shelters for us.