You need to sit down with your family and make a plan:
I. What needs to be saved from the house?
II. How is it going to be saved?
a. is going to evacuate with you?
1. who is going to move it to the evacuation vehicle?
b. is it going to be sealed up and left behind?
1. who is it going to be sealed up?
2. who is responsible for sealing it up?
III. When do you set the plan into motion?
IV. In what order will things be evacuated/sealed?

Houston floods every few years and we learned that without a plan it's very difficult to do anything effectively when you're in a panic because the water creeping closer and closer to your door. Arguing about what needs to be saved at the moment when saving is required is NOT a good use of time.

You already have your Emergency Binder ready to go, right?

Also note, the plan will take a lot longer to do in real life than you think it will take.
-Blast, speaking from experience (google tropical storm Allison, Houston, TX)

I don't have to worry about floods (200 feet above sea level, on a noticeable ridge crest) but wild fires are a concern. We have gone through almost precisely the process that Blast outlines for our evacuation and we have packed up the vehicles twice. What he states is absolutely true.

bws, I have been trying to think this through, more so lately in trying to alleviate some of my son's extreme anxiety over heavy rains, storms, and rising water. I'm glad I posed my question here as it is obvious I have many more things to think about and do.

The utilities that feed our home include gas for heating, cooking and hot water; electric for everything else; and water. Our septic is an aerator system, they would not allow us to put a septic tank/leach bed on the property due to the proximity to the river. The breaker box is in the garage, elevated on the wall. The garage floor is much lower than the rest of the house. There are flood vents, as required, to allow flood waters to come in the garage and exit into the crawl space, where there are two more flood vents to allow water to flow through instead of building up catastrophic pressure. Now while there has not been water in the garage due to flooding (had an incident recently with a faulty emergency release valve tho), would it be wise to get out there and shut off the main power switch BEFORE the water got high enough to even enter the garage through the flood vents? The water would have to come up quite a lot before it even reached any outlets or other wiring, but I'm thinking this might be the safest way to go if it ever did. The water heater was also placed in the garage, for ease of maintenance and replacement, however this is another possible weak spot as the water heater was placed on the garage floor. However there IS a shut off valve right on the line feeding it, I'm thinking turning off that valve, and unhooking the line leading from it to the hot water heater would be a good idea. I don't think there is much chance the water could get up enough to reach the heating/cooling system, but if it did there is a shut off there too if needed (it's an outside unit, but has been slightly elevated). The water main is in the front of the house beside the road, it would be a truly catastrophic flood event of Noah proportions to compromise that. As for the septic, it is in a lower part of the back yard, although not the lowest by any means. I do need to look into a back flow preventer like les suggested.

Cellphone service is spotty at home, but i can get a signal in the right spot. I need to get a good solar power system that could serve to recharge said phone, as well as any other devices.

The waiting game isn't so bad, as I said, usually it's only a matter of hours. We are not as trapped as it may sound, we do have some room to maneuver. Low spots in the road, where water may get up and over, are about half a mile to a mile in either direction, and that really doesn't happen very often.

Good idea chaos. the attic also gives us access to the fake dormers that lead out onto the roof as well. I'm assuming that you mean the axe for the purpose of cutting through the roof or sides to get out of the house? If the water got up high enough that we had to resort to that, well, I guess I'd better check into buying a boat or life raft to put up there too.

great idea les, need to check into that and see, I THINK our aerator system actually has one built into it, but need to double check on that.

all good points indeed blast. thanks for reminding me about the binder, i need to look up that thread again. Might be something I can get DW to take an interest in and do.

Having plans in place ahead of time is definitely a good idea, including plans on what valuables, family pictures or family heirlooms to save. When it's all said and done, tho, I think in the end we'll be happy if we can just save what can't be replaced, ourselves.

I think looking into "hardening" the utilities might be good idea---maybe talk to the companies that supply the gas & electricity. I am not at all familiar with the type of septic system you have. As to the others:
Electric: Probably a good idea to cut the main switch at the box if the water starts getting in. However, the mains coming into the box would still be live, so if the box goes under water, who know what might happen. Something to look into with the power company or a good electrician.
Gas: Normally, there is a main gas valve. Make sure you know where it is and cut it off also. Main concern would be stresses on the house causing a gas leak. You don't want that. Again, it might be worth a call to the gas company or certified tech for specific recommendations, if any.

It is usually where the gas enters your house at the meter. It's usually an ordinary little valve, but has just a tab on it which requires a wrench to close it. A crescent wrench will work. However, it is not a bad idea to keep a simple little gas shut off wrench ($5-$10 at most hardware stores) located at the valve. I keep one of those little wrenches zip tied to the pipe by the shut off valve. In the event of an earthquake (our most likely hazard at my house) I can easily break the zip tie and use the wrench to shut off the gas.

When I think about it, it's harder to walk/drive away from my house uncertain if I'll be able to return when I feel like everything will be lost. I can't avoid the destruction of things sometimes, but I can take steps to minimize the pain.

1. I've been working on systematically inventorying everything in the house with a video or still camera -- I take notes or make a verbal commentary of everything I have -- appliance serial numbers and model numbers, when/where I obtained it, etc. Software serial numbers. I'm scanning old pictures, convert videotapes and films to digital files so if I lose the originals I still have the content. (I'm making a home business out of this step.) All of this is good for insurance purposes and also good because it eliminates that feeling that, if the water came in, I wouldn't be sure what I had.

2. I've made a list of irreplaceable items that I can either take with me or move to a higher level in our house. I haven't done this yet, but I should make sure everyone in the house can deal with the list if I'm not home.

3. Of course the usual have copies of important legal, business, accounting and insurance documents, wills, powers of attorney, etc.

I think if more people did this it would be easier for them to decide to bug out.

In a past life I worked claims against the government, both moving and damage caused by the military. I found that an inventory w/ serial numbers, date purchased, amount, etc. was instrumental in people getting more money. Adjusters like to have things simple. If you can document what you had, it makes them happy and there are no court cases later on. Frankly, what you paid for an item is not that important, it's documenting that you had the item and it was so old.

While on this subject - get insurance with FULL REPLACEMENT COST. The PC I am typing on depreciated 75% in the first year I had it. If it gets destroyed today, I get the price of a new one that is comparable.