If the shelter is already planned for a local disaster, the people in charge are already in charge.

HOWEVER, if your neighborhood is cut off and you have a large barn, THEN you would be making the rules.

Security: Who do you trust most? That's your security.

Sanitation: If you have a barn, you probably have sawdust, chips or straw, and some 5-gallon buckets. Put them together for use as toilets, empty outside in a pile of straw or hay designated as a compost pile.

Sharing: 48 hrs isn't all that long. Ask the people with supplies if they are willing to share. Most probably will. If they aren't, too bad. The others now have incentive to plan ahead.

Food: You give the kids enough to keep them quiet, but if there's a workforce, that is the group that needs to get the real nutrition. Reverse it, and the kids still won't be helping anyone when the adults go down if the waiting-for-help period gets extended.

If someone doesn't want to cooperate, tell them to hit the road, but you might want to divest them of their long-range weapons before they go.

Emergency shelters are not democracies, and don't ever forget it.

Sue (never PC) <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />