Evacuation plans

With the major fire in Colorado and flooding in Florida I am hearing that folks there did not have much time to prepare for an evacuation. Many of them just grabbed what they could and got out.

Does your family or workplace have an evacuation plan?

Please share your thoughts.

We have evacuation plans for many different threats and wind directions.

from central Gulf coast of Florida...speaking for myself and most that I've talked to...we underestimated TS Debbie... we are accustomed to looking at coastal storm surge, and wind velocity as major indices of trouble, and overlooked the problems associated with fresh water flooding (we had about 12" locally in 12 hours, and up to 16" at some reporting stations)and the number of possible tornadoes due to wind shear... we don't typically have EF5 super cell tornadoes, but at least one fatality was reported in Highlands County, north of Lake Okeechobee, and quite a bit of localized damage... most had a Doppler spin indicated of 100 or so mph ... the fresh water flooding is the worst I've seen since hurricane Donna in 1962...especially along the Anclote River that flows towards Tarpon Springs...we had a lot of salt water surge from the "no name storm" of 1992, and rain from hurricane Elena..the area that drains into the Anclote overwhelmed its ability to move that much water.. it is relatively narrow width and quickly overflowed in the headwaters regions that are local to me...we have a very good EOC and this will add a couple of pages to the operations plan

For about 7 months of the year, Gloria and I wander about in our truck. Mostly in remote areas. When we get to a new place, I run through a routine that sets the "bugout" criteria.

It is very easy for us to get trapped or exposed to some danger because we do not understand the local situation.

Ham radio is a great asset. A bit of time on the radio will provide me with good local information as well as get me "in" on the local happenings.

The exact plan varies with the location but some things are constant.

-Local Info (see above)
-Local Weather (Love an app called Raindar)
-Local fire conditions.
-Check map for alternate egress routes and destinations.
-Check immediate area for possible threats (other campers, animals, potential flooding etc).
-Reset radios for local conditions.
-Local Law Enforcment
-Local Forest Service/National Park/Town frequencies.
-Repeaters
-hf Net Frequencies and times.
-Post locations on internet and email to "back-up" folks.
-Secure equipment from travel mode & deploy safety gear.
-Audit stores and estimate stay duration with extra depending on location.

Stuff like that.

Nomad

I like your idea there Nomad. I am going to play with it a bit. Thanks!!!

Wildman, I will be very interested in what you might develop. I have been using your various *con lists as a model for a document I am putting together titled "Emergency Communications: Standards and Techniques".

It is pointed at two audiences. The Amateur Radio Operator planning a deployment (Red Cross, ARES etc.) and the operator that is not interested in emergency communications but finds him/herself in a disaster situation.

I have been doing that sort of stuff for over 50 years now and it is time to pass along some of my knowledge. At the moment it is a pretty rough outline but I pick at it daily. Hopefully someday it will be ready to distribute. You will easily recognize your "template". Thanks.

Nomad

My evacuation plan is a list of who grabs what and lists of possible places to go to ground (pet friendly hotels, friends, relatives, etc) along with maps, compasses, tools, food/water etc. The big danger around here is Santa Ana driven brushfires, so the plans are built around urban resources.

The last time I had to evac, it took 2 hours to get packed and we were one of the last out of the apartment complex. I don't want to take that long next time.