Well, while I spent 4 hours in the basement yesterday with the Tornado Sirens going off in my town, I began to look through my equipment, and figure out if I have everything I really need for an emergency. The answer of course, is no, and no, the time to realize this isn't while sitting in the basement wondering if you Tornado will hit your house. Although we didn't even loose power, and the winds were rather calm (even for the Chicago area), bad storms hit to the North and South of my house. I realized the following.

I must get an emergency radiio!!!

Spending the first 20 minutes of the Siren Alert gathering equipment from around the house is a bad idea!!

Check all your items (especially medical supplies) to make sure it hasn't met it's expiration date. Check your batteries in flashlights, and have candles ready.

So, I made my checklists, and have been gathering all the rest of the stuff. Luckily, no one I know was hurt down in Uttica, IL, but a couple of the guys I work with live in that town and it was hit pretty hard.