GREENSBORO, N.C. — “I didn't know what to do. I was running around the house like OK, I got clothes on but what else do I need?”
Chances are, if we were told to evacuate right now, we would sound the same as this Weaver Fertilizer plant evacuee.
The plant caught on fire on January 31, 2021, and late that night, crews were urging residents within a one-mile radius to leave immediately.
This fertilizer plant fire is just one of many situations any of us could be in at any time. How do you prepare for something so urgent and so immediate?
These are the 5 P's of evacuation.
- People and Pets
- Prescriptions
- Papers
- Personal needs
- Priceless items
This is the big picture of what you would need to take with you, but you want to make this personal to you.
These 5 P's could look like this:
People and pets, with the names of everyone
Prescriptions with specific medications, a device like a c-pap machine, and glasses
Papers, this could be a thumb drive, or it could be on your phone, the important documents like health and home insurance would be of help
Personal needs, This is a shortlist of a change of clothes, dog food, phones, and chargers.
Priceless items, this is the last on the list if you have time if there is something irreplaceable like your grandmother's wedding ring
That list needs to be somewhere you can always see it.
A good example is to tape it to the inside of a kitchen cabinet, you know where it is and it can help you save valuable time and stress.
As you go down the list, you mark it off, knowing you're as prepared as you can be.