Make your household mobile in a matter of minutes.
You may have to leave home quickly.
Don’t wait until an evacuation is declared to start thinking about what you need to take with you.
Take food, water, and supplies for three days.
That’s about how long you may be without access to your home in the case of evacuation.
Assume you’ll be living out of your car.
Even if you have resources and support available, planning with the worst case scenario in mind will help ensure you don’t forget anything important.
People Go-Bags
Fill easily-carried knapsacks, gym bags, etc., with everything a person will need to live on-the-go or in a shelter for three days. Here’s a list to get you started:
- Age-appropriate non-perishable food (make individual go-bags for infants and younger children)
- Several bottles of water
- First aid kit
- Surgical-style face masks
- Prescription medications
- Other essential medications
- Personal hygiene items
- Changes of clothing (Pro-Tip: Last-minute evacuation? Grab the clothes from your laundry hamper; those are guaranteed to be ones you like)
- Flashlights and extra batteries
- Uniquely personal essentials
Important:
Keep your emergency go-bag where you can easily grab it and move it into your vehicle during evacuation. Help children select a space and assign them responsibility for their own go-bags.
Pet Go-Bags
Prepare a separate go-bag for each animal member of your household.
Basic Evacuation Checklist for Dogs and Cats
- Pack individual go-bags with appropriate food, water, medications.
- Be sure to pack a litter box and litter, scooper, and waste bags as necessary.
- Get an individual pet carrier for each animal.
- Make sure each pet is wearing a secure collar with license/ID.
- Have proof of ownership, should you be separated from your pet.
- Ask a neighbor to care for your pets should you not be home when an evacuation is declared.
- Know in advance if there is someplace to bring animals if there isn’t room for them at your temporary evacuation quarters. North Valley Disaster Organization often houses small animals in Oroville so they can ride out the emergency in safety (check with local fairgrounds, stockyards, equestrian centers, friends with suitable land, etc.).
For horses and livestock, you’ll need to plan on something other than go-bags in order to accommodate their larger needs, but the concept is the same.
Basic Evacuation Checklist for Larger Animals
- Make sure you have access to transportation for larger animals (you won’t have time to arrange a vehicle in an emergency).
- Know in advance if there is someplace to bring larger animals so they can ride out the emergency in safety (check with local fairgrounds, stockyards, equestrian centers, friends with suitable land, etc.). North Valley Animal Disaster Group often houses larger livestock at Camelot in Oroville.
- Provide hay, feed, and water for three days. Store buckets and gallons of water in your trailers ahead of time so you won’t have to gather them during an evacuation.
- Pack hoof pick, leg wraps, and other species-specific supplies.
- Include medications and an animal-needs first aid kit.
