Is Your 'Go Bag' Ready? [View all]

Is Your ‘Go Bag’ Ready?
Climate-related emergencies like hurricanes, fires and floods are becoming more frequent. Here’s how to prepare whether you need to evacuate or hunker down.


No matter where you live, every home should have a ‘go bag’ and a ‘stay bin.’ The go bag is what you grab when you have to leave the house in a hurry, whether it’s to get to the emergency room or to evacuate because of a fire or hurricane. The stay bin is a two-week stash of essentials in the event you have to hunker down at home without power, water or heat.


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The hardest part about creating a go bag is getting started. You don’t need to do it all at once. I started with a Ziploc bag and placed my passport, birth certificates and other important documents inside. Then I added an extra pair of reading glasses. Last year, I added a phone charger to my go bag because an emergency room doctor told me it’s the single most requested item in the E.R.

I also added some masks, which we all need now because of Covid-19, but you might also need a mask if you’re fleeing a fire or a chemical spill. I remember on Sept. 11, after the first tower fell, a New York City bakery distributed hundreds of masks to those of us stranded in the area to protect us from breathing in the ash and fumes.

Recently, I upgraded my go bag to a more sturdy Stasher reusable silicone bag and added some emergency cash (small bills are best). I also added a list of phone numbers to reach family members and friends in the event that I end up in the E.R. The list is useful if your phone battery dies, too. On Sept. 11, I used a pay phone to reach my mom in Dallas, because it was the only phone number I could remember.

The Go Bag


The Stay Bag


https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/well/go-bag-essentials.html?action=click&algo=bandit-all-surfaces-variants&block=trending_recirc&fellback=false&imp_id=566949202&impression_id=ddd44098-0c73-11ec-945c-afe62ea37dff&index=0&pgtype=Article&pool=pool%2F91fcf81c-4fb0-49ff-bd57-a24647c85ea1®ion=footer&req_id=775539849&surface=eos-most-popular-story&variant=0_bandit-all-surfaces-variants