Prepping for Disasters or Worse

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by kittygrrl

We haven't touched on food storage..i almost hate too as there are so many opinions..store at least the basics which you don't have to rotate as much but they have to be stored correctly to begin with...
1 year supply

per PET!

I don't remember if anyone has mentioned this yet, but us pet owners also need to be storing food and water for our pets.

Plan to take your pets with you should you have to evacuate. They should not be left behind because you don't know for sure when you'll be able to return, or if it will remain safe for them to stay behind. You can't count on local shelters and government to set up holding areas for pets, because there simply aren't enough animal caretakers in any geographic area to care for the full number of pets that live within that area. We learned this after Hurricane Katrina.

FEMA learned many useful things after making people leave their pets behind during Hurricane Katrina evacuation, including that trying to provide safe kenneling for all rescued pets was impossible; after the kenneling was overflowing, volunteers tried to go out into the flooded areas and feed and water pets in place. Another useful thing they learned was that a large number of people (est. 100,000 - 200,000) would not evacuate if they had to leave their pets behind. Other people who did initially evacuate snuck back into the restricted areas and returned to their homes to live and care for their pets. Many pets, when finally rescued, were malnourished and starving. Many pets were never reunited with their owners. And of course, many pets did not survive.

The sheer number of pets, and people's behaviors regarding their pets, and the inadequate number of volunteers and resources, made the entire situation FUBAR. It interfered with the entire Hurricane Katrina operation.

Although FEMA no longer exists, their SOP was updated to stipulate that in a crisis situation, evacuating people should take their pets with them.

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So us pet owners will have to plan to have food, water and supplies for pets: medications and supplements, shelter, garments, blankets, eating and drinking containers, first aid supplies. I plan to make a list so I don't forget anything, because I don't plan to buy duplicates of all these things and store them. Also, as I think of items I can add them to the list.