Emergency Preparedness Means Packing an Escape Bag
While you can’t live life in fear or avoid public event spaces in response to recent horrific tragedies, including the Las Vegas shooting, wild fires, and hurricanes, you can never be too well prepared for emergency situations in meetings, airports, hotels, and more.
While at a recent three-day conference in Las Vegas, Conference Event Management President, Michelle DeClerck reassessed her potential for emergency preparedness when staying in a hotel room. “I was speaking to someone from Napa and the person had just received notification that their neighborhood was being evacuated from wild fires,” said DeClerck.
As an expert in event planning and master of contingency plans, she designed a quick and effective preparation method. Before calling it quits for the night, DeClerck set right next to the hotel sleeping room door, a pair of her most comfortable shoes, and gathered up items strewn throughout the room, loading them in a bag, along with all of her emergency contact lists, wallet, room key, jewelry, warm clothes and any small items she could quickly throw in her bag in under 10 seconds time, allowing her to have what she would need for evacuating during an emergency.
When preparing your own needs, don’t forget to set on the corner of the desk your computer and phone that could quickly be packed, along with the chargers. That way, in a moment’s notice, you can throw on your shoes and pack all the rest of your critical items, even in case of a power outage with no visibility. Keep your critical medications here too – helping you get a better night’s sleep knowing you are prepared.
On a more personal, home based note, the same emergency preparation applies to natural disasters that can happen anywhere in the world, at any time. Preparing an emergency bag to leave close to the main exit of your home opens opportunities for quick decisions and sometimes even increased chances of survival. According to the Red Cross, you should include these items in your emergency bag: water (one gallon per person per day), non-perishable, easy to prepare food items, flashlight, battery powered radio, extra batteries, first aid kit, medications, multi-purpose tool, sanitation and personal hygiene items, copies of personal documents, cell phone with chargers, emergency contact information, extra cash, emergency blanket, and a map of the area.
Preparing these items can prevent you from having to scramble to gather important items when time is limited. If you take just a few minutes to preplan and prepare for the worst, you will be more in control of any emergency situation.
