Grab 'n Run

Last week I got interested again in our grab-n-run bag (some call this their 'bug out bag'). This is an old duffel-on-wheels that we packed a while ago with necessities, real and imagined, that would be useful if we had to quickly leave the house and evacuate the city for some reason. Now, we live near Atlanta, which is generally high terrain, so unless you live on the shores of a river or large creek it's unlikely that you'd be victim of flooding here. More likely tornado, trees down, etc. or some act of war, or catastrophic pandemic.
[Photo by Mary Altaffer, Library of Congress Information Bulletin]
[PS - what if the white stuff falling from the sky is radioactive?]

Mostly I began to wonder about being able to leave by car during such an occasion. Atlanta lives on the verge of gridlock every day of the week, so you can imagine the state of the highways ten minutes after the evacuation idea hits town. Atlanta is ringed and split several ways by huge expressways, which would act as impassable rivers that one would need to ford. So, my initial thinking about this centered around finding those places where there were bridges or underpasses not associated with exits or entrances to the expressways - i.e., ways to get across the river of cars. To say nothing of the many rivers and creeks themselves.

But lately I've been wondering about the prospect of evacuating by bicycle or on foot, or on some sort of hired transportation. That prospect was not compatible with our large ungainly grab-n-run bag. So, I resolved to split our large bag into three smaller backpacks, the kind that kids use for books at school. This way, everyone in the family has their own bag to carry. Ideally, each bag would be identical and serve the carrier in the same way. As I thought about this further, having individual bags made sense in terms of the way we live - kid at high school, myself and wife at work seven miles away.

I began to think about what should be in the bag. I looked on the internet, and there are a number of survivalist spots that list ideal contents of grab-n-run bags. see:
http://www.survivalforum.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=133
But I also found a site by a man who actually tested his bag by camping out with it for a couple of days:\http://37mm.com/cgi-bin/noncgi/Forum6/HTML/001350.html


He discovered that most of the stuff he had packed was too heavy and, more important, unused. In his own researching he discovered (in the book: "Guerilla Warfare") Che Guevara's list of contents for Che's own grab-n-run bag. Here at last was a list created by an experienced grab-n-runner which contained sensible adjustments such as spare socks, but no other spare clothes. It was a bit heavy on the guns-n-ammo side for my tastes, but I could easily substitute water for guns in my own bags.

In light of these considerations, I began to compile my own grab-n-run list. It was sensible but contained too many items. I decided to step back, blur my eyes, and look at the total package. What were the biggest necessities in the initial hours of an evacuation? I decided that the top priority would have to be:

MOVEMENT
and:
COMMUNICATION
and:
PERSONAL SUPPORT

Niceties such as hot meals and candles would have to take a second seat to these.

Looking at things needed to support movement, I came up with: car, hired transport, bicycle, foot.

Things supporting MOVEMENT for all modes:
$200 cash in small bills
roll of quarters
maps (detailed city street map metro area; state roads; U.S. roads)

Things supporting MOVEMENT by car:
spare gas
spare can oil
spare water jug
hose repair kit (rubber, clamps)

Things supporting MOVEMENT by hired transport:
prepaid transit card or tokens
transit map

Things supporting MOVEMENT by bicycle:
Bicycle pump
Spare bicycle tire
Seasonal clothing
Water

Things supporting MOVEMENT by foot:
Walking shoes
Socks
Seasonal clothing
Water

COMMUNICATION Support:
small AM/FM radio (AA battery) better if this had a TV-audio-band option
spare AA batteries
extra cellphone car charger
extra cellphone battery
cellphone textmessage capability / knowledge
list of phone numbers and addresses of family and friends
list of radio and TV stations statewide
envelopes and stamps [seems silly in the electronic era, but many Katrina evacuees were unable to contact family for weeks afterward - mail might have notified in 3 days]
sticky notes, paper, magic marker, pen. [at other disaster sites, people have left notes on adhoc noticeboards about their whereabouts]

More expensive options:
laptop with wireless capability [might help once you land someplace safe and wired]
global wireless account, such as Verizon
satellite phone / wireless account
battery operated portable tv
tv antenna
handcrank shortwave radio

PERSONAL SUPPORT items:
2 1.5L bottles water
6 granola bars
1 small can chicken chunks (or tuna) with poptop lid
1 small can chili with beans, or beef stew, with poptop lid
plastic utensils
flashlight (D battery)
spare D batteries
poncho or black trash bag
tylenol or motrin
caffeine drink
spare prescription drugs
respiratory filter mask

And here's a great PDF from the Rand Corp. about how to respond to unmentionably horrible events: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/2005/RAND_MR1731.1.pdf

-kw