Get Ready for the Unexpected With a Disaster “Go Bag”

Flashlights, a first aid kit, and ready-to-eat meal packs line the living room table. The Miller family is not going camping — they are preparing for disaster by putting together a “go bag.”

Preparing in advance with a disaster-ready kit has helped families nationwide through extreme and abnormal weather events, which experts warn are on the rise.

Shaun Miller has lived in Santa Cruz County for over 15 years. A firefighter with the San Jose Fire Department, Shaun is well aware of the potential dangers of earthquakes, fires and flooding that threaten their hometown of Ben Lomond and the surrounding areas. "I've always been working around disasters and emergencies," Shaun said, "so I almost feel natural facing those circumstances. But when it hits home, it's different."

During last year's fire season, the Miller family — along with the majority of their community — had to evacuate. Two of their friends lost their homes to raging fires. The Millers expressed how the disaster preparedness articles on jw.org played a vital role in protecting their friends and family. Shaun’s son Mason said, "It gives a lot of practical advice that is in line with what government authorities suggest. It keeps everything simple and easy to understand." Shaun added, "All the information is right on, and it helps take away that fear of the unknown."

“Having a personal preparedness plan increases your chances of staying safe,” according to a training program from Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness.

Jolted awake by a neighbor’s urgent knocking, Aaron and Jacqueline Pate were horrified to see the encroaching flames of the fast-moving Woolsey fire that had been miles away when they went to bed. It burned to within 100 feet of their Westlake Village home in 2018 as part of California’s deadliest wildfire season on record.

"Because we had ‘go bags,’ we weren’t running around trying to pack things at the last minute,” Jacqueline Pate said. “We had the time we needed to comfort our kids and get everyone safely into the car.”

The Pates credited the disaster-preparedness help they received as Jehovah’s Witnesses, both through periodic reminders at their congregation meetings and from tips for putting together “go bags” on the organization’s website, jw.org.

"Life is precious, so we encourage all to heed the Bible’s advice to take practical steps to protect ourselves from danger,” said Robert Hendriks III, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in the United States.

“Go bags” also have proven useful in the opposite circumstances as “stay bags.”

Disaster-preparedness suggestions and tips for putting together a “go bag” are available from FEMA at ready.gov and from Jehovah’s Witnesses at https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/awake-no5-2017-october/disaster-....