Disaster come in all shapes and sizes, from a tree falling on your house to the zombie apocalypse. You might need to leave home in a big hurry, with what you can quickly grab, and the clothes on your back. A bug out bag gathers the things you need to grab and go. How important is that?
What is a bug out bag?
The term “bug out bag” may evoke visions of wild-eyed survivalists hunkering down in the woods somewhere. But I just use it to refer to any emergency kit intended for situations that force you to evacuate your home. Some people call them “go bags” or “emergency kit”.
Whatever you choose to call it, a bug out bag should be something that you can grab quickly as you evacuate your home. It should contain everything you need to survive until you can get some outside help. The trick, of course, is figuring out what you actually need. But to do that we need to think about some more basic things first.
What’s your emergency?
Emergencies come in many forms. The US Department of Homeland Security made a disturbingly exhaustive list. Each has its own complications, but really they have a lot in common too. As you consider each type, first ask if you would need to leave home if it happened. I think I’d be better off staying home in the zombie apocalypse, but if the house burns down you have no choice.
Next, consider how widespread the problem will be. If the damage is confined to your home all sorts of services will be available, from hotels to stay to the Red Cross. A credit card will take care of your immediate problems. But an earthquake or hurricane might damage many thousands of homes. Help may take days to arrive, and until then you must provide for yourself.
Next, consider how much advanced warning you will get. A house fire won’t give you much time to grab things. But you should know about a hurricane days before it hits.
Finally, think about how likely it is that a given disaster would affect you. For example, I live in Indiana, so I’m not too worried about hurricanes or wildfires. But tornadoes are a serious possibility here. So my bug out bag is geared more for small and medium-scale disasters, and less for huge ones.
Where are you going to go?
Your shelter options in an emergency will depend a lot on the nature of the emergency. In a small-scale disaster you may end up at a hotel. If the hotels aren’t available you might have to sleep on the floor of a school gymnasium or something similar. In a widespread disaster you really might have to camp out somewhere.
Who is going?
Do you care for children, people with special needs, the elderly, or pets? If so, you need to consider their needs as well. FEMA has some pretty good thoughts about this, and links to a lot of other good resources.
If you need to carry stuff for other people as well as your own you really need to be vigilant about the bulk and weight of it all. You need to be able to carry it, after all.
I hope that gives you some food for thought. Next time we talk about this, we’ll go over what we carry, and why. Spoiler alert: we don’t carry big knives, tactical gear or MRE’s.
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