This spring’s revolving door of weather has really been a tizzy! One moment it’s cotton shirts and walk-about shorts with blue skies and nearly 80-degree temperatures. Then slam bang, and cold fronts appear on the front door with temperatures dipping into the 30s for the high of the day with scarves and sweaters being pulled out of hibernation.
But while all these topsy-turvy conditions might be mind-boggling, North Texans should be used to years of similar but lesser drills. Threats of lightning/thunderstorms, hail, straight-line winds, flooding and tornadoes certainly are nothing new. These situations have not been as dire as what our neighbors up north in Oklahoma have experienced time and time again, but the local threats and comeuppances have lately become more commonplace, making “breaking news” alerts headlines on cellphones and TV screens and leaving families trying to scramble in recovery as media types trumpet the worst.
While some folks have taken precautions like creating storm shelters, signing up for flood insurance, rehearsing wicked-weather drills in their households and signing up for all kinds of warnings, there is still another step that anyone, rich or poor, single or family, homeowner or renter, can take. The cost is minimal, but it can be a true-blue game changer if the worst-case scenario arrives. The cost is simply the purchase of a container, preferably a waterproof one. Inside should be the vital ingredients that would help recover from all heck breaking loose. What should be contained? How about:
- Copies of important papers (i.e., wills, insurance contracts, marriage/divorce records, credit cards, drivers licenses, passports, bank accounts, adoption contracts, etc.)
- Medical information for humans and pets
- Checking with caretakers for family members on their preparations
- Keys for the household and automobiles
- A book of passwords for internet connections
- Photos of individuals, pets and property
- Medications
- A list of contacts with key emergency persons being highlighted
So, you may ho-hum this situation with all these items, but if you’ve ever had such conditions descend on you, whether it’s on the road or at home and suffered the ugly reality of having your home and/or company wiped out with the swipe of Mother Nature, then you probably appreciate these items and could easily add to this list. If so, gladly share.
Again, these nuggets of information should be confined only to a security container. One person suggested that the keys to the container should be limited to the immediate members of the household and a trusted person far from the home. Why? If a disaster does impact your immediate area, you’ll need a “trusted” friend/family member out of the zone to swoop down to salvage the situation when way too often cellphone towers and streaming operations are victims of the blowout.
But let them know ahead of time that they’re your backup. And, who knows? Maybe they’ll put you on as their backup in return.
If you have ever experienced extreme straight-line winds or tornadoes recreating your world, then you know how it can happen in a matter of minutes.
* Photo credit: Skeeter Hagler