What to bring when evacuating for a hurricane

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — In the event of a hurricane, it’s important to be prepared with anything you might need to keep safe as you evacuate the state, so WGNO has you covered with a helpful list.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency divides these important items into five categories, including household identification, financial and legal documentation, medical information, emergency or hotline contact information and 5 valuables and personal items.

In this article, we’ll go over important highlights from each category. For the full breakdown, visit FEMA’s ready.gov webpage.

#1 – Identification. This category includes any documentation that you may need as you’re evacuating to prove that you are you, or such documentation which would be difficult to replace if it were to be destroyed.

Such items include birth, marriage or divorce certificates, adoption or custody papers, passports, driver’s licenses, social security cards, green cards and military service identification. Documentation and tags for pets should also be kept in mind.

#2 – Financial/legal. For impacts on your home or your income from disasters, FEMA officials say that attention to keeping track of all of your financial and legal documents can help when working with insurance providers and government disaster assistance programs.

A few important categories to keep track of here are documents relating to your home or vehicle, such as deeds, titles, registrations and loan information, as well as documents relating directly to your finances like pay stubs, wills, checking and savings accounts and any insurance policies surrounding all of them.

#3 – Medical. Any medical documentation could help in case of a disaster, especially if you suffer from conditions that medical practitioners may need to know about.

FEMA suggests keeping track of health insurance information, medications, allergies, immunizations, medical equipment and general health documentation. Contact information for physicians may also be helpful to keep on hand.

#4 Emergency contact information. This section covers any people or places that you may need to contact in case of an emergency situation, or in the aftermath of emergency situations.

Officials say the main numbers to keep in mind are your employers and supervisors, schools, places of worship, social services, homeowners associations and trustworthy services for home repair in the wake of disaster.

#5 Valuables and personal items. These items are a bit more straight forward and include anything which is important to you. Things that are inherently valuable, like cash and jewelry, or priceless personal mementos, such as family photos and keepsakes, are emphasized by FEMA in this section.

All of the items FEMA mentions should ideally be easily accessible and protected even if there is no impending emergency or evacuation. Experts say an easy way to accomplish that is by storing some items, such as documentation, in fireproof and waterproof containers, a safe deposit box or digitally.

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