15 minutes to grab essentials - what would you take?

[Papergirl1968]

I hope this isn’t insensitive in light of Whaley Bridge, but it got me thinking, if I was in a similar situation, what would I grab in 15 minutes?
I wouldn’t have left without dcat. Otherwise precious photos, (adopted) dds’ memory books, camera and iPad as there are further photos on those, a few clothes. I’m not very materialistic so don’t have much jewellery or stuff like that. Passports, birth certificates, school exam certificates etc if I had time.
What would you grab?

Having been evacuated in the past (gas leak, everyone was fine) our emergency bag contains:

• phone charger
• telephone numbers
• a little money (mainly for vending machines/pay phones etc)
• essential meds (need to swap those actually)
• change of clothes (and a few changes of underwear)
• toothpaste and toothbrushes, soap, deodorant, brush, towel
• colouring book, crayons, book and travel board game
• passports (although out of date so I'm not sure how much use they are).

So we'd grab that, phones, bank cards and my children's favourite toys.

www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Go-Bag

Go bags,
Important documents box
Generator, fuel
Firearms and ammo
Nappy bag and supplies
Pets and food
Water and food
Chainsaw
First aid kit

Identity docs.
Purse.

Stopcock and electricity/gas off.

A few pictures off the wall and onto the floor in the hope that they'll be ruined and I'll be able to throw them out without guilt.

laptop my photos albums (in shopping trolley?) chargers mob phone bank cards/passports & copy of dd pip forms (if you took days to fill bloody things in!) a few of my drawings dh cameras & his computer change of clothes mum & dads rings & change of clothes & dh small house & these things are kept in specific places (& my dissertation if time)

The cat. She is old and smelly but I love her!!!
Medication
Photos albums / photos
Some notebooks which I write in from time to time when feeling like shit (have done over a period of 20+ years)
Chargers / phones
Passports / birth certificates / DC3 medical notes (she is disabled)

DP would say his telescope

To be fair the cat would be the only thing I truly couldn't be without.

I feel so sorry for the people involved with it all and I hope their evacuation is precautionary!!

&Oh gosh yes medication thank you for that pp! & my hand bag which contains a lot of these things (its a tardis!)

DH and I just had this conversation over dinner. It resulted in me showing him where our passports are, and the two pieces of jewellery I'd want (my engagement ring, and my mum's engagement ring). Other than that, his laptop.
I hope it all works out for those going through this.

In 15 minutes?

I can put my hand on our passports, birth certs, insurance policies, all our financial and medical paperwork in 30 seconds. All my photos, memory box and hard drive are in the same place so another 30 seconds. As many clothes as I could stuff in a bin bag plus a coat and shoes. Phone chargers, purse with bank and credit card. Really struggling to think of anything else I couldn't live without that couldn't be replaced.

I used to work in insurance so I've always made sure the house and contents are adequately covered. Whilst obviously devastating for those involved, it infuriates me to see news stories of folk who have lost things in floods and fires etc who aren't insured.

Documents box
Special teddies
Memory box
Electronics
Bag of clothes each
Then a box of toys etc.

In that sort of situation I think you could grab quite a bit in 15 minutes- roll of bin bags, stuff one, by the door for first 10minutes, then 5minutes shoving them in car. Not being picky over favourite items with clothes etc Must be terrifying to actually be in that situation though.

I would take:
DSs favourite soft toys
His inhalers
Important documents box
Big box full of photos and memory books
My cabbage patch doll
My two fave pillows as they don't make them anymore and I love them
Laptop and phone + chargers
Wallet

If I still had pets then cat would be top of the list, obvs.

I think sadly things like Whaley Bridge will become more and more common and it's worth everyone having their essential documents and sentimental items easily accessible and in one place. I so feel for the people living there, it's a horrible situation to be in.

It would probably take that long to round up the cats and rabbits.

My husband would grab son (he knows the drill) and blue box.
Blue box has, passports, birth certificates, wedding certificate etc. Has our watch collection in.

I grab my jewellery cases, external hard drives (photies and videos of my mum, my son and important PDFs ) phone and my medication.

@MrsTerryPratchett love the bag to go idea, may set our own up.

Dog, handbag, passports, lap top, phone charger, DD's violin, photo albums, external hard drive (photos on it). That would take perhaps 5-8 mins so tip random clothes into a case for the rest of the time. Let's face it, I might have £100k's worth of belongings between us but it's all just replaceable stuff and I'm insured for £120k contents

Remember folks that toiletries even medicines would be supplied in such circumstances - apparently a pharmacist and gp went to the rescue coordination centre to make sure everyone had what they needed and a supermarket offered bottles and formula, most paperwork eg birth certificates are easily replaced but photos often can't be, and lives matter most

Probably just the kids and DH, my mum and Dsis live with us so them too. Maybe my phone and that’s it. I’d panic too much so I’d keep it simple otherwise I’d be getting everything.

I have thought about this alot as I grew up in rural Australia and we have bushfires and the threat of evacuation annually.

We grew up with all the essentials such as passports all easily accessible. In bushfire season we remove those from the safe into a bag that goes by the door. In the bag as well go photo albums and precious items such as jewllery. Dog and cat boxes stay by the door.

You go in, you grab the bag of essentials and the pets. Everything else can be replaced.

child, dogs, documents,phone charger, some clothes, handbag

I have also been involved with evacuation of horses. Teams of people with horse floats are primed and ready to go to evacuiated areas and to grab and run.

Afterwards we go back and pick up the pieces in terms of injured wildlife etc.

This was bread and butter stuff for us when i grew up. I cannot imagine the fear and terror of those at Whaley Bridge who simply have never expected anything like this.

I don't follow the news so I don't know what this is referring to, however I do often wonder what I'd do, and I run through it in my mind. I think I'd get my oh to get the dogs safely out, and with them out I could then run about the house unencumbered, that's my biggest worry, needing to hurry and exciting the dogs who would then show me down. 15 min seems like a lot of time, if it means that we could also take our van, because I could fill a duvet case full of clothes, a suitcase full of toiletries and meds and stuff my handbag with documents. I think it's harder to think through how to pack if you could only take what you can carry on foot. Stories like that are a nightmare to me because of all that gets left behind. I hope whoever's had to do this recently gets the support they need.

This thread has made me think about the fact that our important docs, birth and marriage certs, qualification certs etc are in the loft, maybe they should be somewhere easier to get.

I'd head to my mam's or sisters. Both of them live in different areas so one house would probably be okay. (it's six miles to my mam's and eight or nine to my sisters, in different directions)

Failing that I'd get on my phone and find a Travelodge that had space. I don't think you're forced to stay in the area, are you? And with money, a car and Internet access you're basically free to go where you like.

If I had to evacuate my mam and dad I'd need the car because mam can't walk far or fast. I'm bloody glad her house is on the top of a hill!

Aside from people (obviously?)

Tablet, phone (and charging stuff), purse, keys, maybe grab passport if possible but it wouldn't be a pressing urge to do so.

Everything else can be replaced.

tablet and phone - mainly because they contain precious photos and phone also bloody useful in enabling me to find shelter etc for dd and I.

Purse - bank card so can access cash/pay for accommodation/food and other essentials, also for ID purposes.

Keys for if it will be possible to re-enter home at a later point to retrieve more stuff.

Passport - if I remember. Mainly because pita and expensive to replace!

In the past I had certain items of jewellery I'd probably have tried to rescue but sadly these have been lost anyway

I've been in house fires, evacuated due to a gas leak and homeless very unexpectedly twice so I think about this sort of thing a lot.

Those experiences also taught me that "stuff" really doesn't matter. The vast majority can be replaced over time and you really don't miss it.

I have also lost things like photos of loved ones who had since passed and that kinda thing you DO miss. So much easier with being able to "save" such things electronically now.

"Oh and essential medicines" ah! Good call, yea I'd grab our meds too as they're murder to get hold of (one of mine a "controlled" one so particularly difficult to arrange replacement on say a bank hol weekend)

"it infuriates me to see news stories of folk who have lost things in floods and fires etc who aren't insured." Not everyone can afford insurance, but yes I agree those who really can definitely should.

Were you working in the field when there was the flooding in 2007? Iirc there were quite a few families who'd been unable to get or get decent insurance due to their homes being on known flood plains (WHY was/is that allowed?)

"Remember folks that toiletries even medicines would be supplied in such circumstances" I'm not sure working on that assumption is a good idea though. Eg not all pharmacies carry my meds, plus there'd still be a limited supply to go around so those who can grab their own should I think, so that pharmacists and Drs could then reserve their help for those who were unable to do so.

We have a ohfuck rucksack which contains pretty much everything we’d need so would grab that and go

Dogs, purse, passport, phone, iPad, catering pack of contact lenses!