We're lucky only two way on and off, and after a certain windspeed we can't get off. The emergency places I use are 80 miles away, and inland. Totally agree with you Duane, you do need to ask question to ensure your animals are taken care. Had I known last febs blizzard would effect us so bad I would have taken the animals to the kennels and stable. We had NO water or elec at the barn for over a week. I surely don't want to be lugging water again. We lost power and inside house was in the 30's, For the most part I was able to keep Amber warm but now she has good horse style coats in different weights that can be layered and worn.

I don't live in an area known for earthquakes, floods or hurricanes but the way the weather has been this year, you never can tell when that may change. I love all the suggestions for planning ahead.

I do alot of long distance driving with Sasha in the car but I never thought to put my email address on her dog tag. That will be rectified first thing tomorrow morning.

My van is affectionately known as my kennel on wheels, which would make evacuating easy. I also keep a bag in the house that is packed with meds, etc. that cannot be left in the car. I have a crate for each dog in the car.

I do need to stock up on bottled water and also a food source. I am a raw feeder and I have tons of meat, but it's all perishable.

Reflecting on this thread has uncovered some things that I thought were buried. Before Katrina, I never dreamed how profound the impact of a real disaster would be on pets or their owners. I now realize that I will never forget the effect that witnessing all of that trauma would be, and I already knew that I wouldn't be able to leave my pets behind.

One very central, immediate focus of recovery was to rescue abandoned pets, provide emergency shelters, and reunite pets with their owners. Seeing that was when I came to the understanding of how deep our relationships with our pets have become in our modern culture.

I remember how traumatized my own dog was, not because of a terrible storm and uncertainty about the fate of our home, but because of the upheaval of an evacuation and not being able to go home. Though I was 50% partner in a room in a beautiful lodge, I spent the first two nights sleeping outside on a chaise lounge at my parents' RV site because she was so upset.

(side note: Arkansas has accidentally imported the most vicious biting flies that I have ever encountered!)

I remember how traumatized my nieces were. My sister thought she would be back at home in 3-5 days, which is a typical evac for us. She had a two story house, so she wasn't scared of flooding, and left the family cats upstairs with a week's worth of water and dry food. When it became clear that our evac would be at least a month, the girls became distraught and unconsoleable. Thank goodness we were able to go in and get the cats out on day 11.

My goodness, so many great ideas- thank you all! Never thought about putting my email address on my pets tags. Cell and home phones may change often but we normally keep our emails for eternity. I do have a small fireproof safe which will will now include copies of the pets records just in case.
I do have a first aid kit for me, but I really need to get one for the critters.