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Have you ever had to evacuate your home due to a natural disaster while living with T1D? If so, share any resources or info that helped you in the comments.
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I had to evacuate one time for a severe flood. Always keep extra supplies on hand, and always have friends/relatives that you can contact anytime. Friends rescued me, and I lived with them for about a week-10 days until it was safe to return home.
I live in Montana….I have been evacuated 3 times because of wildfires. I have all my supplies easy to grab. Unfortunately I have gotten really good at it!
I had to evacuate my house a few years ago due to the threat of a wildfire consuming my neighborhood. I packed up and left, but was fortunate to be able to return in a short while due to a shift in the winds (and a creation of a new fire line).
So in my case it wasn’t a big deal with my medications. I had brought enough to cover me for several weeks.
Yes, California fires, keep your meds and supplies in one place and know your inventory.
THIS is a reason why people with Type 1 DM need to stockpile supplies and scripts. Moreover, insurance and medical industries need to support our ability to do so. I had plenty of pump and CGM supplies, and enough insulin, to get me through the aftermath of a hurricane, when power was out for days and shipments weren’t being delivered.
Stockpile supplies to the extent that insurance allows and have an evacuation plan.
I always have a kit with a vial of insulin several pods, batteries hung by the door. My my remote, strips and lancing device are in my purse. They go with me whenever I leave the house. Would grab an extra CGM on the way out.
I refilled prescriptions that I could prior to evacuating during hurricane.
We have had to evacuate because of tsunami warnings. I have a travel bag with enough gear for a couple weeks that I toss in my vehicle and grab the insulin out of the fridge and toss it in frio containers and bring along.
In 1988 I was using a pump that had a proprietary battery that had to be charged once a day. I had 3 extra batteries that I kept charged, but a flood in our area knocked out electricity for 6 days. I tried using injected insulin, but ended up in the hospital with ketoacidosis. I was stupid that time.
In 2015 our basement was flooded out in a major rainstorm but this time I had a pump that used a battery that lasted for a month. In addition, the battery could be purchased anywhere. So, that didn’t happen.
I know live in an area susceptible to wildland fires, so I need to be prepared for quick evacuation. I have an array of orange waterproof boxes with all of the medications and supplies I would require to keep me safe for a month (or better).
The authorities and decision makers before, during and after the hurricane notified us of all the options that we took to evacuate and we did not have any problems.
In 1996, we had 5 feet of snowmelt + hours of torrential rain, leading to a 5 feet of water in out cellar. We had to evacuate because all utilities were shut off. I was not on a pump yet, so I packed up extra syringes, insulin, testing strips, my spare meter, alc swabs, snacks, pills in a backpack. All my other things ( clothes, etc. ) went in a separate suitcase. We were out of our house for 3 days, luckily finding a nearby motel with power and a working restaurant!!
I figured it out myself
Wildfire alert. Diabetes is the same for everything unexpected. have your supplies ready and a way to keep the insulin cool….. it shouldn’t be a last minute thought and cause MORE stress for everyone involved.
Always having a go bag for emergencies with all
Medical supplies.
Yes once during a county-wide power outage due to an ice storm in upstate NY. Sump pump stopped working and our basement was flooded. No heat, no electricity. Had to leave the house and stay in a nearby town at a friend’s bed & breakfast restaurant/inn property that was running on a pretty hefty generator.
I took a week’s worth of self-care supplies, and threw together a stash of easy to prepare packaged food. Fortunately the municipality of the B&B we stayed in had power restored pretty quickly compared to the town we live in. The B&B suite had a kitchenette with a small fridge and a microwave so we were able to heat water and food.
My husband is a general contractor whose work includes rescuing people and properties during crisis emergencies, so he had access to get groceries and frozen meals from a WalMart that had power. We had enough food supply to feed some other people who left their homes in a hurry with nothing other than the clothes they had on.
We stayed at the B&B for 4 days until the city repaired the damaged electrical wires to restore power and we were able to return home. Some folks had no power for up to 10 days and stayed there until they could return home. The owners of the Inn did not charge anyone for staying there.
Hurricane Irma in 2017. Power was out for a week. It was the first week of classes where I work. They are in Baltimore. I work remotely in FLA so I had to find WiFi. Drove around for a couple of hours without working traffic lights until we got a tip for a hotel with power. Stayed there for a week. Had a Yeti for insulin but luckily had a working small fridge in hotel room. Went back home, packed up and drove the 40 minutes back to the hotel. We were lucky.
After losing my place to a fire years ago I’ve learned to be prepared. I pack at least a months worth of supplies (pump supplies, bg strips and meter, all meds, glucose tabs and insulin near the exit route of my back door in a large backpack, along with shoes and several days of clothes. In event of a brush fire or natural disaster I grab my bags and my dogs and head out to evacuate.
Summer fire season still has two more months. Let’s hope I do not have to.
If you use only use a CGM with a cell phone, what happens when your electricity is interrupted by tree limbs knocking down power lines? Goodbye WiFi. How will you get bg readings? Another reason to be wary of relying only on a cell phone for communication. Also, from Goodwill store I got a cheap clock radio that has a niche for a 9 volt battery backup so I can learn what happened & get public service announcements. My landline phone never went out during storms.