Lessons Learned from the Oklahoma Blizzard
Add This Item to Your Emergency List
Our 22-year-old granddaughter learned the hard way on Christmas Eve that it pays to be prepared. She was stranded for about five hours in her car in Oklahoma City, on an interstate road, with no place to go if she chose to leave her car. She had no blankets, no water, no food, no emergency supplies of any kind.
Fortunately she had plenty of gas, so she could run her engine at least at intervals to keep warm, and she had her cell phone, which she put to use. But no one could get to her. Her worst concern at the time was an intensifying need for a bathroom, and no place to go except out in the snow with hundreds of other drivers watching. Fortunately, she was able to hold out till traffic finally moved and she made it to a Love's station.
So because of her experience, I want to add something to the lists I've read. Most of the lists are very good, but I've never seen one with this item listed: a portable restroom. For you young people who have grown up in a city and never had to "make do" in an emergency, this may be worth remembering.
You can take a large coffee can with a tight-fitting lid, or even a plastic pitcher with a tight-fitting lid. You might also want to take a light blanket to be used as a privacy screen in your car in case you aren't alone, or even if you are and have spectators in neighboring vehicles. You're smart enough to figure out how to use these items without written instructions. Also include a roll of bathroom paper. Emptying the container out the door is safer and less embarrassing than "going" outside the car.
Of course you should also take the following:
A full tank of gas
Lots of blankets
Bottled water
Food or at least snacks. I find packages of peanut butter crackers stave off hunger well.
Any medication of any kind you might need
A change of clothing and shoes even if you hadn't planned on being gone overnight
A heavy coat, hat, gloves, boots, and an umbrella in case you have to leave your car
A cell phone and battery charger for it, as well as emergency numbers
A handheld GPS if you have one. It might help you find your car if you leave it and have to return
Lotion or cream for your hands and lips. Cold is very drying on the skin
Your usual toiletries in case of having to stay away from home overnight
Reading material in case you're stranded during daylight hours
Think of anything you use on a regular basis. If you couldn't do without it, try to take it with you.
And, as my granddaughter learned, check the weather forecast before leaving home.
Published by Pat Burroughs
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12 Comments
Post a CommentYou can also buy portable urinals for women. (Do a search on that.) They are inexpensive. And, of course, that's just in case you don't drink coffee and don't have a coffee can!!
I have lived in situations like this and being an oldie I know all this, but our grown grandchildren don't know the survival rules. Thank you!
Excellent job of drawing in the reader. I could relate to this because one of my sons insisted on going into near blizzard conditions to pick up a girlfriend and was stranded for many hours. I probably should have let him suffer a bit more but was so concerned before he left that I put blankets, a pillow, food and even a lighter in the trunk, plus a flashlight. Even so, he got pretty cold and he learned a lesson.
Yes, I remember that incident, Tal. Seems to me they were Oriental. Right? There was also a father and children that that happened to, and they had been given up for dead. But they had crawled into a culvert and survived.
I'm glad all's well in the end. These are important lessons. Here in the Northwest, two or three years ago a family got lost in a snow blizzard and were stranded for days. Finally, after burning the tires to try and keep warm, the father struck out into the wilderness to try and find help. He froze to death, but his family was found a live the next day.
Thanks for sharing your lessons learned Pat
Excellent advice. My son was born in a blizzard in Wichita, Kansas. The ambulance couldn't get to me and we couldn't get our little bug out. Heck, we couldn't even find it in the 12 foot drifts. But some friends of ours had a Volswagon bus and they managed to get me the hospital. It took a couple of hours but we got there in time. I shudder to think what might have happened had we been stranded since we didn't have time to make any plans for bring any provisions at all.
all vry important, especially food. Sometimes one can get stuck for hours which for a diabtic or hypoglycemic can be amedical emergecy.
What a fantastic article with all the information needed to survive in cold weather. Even here in MS we occasionally have sub freezing temperatures, and it wouldn't hurt people to have these things. Great job.
Excellent! Our last car was older than us and when it conked out we decided it was time to build an emergency bag. The only thing I didn't include was the coffee can. Smart idea.