Steps To Take In The Event You Are Evacuated From Your Mobile Home
In the event that you find yourself evacuated from your beloved mobile home, do you know what steps to take?
We hope you do. And if you don’t, follow along. We’ve got your back and we’ll walk you through some of the must take steps should you find yourself in such a situation.
Typically, disaster comes without warning and when you least expect it. When one is in shock, it’s even harder or near impossible to think on your feet.
So it’s only wise that you would want to give your best to prepare before disaster strikes. If you don’t know what to do in the event you are evacuated from your mobile home, you’ve come to the right place. We all have to start somewhere and this overview will certainly help. Are you ready? Let’s do this.
Steps to take in the event you are evacuated from your mobile home
From tornados to flooding, we’ll cover the various steps you’ll need to take in the case of an evacuation emergency. We’ll also look into helpful tips to be integrated now, making for a more streamlined approach to your evacuation situation.
In an evacuation of any type, you must understand that people are the number one priority. So how do you take care of the people under your watch?
Take control of your fears
In providing evacuation steps and preparedness tips, our aim is not to instill deep fear into your heart. Rather, our purpose is to instill a positive mindset of preparedness.
But let’s clarify. Fear can be a good and helpful feeling. Fear should keep you from bringing harm to yourself, taking care that you are safe and not reckless. However, if you’re frozen in fear, you’ll do yourself (and your loved ones) no good.
You need to take control of your fears. Give yourself peace of mind by doing some things to be better prepared in the event of an emergency. Give yourself a plan. But don’t let the lingering thought of possible disasters keep you up at night.
The power of emergency preparedness
Without a plan in mind, the struggles and hassles of evacuation are harder. What do you do? Even a vague plan of action is better than no plan at all.
With a plan in place, you’ll be a step ahead in grappling with the surprise of a disaster.
Fire evacuation steps
So without further delay, let’s buckle down and start talking about action steps. We’re going to break the rest of this article down into sections according to evacuation purpose. Steps toward evacuating the home in a fire will be different from steps toward evacuating from an upcoming hurricane.
After that, we’ll delve into some helpful emergency preparedness hacks for your mobile home. Your family will appreciate the extra care you put into thinking ahead.
For those of you who have a mobile home in areas prone to wildfires, an evacuation plan is good to have on hand.
Does your locality have a town evacuation plan?
First of all, find out if your town already has a plan for fire evacuation. After that, you’ll be able to better plan your own home’s evacuation. (For example, are there particular locations that they hope people will flock to during the evacuation process?)
Your town’s evacuation plan will deal with evacuating large numbers of people with efficiency and safety in mind. This could help you determine how evacuation is dealt with in your own household, making for more effective steps toward evacuating your mobile home.
Shut your home entrances
Make sure all your windows and doors are shut before you leave. And be sure they’re all left unlocked.
Take care of the flammable materials
As best you can, keep the flammable materials away from the entrances to your home (windows and doors.) So that means you should take off the flammable windows shades and curtains — remove them from your windows. Then go ahead and move all your flammable furniture pieces to the center of the house, as best you can. It’s best to keep them away from your doors and windows.
Turn off some of your home utilities
Find your gas meter and turn off that utility. Don’t forget to turn off the pilot lights. Additionally, you’ll want to shut down the air conditioning unit or units that are part of your home.
Leave the lights on
And while it may seem surprising to you, we do insist that you leave the lights on. It’ll help firefighters to see your house through the smoke. If that smoke is thick, they’ll appreciate seeing the beams of light shining through.
Gather the flammable outdoor items
Whatever it is you have out there that’s flammable, collect your belongings and put them inside your home. If you have a swimming pool, you could also toss it in there. This could range from anything like patio furniture to kids’ toys. It’ll be one less thing to feed the fire.
Propane tanks
Make sure any propane tanks are off. And while you’re at it, please move propane-using items such as grills away from structures on your property. You don’t want explosions from your propane tanks to destroy your home if you can avoid it, right?
Make water easily accessible
In the event that firefighters come to your residence, you can be helpful by leaving buckets filled with water around your house. Additionally, connect any water hoses you may have to your exterior spigots. But please don’t leave the water running when you leave. Make sure it’s off. If it’s left on, it could affect the water pressure in a negative manner.
Prepare your vehicle
First, you’ll want to add your emergency kit to your vehicle. If you’re concerned about a wildfire, you should move that kit into your vehicle. Second, if your car isn’t backed into the driveway, you’ll want to take care of that. Back it in, make sure it’s loaded with what you want and keep the doors and windows closed. Your keys should be with you.
Sealing up your home
Using commercial seals or pre-cut plywood, seal the vents in the attic. Don’t forget to tackle your ground vents too. This will help protect your home from smoke damage if the fire doesn’t latch onto your home. You should also know that vents are often an entryway to fire.
Be aware of your surroundings (and neighbors!)
Before you call it a day in preparing for the threat of a fire, make a final walk-through around your property. See what’s put up and what’s not put up. If there’s something you missed, take care of it.
And don’t forget to look beyond your immediate surroundings. How are your neighbors doing? Is there something you could help them with to mitigate fire damages? Fire catching on to their place could affect your own property.
But it’s more than just about taking care of your property. It’s about taking care of your community — loving your neighbor.
Remember your pets
Finally, don’t forget to take care of your pets. Keep them close to you. If you have farm animals and the threat is serious, then relocating them would be your best shot.
Have a plan for that moment when the fire hits
While we hope that you’ll be evacuating well before the firey flames hit your home, sometimes a disaster may catch you off guard. In that case, you’ll want to go over a fire escape plan with your family. Make sure everyone knows how to escape a burning mobile home.
Flood evacuation steps
So what’s a family to do with the oncoming expectation of a flood? As with the wildfire evacuation plan, you would do well to see what your locality has in place for evacuating the populous. Then you can work from there and know where you’re going when it’s time to flee to your home toward safety.
Having a plan in place will help mitigate injuries and even property damage.
Floods carry unpredictability
Here’s the thing about floods. They’re unpredictable. Countless stories abound of homeowners standing up from the bed and looking down to see that they’re standing in water. Bodies of water can go from being contained to overflowing in a flash.
In spite of their unpredictability, you can prepare to thrive in the midst of tragedy.
Know what flooding looks like in your area
So what’s the scoop on your locality? Is flooding a big problem? If you are in an area that’s a risk to flooding, then you’ll have an idea of what to expect. (But keep in mind that the unexpected is always a possibility.)
Check your insurance policy
If you live in an area where flooding is of great concern, you may wish to prioritize this. Check that your insurance policy will cover flooding. If not, see what it takes to get the right insurance policy in place.
Get an emergency kit together
An emergency kit is a must. See about buying one or putting your own together. Having everything you need consolidated into an easy-to-grab bag will prove helpful. Make sure you’ve waterproofed the kit’s exterior! What a pity it would be to find that your kit is destroyed when you need it most.
Secure your property
In the event that you’re expecting a flood, make time to secure your property. Move your electrical and valuable items up to higher ground if possible. Do you have attic crawl space? See what you can stow away up there. Don’t forget to waterproof the important documents you can’t take with you.
At the very least, move belongs onto the kitchen counter, tables, and beds. You just don’t know how high the flood waters will rise.
Tie down your property
If you have belongings that must stay outside but you’re expecting a flood, tie them down so they don’t become a hazard to others.
Keep a weather radio going
By having a weather radio on hand and running, you can keep up to date on the latest with the oncoming flood. This will empower you with the information to deal with the aftermath if things get bad. Announcements and tips will be shared for safety along with a play by play of the storm’s whereabouts.
Take care of your utilities and appliances
You can do this by turning off the power, water, and gas utilities. Empty your refrigerator and freezer, leaving their doors open to help mitigate damage or loss.
Before you leave, make sure you lock your home.
Sandbags in the toilet
You read that right. By placing sandbags in the toilet bowls and over other drain holes, you can mitigate sewage backflow. And who doesn’t want to hold that at bay?
Things could get stinky pretty quick if you’re not careful!
Move chemicals and poisons to a safe location
Those chemicals sitting on your garage floor need to be elevated. Chemicals and other unhealthy liquids are the last thing flood victims and rescue workers need to wade through. Stow them away in a waterproof and safe area.
Think about your pets
If, for some reason, you can’t take your pets with you, do you have a plan for them? Taking care that they’re left in an elevated place with food and water will help increase their chances of survival. Rescue workers will appreciate tags you may have left on your pooch for identification.
For other disasters
These steps and hacks toward evacuating your mobile home are going to help you stay a step ahead of a disaster. Don’t be timid about reaching out to local emergency responders for tips and help with cinching down a plan that’s best for your family in light of your locality.
Many of these tips are applicable to other disaster scenarios. We trust you’ll benefit from them or find yourself able to help others as a result of this knowledge.
For more information, check out on our separate articles dedicated to hurricane tips, fire safety, and tornado emergencies.