Get Ready for the Unexpected with a Disaster Go Bag

Non-perishable items? Check. Flashlights? Check. First-aid kit? Check.

In preparation for another season known to bring severe weather, the Weida family, of Hot Springs, AR is refreshing their emergency supplies and reviewing the family evacuation plan. Preparing in advance with a disaster-ready kit has helped families nationwide through extreme and abnormal weather events, which experts warn are on the rise.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends collecting what everyone in the household needs to survive for several days along with important documents into an easy-to-carry kit, often called a go bag.

Matt and Amber Weida, and their daughter Molly, credit their disaster preparedness to both the periodic reminders at their local congregation meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses and to the tips for assembling go bags on the organization’s website, www.jw.org.

"Life is precious, so we encourage all to heed the Bible’s advice to take practical steps to protect ourselves from danger,” said Robert Hendriks III, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in the United States.

Matt reflects on how the guidance has helped his family. “Disaster preparedness is a task that is often put off. It is easy to think, ‘it won’t happen to me’. Following the guidance to prepare ourselves in advance has allowed me to feel confident that my family will have what we need to get by if we face a natural disaster.”

Having a go bag provides not only practical value but emotional value as well, lessening undue anxiety. Molly shares, “I feel less anxious about enduring a disaster, knowing how well we have been prepared, both physically and spiritually.”

Commenting on the training they receive, Amber says, “Just like a loving father that trains his children how to respond to dangerous situations, God prepares us not only to endure disasters but to be in a position to help others affected by them."

Disaster-preparedness suggestions and tips for putting together a go bag are available from FEMA at ready.gov and from Jehovah’s Witnesses at https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/awake-no5-2017-october/disaster-....