I was in Kauai a few weeks ago when the earthquake hit Japan. A non-TV-watcher at home, turning on the boob tube is a luxury I reserve when I travel. When Jon and I did so in our “perfect” condo on the beach in Poipu, the TV happened to be tuned to CNN. It’s a good thing because we found out about the earthquake just 45 minutes after the disaster struck Japan.
We watched as homes, office buildings, buses, trucks and cars got swept away by the rushing water. It then occurred to us that after an earthquake, a tsunami. We began to search for news on the TV and on our iPhones as to whether Hawaii was at risk.
It was. Now what?
I first called down to the front desk, thinking I’d let them know what was happening. But the Kiahuna Plantation was already prepared. The desk clerk explained that the tsunami wasn’t expected in Hawaii until 3 a.m. and that we would start hearing sirens around 1 a.m. She then said it would be sufficient to move just a couple of miles inland to the baseball field in Koloa Town, which was the meeting point during such emergencies.
Jon and I discussed the potential for there to be traffic as the hundreds (thousands, we imagined) of people in Poipu tried to make it to this same location and we decided it would be best to pack up some things and leave early. So at around 11 p.m. we began gathering our items – at first just the essentials and costly items (laptop, camera gear) – and then decided to pack up everything since we didn’t know how long we might have to be away and what we might lose if the tsunami was so strong that we couldn’t return to the condo (pictured right).
While packing, we discovered that we were really quite ill-prepared should something happen and we lose everything, we couldn’t get back to our condo or we got “stuck” on the island for an extended period of time.
It turned out that everything was fine on our part of the island and we returned the next morning to absolutely no damage and no sign of the impending doom that we felt the night before. But this experience gave me a chance to re-evaluate my own packing list – no matter where I travel.
Flashlight, microlight or headlamp – A friend recently gave me a glow-in-the-dark flashlight. It’s compact, stylish and I can find it in the middle of the night. Little Photo MicroLights should just simply be on every person’s keychain, at home or on the road. And I’m also a big fan of Petzel Headlamps since you can use these and have your hands free at the same time.
SteriPEN Water Purifier – Previously, I only ever took my SteriPEN water purifier with me when I was abroad. But I won’t leave home without it now. If we had been in Kauai without access to clean water, this might have saved the day.
Fingernail clippers – Since you can’t travel with a pair of scissors in your carry-on, these make a good back-up all-purpose item to cut small things.
Tweezers – Not just for your eyebrows! These are great for removing splinters and take up so little space why not carry them?
Ace bandages or medical tape – In the event that you are hurt, need to wrap blisters or need to help someone else, these are good all-purpose products that have numerous uses in a pinch.
Duct tape – There are a gazillion reasons to travel with at least a small roll of this! Travel sizes can be found at Minimus.biz.
iPhone – While an iPhone might not always work during a catastrophe because the phone lines tend to get jammed, having one in Kauai helped us tremendously. As soon as I heard about the potential for a tsunami, I tapped out an email to my brother to let him know were were evacuating in the off chance he had heard the news and we couldn’t be reached.
I was also able to send out information via Twitter and Facebook as well as get updates on what was happening. Several people sent suggestions on what to carry with us (thank you!).
Ultimately, having my iPhone ensured us a place to sleep for the night as a friend who works at the Grand Hyatt Kauai sent a text at about 11:30 p.m. and invited us to her house for the night. That’s Aloha spirit!
Copies of your passport – I just learned that a friend of mine was in Christchurch, New Zealand during their recent earthquake. He had walked out of the youth hostel 15 minutes before it was leveled (2 were killed). He had just a few items with him and lost everything that was left behind. What a great reminder to always carry your passport or a copy of it so it can be easily replaced.
This is by no means an exhaustive list but it’s more than what I would have considered carrying before my tsunami scare! The beauty is that these items serve numerous purposes – not just in the case of an emergency.
So, what’s in your emergency travel kit?
Travel Well!
Beth
Related links:
Is it Safe to Go to Japan?
Opting out of Full Body Scanners
Photo Credit: Survival Kit by Global X
Meg Noble Peterson says
Excellent suggestions, Beth. The only things I haven’t included are the nail clippers, for I had so many taken from me at airport security, and the iPhone, since I never go overseas with a cell phone. Good heavens…dare I reconsider? And texting and twitter. Well, I just may have to rearrange my prejudices. As for the Petzl headlamp. I even carry THAT to NYCon the train. It’s a must! Glad your experience turned out to be benign. Meg
Michael Figueiredo says
This is a great list, Beth. I haven’t really thought about disaster preparedness when I travel… I will for now on though!
adventureswithben says
Yikes, I don’t have an emergency travel kit with first aid supplies, but I do carry copies of my passport, credit cards and other important documents.
Nancie says
I’m not very well prepared either. However, I do carry a small flashlight, and this last trip I added a safety whistle to my bag. I’ve been in places with aggressive monkeys and such. A loud whistle would probably get them moving. I also carry some kind of disinfectant cream and band-aids.
I also keep an up-to-date list of all my banking info., which a very trusted friend has a copy of. I also keep a copy in a private email account.
I am definitely going to get one of those water purifier pens.
Lisa says
These are great suggestions Beth. I will keep these in mind as I prepare for my own travels. Thanks!
Raymond says
Hi have a flashlight, a whistle, and liquid bandages. Sounds like I’m going to a rave, but there you have it. 🙂
wandering educators says
what a great list – and SO glad you were safe. PHEW!
Cathy Sweeney says
This is a very helpful post and some good suggestions in the comments as well.
I just wanted to mention that your article really hit home with me because I also stayed at Kiahuna (which I loved) during a very tragic time. I was there on 9/11. It was a surreal experience being in such a beautiful place when the unbelievable was happening.
Lorna - the roamantics says
great list- i’m ashamed to say that in spite of living in california for 22 years, i still don’t have one! i really need to remedy that immediately in light of everything that’s been going on in the world lately and getting this reminder. thanks for sharing it and glad you’re safe 🙂
robin says
Very timely and useful post – people just don’t think about this stuff when they pack.
Laurel says
Great list. Interesting how a potential emergency situation like the one you were in makes you think what’s really important in an emergency. I love head lamps as well and always bring one hiking, but I’d never thought of bringing one while traveling.
Sarah says
Great list. Since Marc 11th, I sleep with a flashlight by my bed and have a whistle attached to my cell phone. I’m thinking about upgrading to an IPhone too.
jade says
Really great list… our iphone has saved us during several emergencies and I love being able to connect with people all over the world so easily.
Christy @ Technosyncratic says
This is a great list – thank you for the suggestions! We’re quite bad at packing emergency supplies (our emergency travel kit usually ends at band-aids and a cough drop), so I need to start finding some of these items. 🙂
Kent @ No vacation Required says
Great tips and yet another reminder that we need to get that SteriPEN for lots of reasons. We’re big camping enthusiasts, so we’re really aware of emergency preparedness. Somehow, though, we let it slide when we visit a big city. We gotta turn that around!
Ms Traveling Pants says
Lovely post. As I recently moved from my house, I have misplaced my survival kit or better said it is scattered throughout a storage facility. When it is reassembled, my hurricane kit includes batteries, flashlight, matches, basic first aid, gallons of water, gallons of gas, blue tarp, duct tape, long extension cord, twine, and a bottle of booze (great for those hurricane parties and bbqs).
Stefanie says
I always scan and email a copy of my passport and important documents to myself. It´s good to carry them around, but the extra backup can´t hurt. Plus, you´ll have the comfort of knowing that you can access it from anywhere there´s an internet connection!
Joshywashington says
knife, duct tape, iodine tablets, batteries, pain killers, sewing kit, condoms and a Madlibs book.