I’d recommend doing a search for “go kit”, “ go bag”, and similar for what various folks here on FUD have discussed previously. Might give some ideas and context for the diabetes aspects to go with your obvious extensive background in emergency response. Our backgrounds sound some what similar in nature.
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I’d be interested, too. I’ve not been in any real disaster, knock on wood, other than just prolonged power outages. My preparedness focuses primarily on having sufficient insulin avaliable. Of course, one can take that only so far. During the initial months of covid, I did worry that there could be a shortage of insulin, not to mention all of the other D supplies. Fortunately for all of us that did not happen!
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It’s a dovetail on having insulin available, but when considering potential longer duration events, I suggest:
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Have a list of backup pharmacies saved, with contact info, that you know for sure take your insurance in case your usual supplier gets hosed. If possible have the backup have your essential Rx on file in advance. Look for things that are geographically distributed so that you aren’t backed into a corner if there’s a regional disruption. You don’t want to get stuck without good connectivity in a noisy fire evacuation shelter struggling to find someone to fill your Rx in an emergency, so set that up and save the contact info and etc in advance.
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If you rely on home delivery Rx, try to have a friend or family member in a different but not too distant location agree to serve as a backup delivery address and save that in your address book in advance in case you’re evacuated or your normal address is unusable for any reason. Also try to make sure that you have the ability (without a doctors appointment!) to flip things from delivery to pickup or vice versa if that’s possible.
Larger events can disrupt supplies for long periods: nothing came in or out of Tohoku for a full week, restoring limited operations took a month or two, and full normalcy took many years. For the first week there were no operational seaports, no airports, no rail… you had what you had. Much of the rest of the country was operating as normal, and independent travel (solo and at your own risk) by road was still possible in/out of Tohoku by limited routes. Private and local vehicles were moving before main supply chains were restored, so I usually try to backstop essentials by choosing a pinch hitter unlikely to be taken down by the same disaster as the first.
A tangent: on drug access, if you are a regular or heavy user of any substance like alcohol, nicotine, or even caffeine in some cases, KNOW THAT. We had a ton of people start having withdrawal symptoms, some severe, in the tsunami/nuclear evacuation shelters. This is suboptimal for a wide variety of fairly obvious reasons. Just think carefully and honestly about what needs to be in your go-kit, including things you rely on like nicotine or caffeine, so that you aren’t setting yourself up to go cold turkey with no notice and no choice. Trust me on this, the week you get evacuated from your home is not the week to try and give up your little daily vices.
Japan actually restored access unbelievably fast considering how severe the event was - it could easily have taken many weeks in a country less earthquake-proof to restore all that infrastructure. We initially lost cell, radio, electricity, internet, running water… basically it was the stone age for the first week. It would have taken many times longer to restore services in a place that wasn’t prepared. But you all knew about the reality of that quake before we did. All we knew was the earth heaved - desks were flung airborne in classrooms, plate glass windows rippled like fabric and threatened to shatter, and when the shaking stopped and the water began to recede, we were completely incommunicado, stuck in the dark and rocked by endless aftershocks and caught in a multi-day blizzard. We didn’t know anything beyond what we could see with our own eyes until about a week later.
I was the only non-native Japanese speaker in my town, too! They don’t teach you words like “iodine tablet” or “cesium isotope” or “geiger counter” or “milk rationing” in school Japanese 
I actually still remember starting to cry as relief aid from Operation Tomodachi pulled into the Sendai harbor.
So! I am looking through previous go bag suggestions to see if I have anything to add (I have a few alternative gear suggestions, like I prefer Katadyn BeFree to the LifeStraw for example), but my main advice is this:
Tyson’s right that it all goes to hell once you get hit in the face. However there is a big difference between going into the octagon knowing your opponent and expecting to get hit, versus having someone turn around as you’re minding your biz and haul off with a haymaker in the seat next to you on the bus. So have a plan. Even if the plan falls apart in the moment, having one to start with gives you a leg up from starting cold. Learn about your area, learn your evac routes, and establish backup systems that are geographically distributed in the event of extended operational disruption. More later!
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Thanks, Panda, this is some great advice. I hadnt thought of a backup pharmacy before but I am perpetually daunted by a potential lack of insulin supply! Like many here, I, too, try to maintain a good backup supply. I keep it in the basement where it is always cool. I’m thinking it might be a good idea to keep some of it ( and syringes) elsewhere but still nearby.
I can only imagine how scary the Tohoku quake must have been. Thank goodness you were not insulin dependent then. It was terrifying to see on the news. Good suggestion to be realistic with backup needs, too. That hadn’t occurred to me. I am not overly needy of anything except of course we all need carbs for lows, and I do have coffee in the morning!
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I have certainly spent some time thinking about how different 2011 could have been for me!
I don’t know how others here handle their contacts, but in addition to the number for my provider I have also saved:
- phone number for my PBM (Express Scripts, in my case). If your PBM has a direct number to process same day prior auths, have that number on file too so you can direct a provider there if need be.
- phone number for my insurance provider
- phone number for my usual pharmacy (delivery via Express Scripts for me)
- phone number for major chain pharmacy with multiple locations (Kroger/Safeway for me) that I know takes my insurance and has all my current Rx on file already and will do out-of-pocket fills in a dire emergency
There is nothing worse than getting caught in the doom loop and not having an easy way to get the phone number you need for one or more of the various players to complete the circuit and get what you need, so I keep all of this (and any relevant extensions or menu keys) on my phone as well as written down and stored in my glove compartment in my car (if I’m evacuating, I’ll be driving, this means I can’t forget it).
Choosing a major chain helps you distribute geographic risk, increasing the odds that you can actually reach someone and also that some part of their network is operational still even if your area is in the soup. If you usually fill with a major chain to start with, having redundancy with another still never hurts. Obviously this is all second string to trying to keep a good supply on hand to start with. Preparedness is all about “and”, not “or”!
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Yes! I started keeping emergency supplies at my work location as well. I try to keep at least a full bottle of insulin, syringes, glucagon, and BG test strips there. I also keep a bottle of maple syrup, since it’s so carb dense it should be good for lows for a long while. Since my brother is diabetic, I know his house always has supplies as well.
Genius!!
I have a Google Doc of my household’s medical information (diagnoses, allergies, prescriptions, pharmacies, doctors, insurance, etc.). I always keep a printed copy on the refrigerator – and soon in our cars.
Sharing that Google Doc with our families should hopefully help if we’re unconscious in an emergency… or for ourselves when our brains go blank during the adrenaline rush. 
I’ve learned over the years that when someone else is having an emergency I go into “fight” problem-solving mode. When I’m in the emergency, I “freeze.”
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To clarify why I emphasize the contact side so much:
Not all emergencies will allow you time to get your stuff. For example most people were at work or school when the tsunami hit. There was no opportunity to retrieve anything at all: tsunamis come ashore moving hundreds of miles an hour, slowing down as they move through shallower water and then inland. But you have minutes to evacuate once the warnings go off and unless you carry your whole go-kit literally on your person at all times, disasters like tornadoes, earthquakes, or tsunamis can strike with very little warning and deny you access to your home or car (have a kit in each btw!) for unknown amounts of time. So that’s why I focus on that: no matter how good your go-kit is or how deep your spare insulin well, it won’t help if you can’t get to it or it gets destroyed. Having the information to rebuild your resources if needed is a great backstop to having a physical go-kit.
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Just wanted to mention on this thread - you can buy the slower old-school insulins, including NPH, at any Walmart pharmacy without a prescription. They sell it for $25 per vial.
And of course you can also get BG test kits without a prescription. No Dexcom, but trust me, you can survive without your Dex!
As far as syringes, you can buy them without a prescription in almost all states. I think the few exceptions are Maine, Delaware, New Jersey, and Alaska.
So depending on the emergency - yes if it’s the entire state or region, Walmart’s might be tough to get into. Or they will sell out quickly.
But if it’s a smaller or just a personal emergency, even if you have nothing with you, you can survive if you have cash or a credit card.
Just wanted to mention this because being able to buy insulin and supplies without a prescription does you no good if you don’t know that you can do that!
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I am both pretty outdoorsy and really into gadgets, so to sort of detour a bit from purely diabetes stuff, here are a few of my recommendations on gear and supplies.
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Katadyn BeFree - this fits any standard screwtop bottle, and you can drink through it like a sport top, or squeeze into a receptacle using a soft sided bottle: I have the HydraPak Seeker. I can drink straight off it, or squeeze it into a pot for cooking, etc. The container needs to have some give so that you can squeeze it to force the water through the filter, but even a repurposed Dasani bottle or whatever works.
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Garmin InReach Mini is about the best satellite/emergency communicator out there for the average user. Do read the fine print on cloud/tree cover and so on for use. This will allow you two-way communication not only with emergency services, but also with others in your contact list.
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MSR Pocket Rocket 2 Stove is compact, uses prefilled canisters, and guarantees you a way to heat water and more. It does have a built-in spark starter, but don’t forget to keep matches or a lighter handy as backup. And make sure you have some kind of pot or pan to put on it!
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SAM Splint - having a few of these is worth more than you can imagine! SAM splints can be used for bracing and splinting of all kinds - not just the obvious stuff like arms. They’re really versatile, you can even origami one into a makeshift C-collar, I can make a demo video if people wanna know how! You will need some ACE bandages or Coban wrap or similar to use and secure these: do NOT use tape! Non-yielding materials like tape risk cutting off circulation, especially if the injury swells. Only use wraps with some give!
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A fireproof/waterproof bag or safe containing copies of documents, ID, etc can also provide peace of mind, especially in fire areas where you may not have time to grab things. These containers have various sizes and ratings and can survive being burned over or submerged depending what you pick: in the awful event your home is destroyed or seriously damaged, one of these can mean you have a shot to retrieve some things intact.
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Something for joy. Not to state the obvious but crises are stressful. Try to pack future-you a little something good to cheer you up. Could be a little cuddle object, could be a mini album of special photos, whatever. Build in something to brighten your spirits when the world feels dark. This goes a million times extra if there are likely to be small humans in your party: the morale boost folks get from even the smallest happy surprise in those situations can’t be overstated and it’s even more so for kids! Try to put a little something in for each person you expect your kit to cover.
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I am interested as well.
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This fell off my front burner a bit but I will circle back! Thanks for the reminder!
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