GoBag or Stay Home™? Making the Call in Real Emergencies

GoBag.One™ | GoBag or Stay Home™

Every emergency boils down to one decision—do you hold the fort, or do you step off? The wrong call costs lives. The right one buys time. I’ve made both under pressure, and I can tell you: the answer isn’t instinct, it’s preparation. You rehearse the decision before the smoke, sirens, or water rise.

Key Takeaways

• Decide early: Waiting for certainty is how people get trapped. You act when the trend turns, not when it’s confirmed.
• Threat, Time, People, Routes, Comms: The five points of the Go/Stay compass—run this checklist before every major storm, fire, or civil event.
• Drill it now: Walk the routes, assign roles, know what “stay” means and what “go” actually looks like.

Main Points

1) Threat Assessment — Know What’s Coming
Understand the hazard, not the hype. Flooding? Look at elevation and drainage, not news panic. Civil unrest? Watch proximity and duration, not headlines. Wildfire? Know wind and containment, not color-coded fear charts. The GoBag or Stay Home™ rule starts with ground truth, not social media.

2) Time — How Fast Does It Move?
If your window to move is measured in minutes, that’s a Go decision. If hours or days, you have options. Time is a resource; spend it wisely. Track forecasts, scanner traffic, and local alerts. Every hour you wait, routes close, panic rises, gas vanishes. If you decide to go, go before the herd.

3) People — Who’s With You?
Families change everything. A solo evac is easy; a household means logistics. Age, health, pets, and vehicles all shift your call. Have a rally point, an alternate, and a backup. Everyone in your circle should know the drill: if comms drop, where do we regroup? If someone’s missing, who checks first?

4) Routes — Map Two Minimum
Your primary exit may die quick. Keep a paper map with two alternate routes and a third “foot path” if you’re boxed in. Practice one. Don’t trust GPS when towers are down. In urban areas, know which roads flood or lock under police control. Out in the sticks, watch bridges and fallen trees. Always have fuel staged for half your round-trip distance at least.

5) Comms — Information Is Oxygen
Have more than a cell phone. A simple hand-crank or battery NOAA radio, a text-based family group plan, and even an FRS walkie pair can keep the signal alive. When power drops, charge discipline matters. Radios run hours on what phones burn in minutes. Keep a paper contact sheet in your GoBag.

Pro Tips

• Trigger points: Set written criteria—“If the river hits X feet, we go.” Not emotion. Not guesswork. Criteria.
• Staging zones: Keep go-gear stacked near the exit and tested monthly. Bags tagged by name, weight manageable for each carrier.
• Intel loops: Weather, traffic, law enforcement alerts—subscribe and test. Don’t rely on a single source.
• Stay plan: If you hold, seal windows, stage fire extinguishers, prep water, and establish interior rally points. Staying is still a mission, not a nap.
• Run the decision drill: Once a season, sit the family down and simulate a 5-minute go-call. Grab bags, pets, keys. Time it. See where you stumble.

Related Links

Evacuation Planner – Move Fast, Move Smart • 72-Hour GoBag Checklist • Ops Challenge: The 5-Minute GoBag Grab

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