Why do you need copies of important documents for emergencies?
You need identification in an emergency.
Which documents are important? Can you give me some examples?
I have a lot of documents!!! How can I copy all of them???
It’s hard to decide which ones…
Nowadays, you have to show your ID in many situations. You may already have had the experience of forgetting to bring your ID with you, and then needing, sadly, to abandon your plans altogether. You don’t want to be stuck without ID when you need it most.
Let’s think about the time period right after a major disaster. You’ll want to get back to normal as quickly as possible. If your ID is burnt or lost, how do you prove who you are? Federal assistance programs and banks, for example, will likely require some form of identification to prove you are who you say you are. Bills still need to be paid. And if you carry debt, like a mortgage or a credit card balance, you’ll still be on the hook for payments.
It might be OK if you live in small town and everybody knows you.
But if you’re in a big city, how many of the people that you deal with face to face actually know you? And trust you?
In an emergency, you need to act quickly. Having a copy of your ID, and other important documents, will help you tremendously. If police are only allowing residents into a disaster-stricken neighborhood, to prevent looting, you’ll want to have your ID handy. If you want to reconnect with family, or claim lost property, you’ll need proof. Some evacuation shelters only allow local residents, with proof of address. How can authorities judge people’s trustworthiness without evidence?
How can you identify yourself?
There are many reasons to keep copies of your important documents. Maintaining your finances, accessing accounts and safe deposit boxes, air travel, and identifying the injured and the dead are a few examples. Your ID can help to gain trust from others and ease anxiety. Often, people living in an affected area will need to visit neighboring areas to access basic, essential services.
Which documents to prepare?
★ Household Member Identification (essential, for each person)
- Passport / Green card (renew passports at least 6 months before expiry; see the “Six-Month Validity Rule” on the U.S. State Department website).
- Driver’s license.
- Birth certificate.
- Social Security card.
- Family picture (you might need it help look for missing family members, if you become separated).
You might need to prepare different identification documents, depending on what country you’re in.
★ Financial and legal documentation (optional)
- Mortgage information / deeds.
- Payments and financial obligations (credit cards, alimony, loans).
- Account information (credit cards, bank accounts, insurance, etc.).
- Tax statements.
- Estate planning (e.g., will, power of attorney).
- Vehicle registration.
★ Medical information (for each person)
- ID cards: health insurance card, pharmacy card, Medicare/Medicaid card.
- Record of immunizations.
- List of allergies.
- List of medications taken regularly.
In the worst-case scenario, who wants to see your documents?
Do we really need to show our health insurance card in an evacuation shelter??
You can check “Financial preparedness at FEMA” if you want to know more.
⚠️
Grab your passport or driver’s license at least.
How and where to set up your documents?
- Copy of each family member’s ID. (Don’t forget to keep these up to date!!)
- Put copies in a plastic bag to protect against water.
- Put one set of copies in your emergency evacuation bag and another set of copies in your personal, compact emergency bag.
- If you have a safe, put a set of copies inside.
- Make digital copies. Get a USB thumb drive (or full hard drive, depending on how much data you have) and copy your important documents to it. You can copy photos too, if you have space. If you want to encrypt and/or password protect it, you can, but make sure you don’t lose the key/password. Put the drive in your emergency evacuation bag. (Alternatively, you can use a cloud service that you trust.)
Tip
- The usefulness of your document backups in a crisis will depend on the scale of the disaster. If it’s just your house that’s damaged, but the surrounding neighborhoods are OK, then you will definitely need your important documents. However, if civilization has collapsed, globally, then your documents won’t matter so much
- If you are caught in a disaster while out of town, you will want your ID. You’ll need it if you want to take a plane to get back home. Also, if you’re in an area where you don’t speak the language, showing your ID is a quick way to communicate your situation.
- Some types of assistance are only provided if you ask for them. There are FEMA relief funds, for example, that must be requested (see the FEMA website for more info). Don’t forget to reach out to them. Your backup documents will help with the paperwork.
If you already have copies of your important documents, you won’t need to scramble,
looking for them, in the midst of a disaster, and you can apply for federal assistance quickly.
- Do not completely rely on your cellphone to remember important contact info. (If your battery dies…) At least memorize the phone numbers of your immediate family. Have your kids do that too.
In my opinion, our brains will be the last line of defense, in emergency situations.
Memorize important phone numbers and addresses before you memorize anything for your school exams!!
If you don’t have any documentation, how do you prove who you are?? It’s a tricky situation. We live in very complicated world these days, and it’s easy to forget how to exist without electricity.
See you next time
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Remember, “Protect your life by yourself” （自分の命は自分で守る). You need to survive first, and then you need your emergency supply. No matter how well you prepared your emergency supplies, if you die, then all of your preparations will have been for nothing. First and foremost, keep your health up all the time. Build your stamina so that if you need to, you can evacuate as quickly as possible. Stay healthy