Flood alert. What to put in a "Grab bag"

Many years ago we lived in an earthquake prone country. Thinking I was very clever I had a bag by the door packed with essentials for us and the children in case we ever had to evacuate. But when it happened I rushed out the door with a child under each arm, unable to carry the bag as well!

Hope you’re bag is not needed HelterSkelter1

I’d want to take something to do whilst I’m sitting in a village hall - a book or preferably my Kindle, and maybe a crochet hook & ball of yarn?

Surely things like photos and house deeds can be left upstairs or in the attic? In Scotland house deeds are now online anyway so you wouldn’t need them. Taking photos of important documents also means you can have them to hand without needing the physical thing itself.

In that Boeing plane incident last week they say part of the reason the plane was evacuated so effectively was because no one tried to take their hand luggage with them. Sometimes travelling light is best.

The more I read the more I come to the conclusion that if someone was trying to take all the things suggested on thisthread, it wouldn't be a 'grab bag', more a 'grab' container lorry

Torch? There is one on your phone. Phone charger

Photo albums!

A friend who does live up a hill but is often cut off from her town and cash points which often don't work anyway, keeps money hidden in her house upstairs and has a mechanical radio that you wind up.
Candle and matches upstairs as well as down was something she said and spare batteries for torches are stored upstairs.Photograph albums upstairs and she has a small collection of memorable photos in a plastic zipped case.
Your repeat prescription is very handy as I know a girl who was sent by the health authority to ask the evacuated people what medication they were using. Some replied a round pink tablet or a long blue one they did not know their names.

I've included a battery-operated radio with spare batteries.

Phone charger
Medication
PJ's
Jewellery

Passport, deeds of house

Keep financial information online and save it to the cloud. Then you can access it at any time anywhere, if you can get access to a computer. You could also just save it to stick storage and put that in the bag.

Reading all the items on this thread, if someone packed all these in a grab bag, it would have to be a grab bag the size of a very large suitcase, if not a storage container.

Having read that list I am really grateful that I live on a steep hill.. it really makes one think though

A rucksack not a handbag and everything in clear bags or those clear make up bags sold in Boots ,
Analgesia
Biogradable baby wipes
sanitary towels / Tena ladies .
Disposable gloves are also useful and keep your hands warm .
Masks .

i would never risk taking money into hospital with me, beyond a tenner or so for incidentals. Too much disappears in hospitals.

Another tip I was given not pleasant but handy. When my friend had to evacuate she was desperate for a wee but could not use the loo. She waited until she had to wade through water and later laughed saying no one took any notice of her wet trousers. Another took large empty plastic bottles upstairs for her and her husband as again they could not use the toilet.
DH also made an evacuation list of which room to evacuate from either upstairs or down and we have a small nail beside each window with the window lock keys for each room on them.
A relation had to be winched by helicopter out of her house and she said a backpack would have been better than a handbag and grab bag.

Yes I Kept my wellies upstairs. In 2014 when there were very severe local floods they could have filled up with water downstairs. Likewise the grab bag needs to be kept upstairs as well.
We were not flooded then, but friends were out of their house for many months.

A few years ago, I posted a similar post about a hospital grab bag—night clothes and slippers or trainers. Your spare car keys any money you have in the house.
My friend pointed out that after our village was flooded a few years later, luckily not our house, she had put her valuable jewellery in a spare zipped make-up bag. Current medication and a spare repeat prescription if you have one.Any health care products you use i.e. Teena Lady.
If you have room duplicates of clean underwear and a warm jumper or fleece.Gloves scarf and hat. If you have to sleep in a village hall I have been informed it can be quite cold.

Lastly don't leave your bag on the floor where the flood might reach it.
Best of luck I hope you don't have to evacuate.

Passport, driving licence and cash in addition to snacks, water and clean clothes etc mentioned above.

Keep your wellies handy.

Phone and charger, proof of identity, driving licence, warm sweater, bank details, laptop with charger, travelling rugs.

And if I should ever need a grab bag it will be situated beside the cat carrier and contain the cats' drinking bowl, a bottle of clean water, and some cat food plus plate, plus leads and harnesses for each cat (there are two of them).

I take a photo of all my essential paperwork in case it goes missing or gets damaged.

All of the above plus dog food.

I d put anything precious upstairs and then as others have said phone iPad chargers, purse, glasses, keys, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, makeup bag, change of clothes, spare pair of undies

Thank you for the link MOnica. That's really useful.

This is what is recommended
floodassist.co.uk/articles/preparing-an-emergency-flood-grab-bag