I was a person who never thought it could happen to me. I didn't have any emergency provisions on hand at the house. What I did have was 3 children under the age of 10.So when Katrina hit we were without a home, without transportation, and without drinkable water, additionally we had no food, lights, first aid supplies, all the simple things that can make your first days in that kind of situation either bearable or unbearable. We have since moved from Louisiana, but I will never take mother nature for granted again. No matter where I live. We have a 4 home emergency kits and one car emergency kit for each vehicle. Della Saunders/Tulsa, Oklahoma

We had just come back from spring break, never having had an emergency before, we were without any kind of emergency provisions. At about 5pm the power went out all over the Evergreen area. Immediately we went for the flashlights which had dead batteries. Thinking that it would only be an hour or two we settled in to sit by candle light. In the end the power was not turned back on for days. Our phones were without power and our cell phones could not charge, the candles we had burned out the first night. It was an extremely difficult three days that could have been avoided had I thought ahead to stock our home with even the basics of a crank flashlight or candles. I guarantee you, that will not happen in our home again. Roni Fertitta Evergreen, Colorado

I never thought it would happen to me. Driving to Goodland, Kansas on I-70 to visit family for Thanksgiving. The snow was very heavy, so much so that you couldn't see 2 feet in front of you. Then the drifts came on so fast that maneuvering the car was a joke. I didn't stop as we were 40 miles from the next town and had 1/4 tank of gas. We were so cold and hungry with out having prepared for an emergency ahead of time. We had no food, no water, and no way to keep warm after the gas ran out. It took 2 days for help to arrive. I will never again leave my home without an emergency bag again. Don Mendleston
Rifle, Colorado

We were up in the mountains in Colorado. Hoping to get to the top of Mt. Ouray by early afternoon. We must have taken a wrong turn and ended up on the back side walking in circles trying to figure out a way up or down. The rain started at about 2pm with lighting to add to it. We took cover as best we could and eventually we found our way down at nightfall.
We were extremely cold, hungry and tired. The situation certainly could have been worse but our situation would not have been as traumatic with enough emergency supplies to keep us warm and prepared. I will never go up unprepared again, and I will never say "it won't happen to me again". Slater Hosgiven Greeley, Colorado