The documents to grab when you have 10 minutes to leave

When an evacuation order comes, there's no time to search a filing cabinet. With copies of the right papers, you can prove who you are, get to your money and start an insurance claim from wherever you end up.

Keep the originals where they are now. The pouch holds copies, and the digital set is the backup if the pouch is lost.

Who you are

• Copy each person's photo IDA driver's license or passport proves who each person in the household is.
• Add birth certificatesThey help you keep or regain contact with family members.
• Copy Social Security cardsYou need them to apply for FEMA disaster assistance.
• Add military service records and pet ID tags

Your house and your insurance

• Copy each insurance policyThat means homeowners or renters, flood, auto, health and life. You need them to reopen financial accounts and start a claim.
• Copy the mortgage statement or the leaseIt identifies your housing payments and who they go to.
• Add your home inventoryKeep a copy of it somewhere besides your home.

Your money

• List every bank, card and loan accountWrite the institution and the last four digits of each account.
• Copy recent pay stubs or benefit lettersProof of income helps you keep up your payments and protect your credit after a disaster.
• Copy last year's tax returnIt gives the contact details for your financial providers, and FEMA assistance asks for it.
• Put a small amount of cash in small bills in the pouchATMs and credit cards may not work during a disaster.

Your health

• Copy each health insurance cardCopies keep existing care going without a gap.
• List each prescription, with its dose and pharmacy, and each doctor
• Copy immunization records

Where to keep it

Store the paper copies in a waterproof container you can carry. Keep the digital set in a safe deposit box, on an external drive or in a secure, password-protected cloud account.

Put the pouch with your car keys or by the door you'd leave through. Update it each year when your insurance renews, and whenever a card, a policy or an account changes.

Be careful who you share these details with. Scammers target people after a disaster, and the government won't call, text or message you on social media about money you owe or payments you're due.