What’s the first thing you would save in an emergency?

When Katheleen Chaney and her son found a packet of love letters among the Jersey Shore’s hurricane debris, she knew she wanted to return them to the family they belong to. What precious thing would you want to save in an emergency?

You may have heard about the mother and son in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., who came across a ribbon-bound packet of WWII-era love letters among the debris scattered by Hurricane Sandy.

As charming a treasure as this is, Katheleen Chaney knew right away that she wanted to do whatever she could to get the letters back to their rightful owner — whoever that might be. The letters are a beautiful reminder of a romance that essentially led to the creation of someone’s family. Who wouldn’t want them back? 

Assuming everyone in your household were safe and accounted for, what is the first thing you would grab in an emergency?

Tell us in the comments below.

As we see photos of belongings piling up curbside all along the Jersey Shore, and houses devastated by the might of the Atlantic Ocean, it might call to mind certain possessions of ours that are precious to us, that we would not want to lose.

Photographs, letters and heirlooms may be the irreplacable things you’d want with you if your house were swept away. Maybe you’re most interested in preserving some memento from your youth or a parent or a friend. Maybe you have a sack of money under your bed or a really expensive piece of jewelry. Or maybe the cost of the item has nothing at all to do with its real value to you.

If you could save any single possession in your house from destruction, what would it be, and why?