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Most disaster situations don’t provide 2 weeks advance notice.
Sure, you might know about a hurricane, or the potential for flooding. Those situations are easily foreseeable.
But what about those once-in-a-lifetime storms that cause catastrophic flooding?
Or a “that-never-happens-here” terrorist attack?
Or even a “wow-we-never-saw-that-coming” power grid failure?
Not to mention school shootings, chemical waste accidents, or even basic tornados that touch down before the alarm can be sounded.
These are the very reasons why you and your family need to have an emergency plan in place. It’s vital to know that if disaster does strike, everyone knows where to go and what to do. And this 1-hour plan will help you discover that.
(At the end of this article, I’ve also included some vital links to help you flesh out your emergency plan beyond the basic level.)
1) Where will you meet?
If a disaster happens in the middle of the day, and cell phone service is out, do you know how you’ll reunite with those in your household?
Would everyone meet at home? What route/path would they take? And what if it’s not possible to meet at home?
Everyone in your household should know where to go, how to get there, and at least 2 routes they can take. When my family did this, we talked about specific streets the kids would take if there was an emergency and they needed to walk home from school.
Furthermore, there should be plan for reuniting at home and a secondary plan for reuniting at a location away from home.
2) How will you communicate?
If there’s an emergency specifically within your city, you may have a hard time reaching those in your household. The phone lines may simply be overwhelmed in your area.
Should this happen, you’ll want to have a person outside of your area (preferably outside of your state) who can act as the point-of-contact in case of a local emergency.
Everyone in your household should have this persons full name and telephone number stored within their cell phones.
In addition, all household members should keep that emergency contact’s phone number, as well as the telephone numbers of everyone within the household, written down and kept in a wallet. (Memorization is preferable, but you’ll still want it written down, just in case.)
3) How will you manage special needs?
When I say ‘special needs,’ I mean like a toddler in daycare… a mother-in-law who doesn’t speak English… or a spouse who’s wheelchair bound.
If someone in your household has specific dietary needs or if they need prescription medications to maintain quality-of-life, these are also special needs that should be considered.
How will they get to the meeting point? What about communication? Do you have the proper emergency supplies for those who have special needs?
In Florida, persons with special needs can sign up to the Special Needs Registry. This Registry provides their info to the local emergency management agency, so that if there’s a disaster, they can receive assistance.
Every state, (and most counties), have some type of special needs registry like this. You can find yours by googling the term, special needs registry YOUR STATE.
4) What will you do in case of an unforeseen emergency at home?
I was once visiting a friend in the hospital when my daughter called and told me that a pipe on the toilet suddenly started spraying water.
However, since we planned for floods, my daughter knew to get all of the electronics and plugs off the floor immediately. If nothing else, she saved the day just doing that part.
Should flooding occur in your home, do you know what to do?
If someone breaks into the home, what do you do?
What if a fire break out in your home?
What if a tornado warning goes off? Where do you go?
It’s vital that you cover a few scenarios with everyone in the household. And if you have school-age kids at home, they should know what to do if there are no adults in the house.
Additional Emergency Plan Resources
Ready.gov
A government sponsored initiative to help you prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies, including natural and man-made disasters.
Making a Family Emergency Plan
The Marine Corp has put together a couple of good PDFs that you can use in your emergency plans.
Family Emergency Preparedness Plan Workbook
You can print out this 15-page workbook and use it as the basis for creating your emergency plan.
Caring for Children in a Disaster
This is a great series of articles if you’re a parent who wants to know how to best prepare your children for an emergency situation.
Emergency Preparedness for Older Adults
Planning ideas specifically for elderly adults.
Emergency Planning Guide for Seniors and Their Caregivers
If you’re taking care of an elderly person, this is a good planning guide for financial and health care matters.
Disaster Safety for People With Disabilities
For people with mobility, hearing, seeing or learning disabilities.
6 Ways People with Disabilities can Prepare for Evacuations
Helpful for people in hurricane-prone areas.
Family Emergency Preparedness Planning
Emergency preparedness information for those living in rural communities.
You Are The Help Until Help Arrives
Simple steps that can be used to save a life in an emergency.
SBA Prepare for Emergencies
If you have a small business, the SBA has specific tips for managing your business in an emergency.