Organize Your Emergency Plan
Every person and family should have established their own individual emergency plan based on future possibilities of unexpected catastrophes such as forces of nature. Many of us live in locations prone to earthquakes, Midwest tornadoes, southern hurricane seasons, flood zones, tsunami coastal areas, and even active volcanoes. The students learn what to do in the school building if an earthquake strikes, but we need a pro-action emergency plan for our home environment.
The list you should go through with your children and spouse or partner would ideally cover the following concerns:
- a contact person in or out of town.
- health information and where it is stored.
- a meeting place to reunite with family members in case of separation.
- a person designated to pick up your child or family if you are unable to.
- decisions regarding the pets during an emergency and their priority compared to people safety. This can be a difficult conversation to have, but if you have all the standard pet safety plans in place, at least you know you have done what you can to take care of the pet.
- what to do with pets and their place of priority in the family, i.e. emphasis on people before pets for safety. This is a touchy subject until you have lost a loved one and realize the devastation that is compared to a beloved pet. See more information on this on my site.
Calling 9-1-1 ” this needs to be clearly explained. The times to call 911 are for reporting crimes, fires and to save a life.
During an emergency, follow your emergency plan, take your emergency kit which you should have put together ahead of time, keep a listening ear on the radio and television for alert updates and evacuation orders, stay where you are until all is safe or until evacuation is ordered.
One of the biggest mistakes we make is forgetting about another person being designated to pick up family members. A password for children should be assigned, in order for them to know when it is okay to go with another person. This password should be frequently tested in order to ensure it is still in their minds. They need to know they cannot share this password with anyone. It can be amusing providing scenarios and seeing children handle situations with a password, but the reality is that it is not funny if they are vulnerable to leave with someone they shouldnt. Practice scenarios so they know what to do regardless of what the person tells them.
There is a 72-hour emergency plan that is known worldwide. This is a three day period that people should be amply prepared for with supplies in order to deal with unexpected access issues to services and shelters.
Part of an emergency plan is knowing what to do in specific scenarios. If you are outdoors, stay away from trees, walls, power lines and other buildings. If you are driving, stay away from bridges, buildings, power lines, and stay in the car off the side of the road until the tremors have ceased. In the home, identify heavy furniture to drop under and hide, how to cover your head and torso to protect from flying objects and heavy items falling, windows and outer walls to stay away from.
Radio Stations ” a decent radio should be able to pick up on AM 530 ” 1710 khz, FM 88 ” 108 mhz, Shortwave 3 -12 mhz with antenna.
Television Stations ” VHF channels and Weather Alert channels.