Now that you have your Survival Kit put together, the next step is to Create an “Emergency / Disaster Preparedness Plan.”

  • If you have more members in your Family, get them involved.
  • Hold a Familiy Meeting and talk about the types of Disasters your area may have.
  • Discuss ways to escape your home and agree to two safe ways to evacuate from your home.
  • Agree to two places to meet in case you get separated from one another: 1) meeting place outside of your home & 2) outside of your neighborhood in case you are unable to enter your home.
  • Engage your Family members in what responsibilities each person will assume during the Disaster or Emergency. Practice these often as cohesive team.
  • Plan the routes and meeting places to evacuate to [i.e. friend’s house, hotel, etc.] Practice this at a minimum of twice per year.
  • Have an emergency contact list with you at all times.
  • Have a Preparedness Plan for your pets [friends homes, pet-friendly hotels, Vet’s Office, etc.]
  • Having an out-of-state emergency contact to let Family members know you are safe is a great idea instill in your plan.
  • If you don’t have any out-of-state emergency friends or relatives, the American Red Cross has the Safe and Well website https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php, where you can log on to their website entering your name, date of birth [optional] and email address or you can call 800-RED-CROSS to report you are safe.
  • Those who are searching for their Loved ones in a Disaster can search the Red Cross website by the person’s name and see that you are Safe and Well. This has worked great for many large Disasters and Emergencies.

Resources 

The American Red Cross website: http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/home-family/plan.

Ready.gov: http://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan.

“Family preparedness has been a long-established welfare principle.” – Ezra Taft Benson

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