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Disaster Readiness: What You Can Do

Disasters, whether they are natural or man-made, typically happen without much advance notice. As individuals, we may not be able to prevent such acts; but, we can exercise some measure of control in being prepared for them. Below are pre-disaster steps you can take now to enhance the safety of your tomorrow.

• Gather information about your community emergency plan from your local emergency management or Civil Defense Office. The Local American Red Cross Chapter can also be contacted.
  • Find out about designated disaster centers and health care facilities. Where are these facilities in relation to your home? your travel routes? and where others work, play, or go to school? Do they service specific diseases or exposures?
  • Does your community have a warning signal via television, radio, etc.? What does it sound like? What does it mean? What are you supposed to do if you hear it?
  • Find out about disaster plans that may have been developed at your partner’s workplace, children’s school, and dependent care facilities.
  • Identify resources to deal with special circumstances (i.e., a non-ambulatory family member, someone who needs access to regular life sustaining medical care like dialysis, pet care etc)
• Develop a plan which factors into account that people may be at home, school, work or traveling.
  • Develop a communication process. Does everyone have a list of each other’s current phone numbers and e-mail addresses (e-mail sometimes works when phones are jammed). Do they have access to that list at all times? Identify an out-of-area relative whom everyone can call to say “I’m at this location and this is what is happening to me.” Often, it is easier to reach someone outside the disaster zone than someone in it. Let that out-of-area relative serve as a “safety check-in” monitor.
  • Develop a plan which factors into account an emergency directive to:
    1. Evacuate your home.
    2. Evacuate your community.
    3. Remain “in-sheltered” (do not leave the safety of your current position).
  • Where and how will everyone ultimately reconnect once it is safe to move around? Develop at least two rendezvous points – one near your house and one outside your neighborhood in case you cannot return home after an emergency.
  • Give your contact numbers and written plans to anyone providing oversight to “dependent family members.”
  • Don’t expect everyone to remember the details of the plan. Prepare a portable reference card with phone numbers and rendezvous points. Tape coins to the back of the card. Pay phones may be working even though cell phones are jammed.
• Gather emergency supplies for “in-sheltering” 3-5 days. Prepare a modified go-kit if evacuation is necessary. Essentials should include:
  • Water (one gallon per person per day)
  • Non-perishable packaged or canned food (like peanut butter)
  • First aid kit with prescription medications
  • Extra glasses and contact lenses
  • Flashlights with batteries
  • Radio with batteries
  • Blankets, sleeping bags (plan for no heat)
  • Important family documents
  • Toiletries and feminine hygiene articles
  • Covered heavy weight plastic bin to serve as a makeshift port-a-potty
• Prepare a financial plan. You may need cash for the first few days or weeks following a disaster. Make sure all family members have knowledge and access to the money in case you are traveling. To help stay solvent, consider the following:
  • Keep a small amount of cash or traveler’s checks readily available. A disaster can shut down local ATM machines and banks. The money should be in small denominations for easier use.
  • Set aside money in an emergency fund. Keep the fund in an easily accessible account. Consider an account outside the local area since a disaster could also affect your local financial institution.
  • Keep one credit card with a credit line available. You may have to draw on that credit line to tide you over.
• Develop an Individual/ Family Stress Management Plan

  Following September 11 th and the recent London bombings, many families have become more sensitive to their own unique emotional resiliencies and vulnerabilities. You and your family members may want to discuss individual and collective reactions to these past terrorist acts to gauge future reactions and needs. Questions useful to that discussion include:

  • What are significant sources of stress before, during and after a trauma?
  • What types of stress reactions do family members have? The intensity, duration and symptoms of reactions can vary significant between and among members.
  • How do individual family members reduce or find relief from her/his stress?
  • Are some of these coping techniques more effective than others?
  • Are some of these coping techniques more healthy than others?
  • Will these coping techniques be adequate and appropriate for managing the stress of future events?
  • Will any family members need special supports or services?
  • Are needed support services already identified or in place now?
  • Do stress plans take into consideration that transportation might be interrupted or re-routed?
  • Do plans consider how family members’ work may impact stress levels during heighten alerts or actual events?

  For additional assistance in preparing a plan, obtain a copy of the free brochure

  Your Family Disaster Plan from your Local Red Cross or at www.redcross.org.

  Are you Ready? A Guide to Citizen Emergency Preparedness from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at www.fema.gov

  Preparedness Makes Sense. Get Ready Now, US Department of Homeland Security at www.ready.gov or call 1-800-BE-READY (1-800-237-3239)

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