Family Emergency Planning
Individuals and families have different but similar needs when it comes to being exposed to an emergency. Those who live in cities may have the advantage of city organizations set up to help citizens during emergency situations. If your city has such an organization it will definitely be an advantage for you during a situation. Even so, in a wide spread emergency your city will not be able to respond to individuals or families for a period of time ranging from several hours to several days. Hence the popularity of 72 hour emergency kits on the market today.
Because of this response time lag it is wise to have a well thought out plan to sustain your family in the meantime. The first thing for you to accomplish then is to create a plan for your family. This is best accomplished by getting your family together to brainstorm what you will need to survive in an emergency.
Create a Plan:
- Meet with your family to discuss probable emergencies that could strike you in your particular location and how you will respond to each one.
- Draw a floor plan of your home and mark 2 escape routes from each room.
- Post phone numbers to be called near each telephone in the house and also make wallet size cards with this information to be carried with you. Choose one local and one out-of-state relative or friend for family members to call if separated by an emergency. All family members should know who the contacts are, their phone numbers and how to call them. These contacts can then help family members know where the others are and how to reach them.
- Conduct a home hazard hunt and look for items that may cause injury or damage.
- Have fire extinguishers placed in the kitchen and in the garage as a minimum and teach each family member who is capable to know how to use them to fight a fire.
- Make sure your water heater is secured to the wall.
- Learn how to turn off water, gas and electricity main switches (capable adults only).
- For more information go to the web sites of ready.gov or search for your own state’s emergency preparedness web site.
