Don’t Get Caught Unprepared: How to Protect Your Family in Natural Disasters
Natural disasters are a growing concern for families today. From mudslides to wildfires to flooding, it seems like another event is always around every corner. While our cities and states take measures to protect citizens in the wake of natural disasters, families must also create emergency plans for staying safe during a disaster.
Take these steps to create a reliable emergency plan for your family.
Identify Possible Disasters
Geographical location determines which natural disasters are most likely to affect your home. If you’re not sure which natural disasters occur in your region, use FEMA’s search tool to get a list of past natural disasters in your state.
Collect Contact Information
Your family might not be together when a disaster happens. To reconnect in a disaster, every family member should have each other’s contact information. Don’t rely on cell phones alone; while cell companies are working to improve connectivity during disasters, service isn’t guaranteed. Make a list of each family member’s contact details, including phone numbers and evacuation sites for schools, daycares, and workplaces. Parents should keep physical copies of this information at home, work, and in their vehicle. Children should have a copy in their backpack and with their school and be able to recite a parent’s phone number by memory.
Identify Evacuation Sites
An evacuation plan should include at least three destinations:
- A neighborhood site for disasters that only affect your home.
- A nearby site for localized disasters.
- A far-away site for widespread disasters.
The evacuation plan should also include routes and alternate routes to reach each site. If possible, identify several distant sites so you have an option in each direction from your home.
Create a Safe Room
In the event your family must shelter in place, you’ll need a safe room to shelter in. A safe room should be an interior room without windows or exterior doors that’s easy to access in an emergency. Stock the room with an emergency kit to keep your family safe until a disaster passes or help arrives. Include these items:
- Drinking water.
- Non-perishable food.
- A spare cell phone.
- First-aid kit.
- Flashlight with batteries.
- Hand-crank or battery-operated radio.
- Cash.
- Respirator masks.
- Portable toilet.
- Hygiene supplies.
- Sleeping bags and pillows.
Older adults and people with chronic illnesses are particularly vulnerable in a natural disaster. To minimize disruption to health care in a disaster, include extra medications and medical supplies along with these important documents in your emergency kit:
- Medication list with prescription details.
- Insurance documents.
- Contact information for doctors and caregivers.
If there’s a senior in your family who lives nearby, offer to help them assemble an emergency kit for their own home and identify a support network they can turn to during a disaster.
Plan for Pets
It’s heartbreaking to leave pets behind in a natural disaster, but if you don’t plan for their safety, you may not have a choice. If you have pets, include pet supplies like food, bowls, leashes, collars with ID tags, and kennels in your emergency kit. In case you’re not home when a disaster happens, identify a neighbor who can care for your pets. National Geographic also recommends owners have pets microchipped and make a plan for securing flight-risk pets in a disaster.
Natural disasters don’t wait until you’re ready. If you want to stay out of harm’s way in a natural disaster, you need a safety plan now. Start making a plan with your family and remember to update your emergency preparedness plan any time your contact details or life circumstances change.
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