The key to staying prepared is to have a plan. We will go over some plans you may want to have in place in case of an emergency.
These plans are customizable to your specific needs. Please use this as a guide to create your own plans.
Key Emergency Plans:
Evacuation Plan:
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- Components: Primary and alternate evacuation routes, meeting points, and a list of essential items to take.
- Purpose: To ensure a safe and organized evacuation in the event of a disaster.
Communication Plan:
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- Components: Emergency contact numbers, communication protocols, and a plan for contacting loved ones.
- Purpose: To establish clear communication channels within the household and with external contacts.
Shelter-in-Place Plan:
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- Components: Designated safe areas, emergency supplies location, and instructions for securing the home.
- Purpose: To provide guidance on staying safe within the home during certain emergencies.
Family Emergency Contacts:
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- Components: Contacts for immediate family, neighbors, and friends, including their roles during an emergency.
- Purpose: To ensure that everyone knows who to contact and where to find assistance.
Medical Emergency Plan:
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- Components: Emergency medical contacts, medical history, and instructions for managing common medical issues.
- Purpose: To facilitate quick and efficient medical response in case of health emergencies.
Consider sitting down with your family and running through various situations as a family. For example talk to your kids about what they should do if there is a fire, earthquake or other specified event.
Practice:
In high stress situations or emergencies it is easy to forget your plan of action. Emotions can get the best of us! This is why it is important to practice!
Practice your plan of action so you and your family feel confident and know what to do in a high stress situation.
This is especially important for children so they feel confident and safe. Go through the details of where they can find certain items and what to do in different situations.
Share your plan with others so they will know what your specific plans are. Have some key friends, relatives or neighbors included in your plan.