Make a family emergency plan to be prepared

DEM Blogger

July 17, 2017

An emergency plan that covers yourself and other family members is one of the most important things to do so that you’re prepared for emergencies and disasters.  The time you spend now to gather and safeguard information will pay off when the unpredictable happens.

Your plan should be customized for your household: How many members in your immediate household and do you need to include extended family members in town.

Here are some things that are part of all plans:

• A written list of important phone numbers.
• A designated out-of-town contact with phone number. An out-of-town phone number may be easier to reach if local phone service is overloaded or has limited capacity.
• Copies of important documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, social security, insurance and drivers licenses. Include copies of legal documents, court orders and judgements, custodial and adoption agreements and passports. Other important documents include medical records, prescriptions, tax records, stock and bond certificates and property deeds.
• A review of the most common emergencies that are likely to happen in your area.
• One location in your neighborhood and another in your city or town where family members will gather if they get separated during an emergency. This should be a public building, like a library, police or fire department building.
• Identify the various tones and alert sounds that your community sirens make and what they mean.
• Make sure everyone’s mobile phone has an ICE or In-Case-Of-Emergency number programmed into the contact list. this should a spouse, guardian or family members phone number.
• If you have school age children, what is the school’s emergency plan and what should you do/where should you go if there’s an emergency at or near the school. Remember: it’s likely that the school will be locked down with students and staff sheltered in classrooms. Public safety officials will direct you to go to a relocation area away from the school.

Here’s more on what you should do to make your emergency plan and keep it up to date.