Create a Plan to Keep Your Family Safe
Developing a family safety plan is crucial to ensure the well-being of your loved ones during emergencies. Follow these steps to create a comprehensive plan that covers potential risks and prepares you for any situation.
Build a Kit
In case you have to evacuate or lose power. An emergency kit should contain food, water and other basic supplies to last at least three days for each family member.
Be Informed
Know how local authorities will notify you during a disaster and how you will get information, whether through local radio, TV or NOAA Weather Radio stations or channels.
Create a Plan
Keep the following in mind while developing your response plan.
Choose a friend or relative who lives out of town to be a contact person. Let this person know that you will contact them to let them know your status and location after a disaster and make sure every family member has this person’s phone number. Consider giving the contact person information such as insurance policy numbers and copies of important papers.
Give important phone numbers to each family member so everyone can contact each other and designated contacts after a disaster. This should be a physical written or printed list, in case phone batteries die and charging is not possible. Make sure children know how and when to make emergency phone calls.
There should be an established meeting location that every family member knows, should you get separated by a disaster.
Make sure everyone knows escape plans for every possible disaster. For example, create several escape routes in case of fire, separate instructions for tornados, etc.
Create a floor plan of every level of a home that includes windows, doors, stairways, large furniture, disaster supplies, fire extinguishers, utility shut-off points, collapsible ladders, and any other relevant information.
For family members with special needs, make a plan to ensure that these people have necessary assistance.
Make a plan to evacuate with pets, if necessary. Most emergency shelters don’t allow pets, so make sure you know which ones do and make a plan for where you will go. Ready.gov has many resources for evacuating with pets.
Supporting Vulnerable Populations
Helping vulnerable populations is crucial during times of disaster. Learn how you can make a difference and provide support to those in need using these resources.
