Disaster Planning: Epidemics & Pandemics

Master Disaster Checklist

If you want to keep your property, family, pets, and business safe during natural disasters, it’s important to be prepared. This master checklist gives you a good foundation for what to do, what to have, and what to plan for.

• Secure Contact Information: Make sure you have a printed out copy as the power may be out and you might not have access to your computer or documents. Include names and telephone numbers, as well as out-of-town friends or family who might be able to help you. It’s important to have an out-of-town friend listed because your friends who live in your town might not be able to help you if a disaster affected them, too. Additionally, prearrange a nearby meet-up place after the emergency. It could be the local high school, a relative’s home, or a grocery store.
• Have a Plan: Make sure that all of your family knows about your disaster plan (escape routes, where the emergency kit is stored, who to contact, and what to do in case of a natural disaster).
  • Identify a Safe Room: Point out which room is the safest room in your home. This should be an interior room without windows, if possible (maybe a closet or a bathroom). This is the place your family should seek shelter when storm warnings are issued.
• Stay Informed: Make sure that you have a portable radio with fully charged batteries so that you can get the latest up-to-date information about the disaster. If you are in the path of the disaster, go to your pre-designated shelter area immediately.
• Take Photos/Video of Your Property: If you have an inventory of your valuables and possessions you are likely to be able to claim up to 20% more insurance than if you don’t. Taking photos and videos with your cell phone is an easy way to document your items. Be sure to upload all the images to secure cloud backup and not just store on your property.
• Charge Electronic Devices: During a disaster, you may lose power. Ensure your cell phone is fully charged, along with other electronic devices like tablets and laptop computers. Also, think about purchasing a solar-powered backup charging device.
• Get Cash: When the power goes out, ATM machines won’t work. Get plenty of one dollar bills because not many people will have change for twenty and hundred dollar bills. Try to aim for ones, fives, and tens.
• Fill Up on Gas: Fill your gas tank. When the power goes out, gas pumps won’t work.
• Disaster Supplies Kit: A disaster supplies kit is essential to keeping you and your family safe. It should include non-perishable food, water, medical supplies, clothes, pet food and supplies, medications, batteries, flashlights, etc. Consider the following list: 
  • Flashlight
  • Batteries
  • First Aid Kits: For $20, you can have medical supply basics — all in one place — and ready to use. Minor as well as major injuries are possible during an earthquake and it’s possible that emergency services will be overwhelmed, so having a first aid kit is essential.
  • Solar Cell Phone Charger: Solar powered charges start in the mid-$20 range and go up from there. The best selling Amazon solar charger is $60 and is fast with “industrial-strength PET polymer faced solar panels sewn into a rugged polyester canvas offer weather-resistant outdoor durability.” If the power goes out, you might have no other way to charge your phone.
  • Crank-Powered Radio: You can pay upwards of $100 for a decent crank radio, but you don’t have to spend that much. The best-selling Amazon crank radio is only $20!
  • Emergency Water Filter: There’s no need for an expensive filtration system. The LifeStraw Personal Water Filter has 5,000 reviews and is only $20! The LifeStraw “removes minimum 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria, 99.9% of waterborne protozoan parasites, and filters to 0.2 microns; surpasses EPA filter standards.”
  • Bottled Water (minimum of three gallons for each member of your family)
  • Battery-Powered Radio
  • Battery-Powered Lantern
  • Emergency Food Supply
  • Can Opener
  • Basic Tools (utility knife, pliers, wrench, tape, compass)
  • Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, contact solution, toilet paper)
  • Pencils and Paper
  • Pet Supplies (food, litter)
  • Rain Gear
  • Sleeping Bag
  • Change of Clothes
  • Plastic Garbage Bags
  • Face Masks
  • Gloves
  • Hand Sanitizer
  • Cleaning Wipes

• Have a “Go Bag”: Having an emergency bag packed with essentials (food, clothes, toiletries, cash, etc.) can save you time in a crisis. P.S. A little bit of toilet paper goes a long way…
• Gather Your Important Papers: Keep all special papers and photographs in a watertight container or plastic bag. You know, all of those important things like bank account papers, birth certificates, property deeds, medical cards, social security cards, etc. as well as photos and important keepsakes which can never be replaced. During a disaster, they could all be ruined and washed away forever in one whoosh!
  • Identification (copy of driver’s license or passport)
  • Insurance Policies
  • Birth Certificates
  • Marriage Certificates
  • Proof of Residence (copy of lease, mortgage documents)
  • Deeds or Wills
  • Tax Returns
  • Social Security Cards
• Plan for Your Pets: Many hotels and motels won’t accommodate your pets, so if your plan is to evacuate to a hotel, then you’ll need to find them a safe boarding kennels or cattery which is outside of the disaster’s impact zone. Be sure you have plenty of your pet’s preferred food and whatever medications they might need.
• Refill Your Medications: Make sure that you have plenty of your prescription medicines on hand. If a disaster hits your area, the last thing you want to worry about is a medical emergency. 
• Disaster Insurance: Check your insurance coverage as part of your disaster preparedness plan. Many home insurance policies do not cover hazards like flooding caused by hurricanes, for example. If you live in a disaster-prone area, consider getting insurance to cover damages.
• Have a Plan for After the Disaster: After a disaster, get out of town until emergency services and law enforcement have gotten control of the situation. Unfortunately, like many other disaster situations, there are people who will try to take advantage of the chaos. It’s best to avoid being in the disaster zone until things are under control.

 

Epidemics & Pandemics

Epidemics and pandemics have occurred throughout history, wiping out hundreds of millions of people over the past few millenniums. Even though there have been huge leaps in medical and scientific technologies, either an epidemic or a pandemic can occur at anytime.

In the present day, we might think that we’re invincible. We’re not. A simple glance through the history books should provide real evidence that the next pandemic might be right around the corner.

Click here to learn more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak.

 

What’s the Difference Between an Epidemic and a Pandemic?

Many people are wondering what the differences are between an epidemic and a pandemic. They can be used interchangeably by the media at times but there are differences.

 

An epidemic is a situation in which a disease is actively spreading in a community, city, or state. Typically, an outbreak is referred to as an epidemic if the disease spreads to a large number of people in a short period of time (two weeks or less). For example, the Ebola outbreak in 2014 is considered an epidemic because it was largely confined to West Africa.

By contrast, a pandemic describes a disease that spreads across a great distances, either over numerous towns and cities or even countries and continents. An example of a pandemic is the 1918 Spanish Flu that spread across the world.

 

 

Historical Epidemics

Epidemics have ravaged human civilizations for thousands of years with varying degrees of lethality. Below is a chart of some of the epidemics that have occurred.

Epidemic Name	Location	Death Toll (approximate)	Dates (approximate)	Speculated Disease
Cocoliztli Epidemic	Mexico	5-15 million deaths	1545-1548	Salmonella
Antonine Plague	Roman Empire	5-10 million deaths	165-180 CE	Smallpox
Mexican Smallpox Epidemic	Mexico	5-8 million deaths	1520	Smallpox
Japanese Smallpox Epidemic	Japan	2 million deaths	735-737 CE	Smallpox
Italian Plague	Italy	280,000 deaths	1629-1631	Plague
Great Plague of Marseille	France	> 100,000 deaths	1720-1722	Plague
Great Plague of London	England	100,000 deaths	1665-1666	Plague
Plague of Athens	Greece	75,000-100,000 deaths	429-426 BCE	Typhoid Fever, Typhus, or Hemorrhagic Fever
Caragea's Plague	Romania	60,000 deaths	1813	Plague
Fiji Measles Outbreak	Fiji	40,000 deaths	1875	Measles
Typhus Epidemic	Canada	> 20,000 deaths	1847-1848	Typhus
Cholera Epidemic of Copenhagen	Denmark	4,737 deaths	1853	Cholera
Zimbabwean Cholera Outbreak	Zimbabwe	4,293 deaths	2008-2009	Cholera
Yemen Cholera Outbreak	Yemen	3,886 deaths	2016-2020	Cholera
Kivu Ebola Epidemic	Democratic Republic of the Congo & Uganda	2,253 deaths	2018-2020	Ebola
London Flu	United States	1,027 deaths	1972-1973	Influenza (H3N2)

 

Historical Pandemics

Pandemics tend to be much deadlier than epidemics simply because they have continent-wide or worldwide effects, allowing the infection to spread across many more people.

Pandemic Name	Location	Death Toll (approximate)	Dates (approximate)	Speculated Disease
Black Death	Europe, Asia, and North America	50-200 million deaths	1331-1353	Bubonic Plague
Spanish Flu Pandemic	Worldwide	100 million deaths	1918-1920	Influenza (H1N1)
Plague of Justinian	Europe and West Asia	100 million deaths	541-542 CE	Bubonic Plague
Third Pandemic Plague	Worldwide	> 22 million deaths	1855-1960	Bubonic Plague
Coronavirus (COVID-19)	Worldwide	6,588,592+ deaths (as of October 27, 2022)	2019-present	Coronavirus Disease 2019
Encephalitis Pandemic	Worldwide	1.5 million deahs	1915-1926	Encephalitis Lethargica
Hong Kong Flu	Worldwide	1 million deaths	1968-1969	Influenza (H3N2)
Flu Pandemic	Worldwide	1 million deaths	1889-1890	Influenza
Sixth Cholera Pandemic	Europe, Asia, and Africa	> 800,000 deaths	1899-1923	Cholera
Swine Flu	Worldwide	150,000-575,000 deaths	2009	H1N1/09 virus
First Cholera Pandemic	Europe and Asia	> 100,000 deaths	1816-1826	Cholera
Second Cholera Pandemic	Europe, Asia, and North America	> 100,000 deaths	1829-1851	Cholera
Sweating Sickness	Europe	> 10,000 deaths	1485-1551	Hantavirus
MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome)	Asia	862 deaths	2012-2020	MERS
SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)	Worldwide	772 deaths	2002-2004	SARS
Zika Virus	Worldwide	53 deaths	2015-2016	Zika Virus

 

Is YOUR Family Prepared for the Next Epidemic or Pandemic?

The next epidemic or pandemic can strike anywhere and anytime. It’s important that you have a disaster epidemic or pandemic kit as well as a plan to keep you and your family safe. Click here to see an Epidemic or Pandemic Home Safety Kit Checklist.