Planning Ahead for Disasters

Planning ahead and preparing for a disaster can really help to reduce the impact that a natural disaster has on your home, your family, your business, and your life as a whole! If you plan before the storm clouds begin to gather overhead or the rivers start rising you will have a much better chance of minimizing the potential damages and saving the lives of your family.

Disaster preparedness plans vary a little depending on the types of disaster which are most likely in your area, although some of the basics are very much the same.

Disaster Preparedness – Planning Ahead

• Basic Disaster Supplies Kit: You’re going to want to have a basic disaster supply kit that has the basics for food, water, first aid supplies, and more.
  • • Food and Water (non-perishable food and plenty of drinking water)
    • Important documents (insurance information, identification, birth certificates, social security cards, deeds)
    • Cash (ATMs don’t always function after a disaster)
    • Disaster Kit (blankets, flashlights, medication, weather radio, clothing)
    • First Aid Kit
• Flood Disaster Preparedness: Many low-lying areas are flood prone, especially during a hurricane or tropical storm.
  • • Disaster Supplies Kit
    • Turn off utilities, but be sure not to touch electrical equipment if you are standing in water or wet.
    • Avoid trying to drive through flooded areas.
    • Remember that floodwaters may be contaminated with dangerous pathogens so avoid contact with floodwaters.
• Tornado Disaster Preparedness: Tornadoes are some of the most violent and destructive natural disasters out there.
  • • Shelter in the lowest area of your home like a cellar or basement. If that’s not possible, shelter in an inside room which has no windows and strong interior walls.
    • If you are in a mobile home, you need to leave immediately and head for the closest sturdy building. Mobile homes are NOT safe during even the weakest tornadoes.
    • Hide beneath something sturdy — a table, workbench, desk — just something to protect you from falling objects.
    • Protect your head and neck with your arms. Use a heavy blanket for extra protection for yourself and your family.
    • Never attempt to out-drive a tornado. Tornadoes can change direction very quickly and lift your vehicle, throwing it high into the air! Leave your car and take shelter in a sturdy building or lie flat in the lowest area around.
• Family Disaster Preparedness: In order to make sure your family stays safe, you have to speak with them and come up with an evacuation plan, a shelter-in-place plan, and any other necessary plan for the disasters that might strike your area.
  • • Talk to your family and create a family plan about what to do if a disaster strikes. Ensure that the children know where to go in case of a disaster.
    • List emergency telephone numbers and keep them handy for all members of the family.
    • Identify someone out-of-state who can be your point of contact in case the disaster strikes when you are separated from your family.
    • Identify a meeting place where you and your family can be re-united (if possible) if a disaster strikes and you have to leave your home or otherwise get separated.