- Learn & Plan
- Remain Calm
- Gather Information
- Talk About It
- Resume Normal Life
Before an emergency strikes, the first thing on your list is to LEARN and PLAN; this is your mental preparation. Before you run out and buy the kits and the gear, you need to do some research. Emergency preparedness is 90% mental and only 10% stuff. You can have all the cool gadgets and gear, but if you don’t know the basics of survival and how to APPLY your supplies to the given situation, you will have a difficult time making it through the incident.
Find out what emergencies are most likely in your area. Do you live near a fault line? Is your area prone to tornados? Are you in a hilly or mountainous area prone to landslides or avalanches? What is the weather like? Are you near a coast and need to worry about hurricanes or tsunamis? What about flooding? Do you live near highways or railroads where hazardous chemicals are transported? Do you live near an area where hazardous substances are stored or manufactured? Contact your local city or county emergency manager to learn what potential hazards are in your area.
Once you know what emergencies are likely, learn how the 10 areas of survival needs apply. You will shelter differently if you are at home in the summer than you would if you are stranded in your car or evacuating with your 72 hour kit in the winter. You may not need to worry about cooking food in the aftermath of an auto accident, but you would if an earthquake or hurricane stranded your family for a few weeks. Learn what emergency supplies are necessary and what isn’t. Apply your family emergency preparedness budget to items that you will REALLY need, not just stuff that looks cool. Learn how to use your emergency supplies, otherwise they are just taking up valuable space and resources.
Learn how to gather information in an emergency. There is the E.A.S. – Emergency Alert System on radio and television. Learn what channels are the primary emergency information sources for your area. N.O.A.A. weather channels give a constant update or the weather and emergencies in your area. Some cities and counties have a REVERSE 911 system that actually sends out an automated call with the emergency information to all the phone numbers in the phonebook. Mobile numbers have to register to receive this service. Sometime if there is time, emergency responders may go door to door, street to street informing residents about a coming emergency.
Be proactive and take training classes in emergency preparedness. The Red Cross not only teaches different levels of first aid, but disaster prevention, preparedness and response. C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team) classes and certification are offered in many cities. CERT trains individuals how to organize and how to be safe, effective volunteers in an emergency, doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people in the least amount of time.
For more information on emergency preparedness check out www.ready.gov. Order the free book Are You Ready? from FEMA Distribution, 1-800-480-2520. Learn about emergency supplies at http://www.survivalsolutions.com/store/index.html and receive an emergency preparedness solution for the day when you become a fan of Survival Solutions on Facebook.
Develop family emergency communication plans. Have a FAMILY PHONE TREE that quickly gets information out to family members. Also have an emergency OUT OF STATE CONTACT. After a disaster it is often easier to call long distance rather than locally. Make sure everyone knows who the contact is and when they need to be called. During an incident, family members “check in” so your contact has everyone’s status and location. Get permission from your contact beforehand and let them know what their role is.
Plan and develop your family EMERGENCY EVACUATION PLANS. Have both near home (walking distance) AND out of area emergency meeting places. Learn plans for evacuation from work and school. Are there evacuation shelters in your area? Where are they?
What if you can’t or shouldn’t evacuate? Do you have family SHELTER IN PLACE PLANS? Consider making emergency safe rooms where you and your family can shelter from toxic gas clouds using plastic sheeting & duct tape. Also learn about what your family can make it through the isolation of a reverse quarantine during a pandemic.