Emergency Preparation Awareness

There has been an increase in extreme weather and overall doomsday hysteria in recent years. The bottom line is this: the world is changing rapidly. How you prepare for these changes can be critical to how you and your family survive in the face of an emergency. Having the proper supplies ready and on hand is the first step and having an emergency plan that your whole family is familiar with is imperative.

The road to preparation for potential emergencies isn’t always one size fits all. Depending on where you live you may be more susceptible to certain potential threats that others won’t be at risk for. Take California and Florida for example, where the west coast is more prevalent to wildfires, Florida is used to dealing with Hurricanes. Knowing what types of natural disasters you are at the highest risk for can help you strategize the best plan for your family.

First things first, when creating an emergency plan there are essential items that you must include and keep track of:

• Medicines, antibiotics, and first aid
• Important documents and cash
• Extra clothes & blankets
• Emergency radio & batteries
• Food & water
• Pet items*

With the essentials covered, it’s now time to go over a plan of action with your family for the worst-case scenario. First, create a list of the locations your different family members frequent during the week so if a disaster scenario happens when the kids are at school or if you’re out running errands, you can easily find each other or know where to look. It’s crucially important that everyone in the family knows where to meet up in case anyone gets separated. Find the safest place in your home and designate that the “safe haven” to meet at in case anyone gets separated and pick a backup location in the event the first option is inaccessible or your family and loved ones are away from home.

Another part of your emergency plan that you shouldn’t overlook is your list of contacts. Besides your close friends and family members, it’s important you include contacts that are out of your direct geographic area so in the event that you have to evacuate, or just to get information from outside the city or town, you’ll be able to.

While you can’t plan for everything ahead of time, you can be prepared. This is just a small drop in the bucket in the road to disaster preparation. Stay tuned for more updates, plans, and ideas to keep you aware and in the know.