When disaster strikes, many people are caught off guard. Making a family emergency plan can help your family be prepared for the next disaster, and could even save the life of a family member. Here are some steps to creating a family emergency plan.
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1. Plan for contact. If you aren’t together when a disaster hits, you will want to have a way to contact each other. Teach your children your cell phone numbers and address, and write the information on a card that all family members can keep with them. This way,
the Centers for Disease Control Emergency Preparedness and Response division says, family members can be contacted even if children are too young to memorize phone numbers or if someone is incapacitated for any reason.
2. Plan to meet up. Having a set location near your home where all family members know to meet up will allow you to be sure everyone is safe and accounted for in case of a fire, flood, or other disaster. You can also have a meeting location outside your neighborhood in case some or all of you are away from home,
FEMA recommends.
3. Purchase emergency supplies. If you are at home when a large-scale disaster strikes, you may lose power and running water, without the ability to buy more food and water. Stores may be destroyed or closed indefinitely. Having nonperishable food and water stored in your home may give you peace of mind and the ability to endure until basic services can be secured,
says Ready.gov.
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4. Keep some cash on hand. While it’s a bad idea to keep large amounts of cash in your home, disasters can shut down banks and prevent access to your money for a period of time.
Go Banking Rates advises having $1,000 in cash at all times to tide you over until banks reopen.
5. Equip family members with cell phones. Sure, your 5 year old may be way too young for a cell phone, but a simple phone can be configured to allow kids to text or call you in an emergency without having access to more sophisticated abilities kids aren’t ready for.
6. Practice your emergency plan. Having a few drills can ensure that family members know what to do in the heat of the moment, when it would be easy to forget the plan, according to the CDC.
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