Create your own family disaster plan
by Heather
Do you know where to go if your house burns down? Do you know where to meet up with your family if a bad storm keeps you from getting home? If you're at work and the kids are at school, do you have a Plan B to get in touch if the phone lines are out?
Scary stuff, I know.
California First Lady Maria Shriver says, “We prepare for disasters by having a plan and being ready to take care of ourselves, our families and our communities.” While she is focused on my home state, these tips are for anyone. Here are her tips for creating a disaster plan:
- Designate a meeting place outside of your home. This is where family members can go if you have to evacuate.
- Identify an out-of-state “family contact.” It is often easier to call long-distance following a disaster.
- Know and understand your plan. Involve all members of your household, especially children, in creating your plan.
- Learn how to get important information in your community and how to reach family members, if you become separated.
Whitney said that her local family meet-up is REI because it's walking distance from her house and they have great supplies in case her family needs to stock up. I chose the park near my house because it's a shorter walk for me (and also because I didn't want to be a total copycat). But I chose other REI locations for our regional and out-of-state meeting spots because I like the way Whitney thinks.
It only takes about 30 minutes to go from “never thinking about that stuff” to “having a decent plan in place” if you use the Disaster Plan template from California Volunteers. You can also create a customized children's book (for about age five to age 10) to review the plan with your kids.
After deciding key locations and putting vital phone numbers and addresses into the template, the groovy form will pre-populate useful letters and miniature wallet-size versions of your plan. Stick these mini versions in your wallet, in kids' backpacks or on file with daycare offices. Do this now, while you're thinking about it and NOT during an actual emergency.
Save the electronic version and email it to your partner and other emergency contacts, so that if you're ever separated from the paper, one of you can scare up an electronic form.
Now go on, you're already at the computer, start your disaster prep plan right now.
As a Newbie, I am forever searching online for articles that can help me. Thank you
Thanks friend. Good article. Thank you.