Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it
is important to plan in advance: how you will contact one another;
how you will get back together; and what you will do in different
situations.
Family Emergency Plan
- Identify an out-of town contact.
It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to
call across town, so an out-of-town contact
may be in a better position to communicate among separated
family members.
- Be sure every member of your family knows the phone
number and has a cell phone, coins,
or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency
contact. If you have a cell phone, program that person(s)
as "ICE" (In Case of Emergency) in your phone. If you
are in an accident, emergency personnel will often check your
ICE listings in order to get a hold of someone you know. Make
sure to tell your family and friends that you’ve listed them
as emergency contacts.
- Teach family members how to use text messaging (also knows
as SMS or Short Message Service). Text messages can often
get around network disruptions when a phone call might not
be able to get through.
- Subscribe to alert services. Many communities
now have systems that will send instant text alerts or e-mails
to let you know about bad weather, road closings, local emergencies,
etc. Sign up by visiting your
local Office of Emergency Management web site.
Planning to Stay or Go
Depending on your circumstances and the nature of the emergency,
the first important decision is whether you stay where you are
or evacuate. You should understand and plan for both possibilities.
Use common sense and available information, including what you
are learning here, to determine if there is an immediate danger.
In any emergency, local authorities may or may not immediately
be able to provide information on what is happening and what
you should do. However, you should watch TV, listen to the radio
or check the Internet often for information or official instruction
as it becomes available. Further
information on staying put or sheltering in place.
Emergency Information
Find out what kinds of disasters, both natural and man-made,
are most likely to occur in your area and how you will be notified.
Methods of getting your attention vary from community to community.
One common method is to broadcast via emergency radio
and TV broadcasts. You might hear a special
siren, or get a telephone call, or emergency workers may go
door-to-door.
Emergency Plans
Use the New Online Family Emergency
Planning Tool created by the Ready Campaign in conjunction with
the Ad Council to prepare a printable
Comprehensive Family Emergency Plan.
Use the Quick
Share application to help your family in assembling
a quick reference list of contact information for your family,
and a meeting place for emergency situations.
You may also want to inquire about emergency plans
at places where your family spends time: work,
daycare and school. If no
plans exist, consider volunteering to help create one. Talk
to your neighbors about how you can work together in the event
of an emergency. You will be better prepared to safely reunite
your family and loved ones during an emergency if you think
ahead and communicate with others in advance. Read more: School
and Workplace.
