Disaster Preparedness

Tornado safety

 

The next time Disaster strikes, you may not have much time to act. Prepare now for a sudden emergency.

Learn how to protect yourself and cope with disaster by planning ahead. This checklist will help you get started. Discuss these ideas with your family, then prepare an emergency plan. Post the plan where everyone will see it- on the refrigerator or bulletin board.

For additional information about how to prepare for hazards in your community, contact your local emergency management or civil defense office and American Red Cross chapter. You can also contact FEMA and ask for their document entitled "Are you Ready?"

Call your Emergency Management Red Cross Chapter

  1. Find out which disasters could occur in your area
  2. Ask how to prepare for each disaster
  3. Ask how you would be warned of an emergency
  4. Learn your community's evacuation routes
  5. Ask about special assistance for elderly or disabled persons ALSO!!!!
  6. Ask your workplace about emergency plans
  7. Learn about emergency plans for your children's school or day care center

     

Create an Emergency Plan

  1. Meet with household members. Discuss with children the dangers of fire, severe weather, earthquakes and other emergencies
  2. Discuss how to respond to each disaster that could occur
  3. Discuss what to do about power outages and personal injuries
  4. Draw a floor plan of your home. Mark two escape routes from each room
  5. Learn how to turn off the water, gas, and electricity at mail switches
  6. Post emergency telephone numbers near telephones
  7. Teach children how and when to call 911, police and fire
  8. Instruct household members to turn on the radio for emergency information
  9. Pick one out-of-state and one local friend or relative to call if separated by disaster (it is often easier to call out-of-state than within the affected area
  10. Teach children how to make long distance telephone calls
  11. Pick two meeting places: One place near your home in case of a fire, and one place outside of your neighborhood in case you cannot return home after a disaster
  12. Take a basic first aid and CPR class
  13. Keep family records in a water and fire-proof container

     

Prepare a Disaster Supplies Kit

Food
Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food. Select food items that are compact and lightweight, require no refrigeration, and little or no preparation. If you must heat food, pack a can of sterno. Include a selection of the following foods: ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits, and vegetables.  Be sure to include mess kits, paper cups, plates, and plastic utensils, a utility knife, aluminum foil, and a non-electric can opener.  Replace your stored food every six months.

Water
Store one gallon of water per person per day. Store water in plastic containers such as soft drink bottles.   Avoid using containers that will decompose or break, such as milk cartons or glass bottles. A normally active person needs to drink at least two quarts of water each day. Hot environments and intense physical activity can double that amount. Children, nursing mothers, and ill people will need more. Change your stored water supply every six months so it stays fresh.

Clothing
Include at least one complete change of clothing and footwear per person.  It is a good idea to include: sturdy shoes or work boots, rain gear, a hat, and work gloves. Keep items in airtight plastic bags.  

Bedding
Blankets or sleeping bags, and sheets.

First Aid Kit
 A first aid kit should include: sterile adhesive bandages in assorted sizes, assorted sizes of safety pins, cleansing agent/soap, latex gloves, sunscreen, non-prescription drugs (aspirin or non-aspirin pain reliever, anti-diarrhea medication, antacid, laxative, sterile roller bandages, scissors, tweezers, needle, antiseptic, thermometer, and a tube of petroleum jelly.

Sanitation
Some necessary sanitation items include: toilet paper, moistened towelettes, soap, liquid detergent, feminine supplies, personal hygiene item, plastic garbage bags, plastic bucket with tight lid, disinfectant, and household chlorine bleach.

Tools and Supplies
When assembling a disaster supply kit, remember to include an emergency preparedness manual, battery-powered radio, flashlight and plenty of extra batteries.  Additional items include: pliers, tape, matches in a waterproof container, shut-off wrench (to turn off household gas and water), whistle, plastic sheeting, plastic storage containers, paper, pencils, needle and thread, an extra set of car keys, and a map of the area (for locating shelters).  Replace batteries every six months. 

Special Items
Include a list of important family information: the style and serial number of medical devices such as pacemakers, and a list of family physicians.  Remember special items for infants (formula, diapers, bottles, powdered milk) and elderly or disabled family members (medications, denture needs), and items such as contact lenses and supplies, extra eyeglasses.  Ask your physician or pharmacist about storing prescription medications.

Important Family Documents
Keep these records in a waterproof, portable container: will, insurance policies, contracts deeds, stocks and bonds, passports, social security cards, immunization records, Bank account numbers, credit card account numbers and companies, Inventory of valuable household goods, important telephone numbers, and family records (birth, marriage, death certificates). 

 

Home Hazard Hunt

IN a disaster, ordinary items in the home can cause injury and damage. Anything that can move, fall, break, or cause a fire in a potential hazard.

  1. Repair defective electrical wiring and leaky gas connections
  2. Fasten shelves securely
  3. Place large, heavy objects on lower shelves
  4. Hang pictures and mirrors away from beds
  5. Brace overhead light fixtures
  6. Secure water heater. Strap to wall studs
  7. Repair cracks in ceilings or foundations
  8. Store weed killers, pesticides, and flammable products away from heat sources
  9. Place oily polishing rags or waste in covered metal cans
  10. Clean and repair chimneys, flue pipes, vent connectors, and gas vents

     

If you Need to Evacuate

  1. Listen to a battery powered radio for the location of emergency shelters. Follow instructions of local officials
  2. Wear protective clothing and sturdy shoes
  3. Take your Disaster Supplies Kit
  4. Lock Your house
  5. Use travel routes specified by local officials

    If you are sure you have time...

  6. Shut off water, gas, and electricity, IF instructed to do so
  7. Let others know when you left and where you are going
  8. Make arrangements for pets. Animals may not be allowed in public shelters

     

Prepare an Emergency Car Kit

  1. Battery powered radio and extra batteries
  2. Flashlight and extra batteries
  3. Blanket
  4. Booster cable
  5. Fire extinguisher (5lb. A-B-C type)
  6. First aid kit and manual
  7. Bottled water and non-perishable high energy foods such as granola bars, raisins and peanut butter
  8. Maps
  9. Shovel
  10. Tire repair kit and pump
  11. Flares

     

Fire Safety

  1. Plan two escape routes out of each room
  2. Teach family members to stay low to the ground when escaping from a fire
  3. Teach family members never to never to open doors that are hot.
    In a fire, feel the bottom of the door with the palm of your hand. If it is hot, do not open the door. Find another way out
  4. Install smoke detectors. Clean and test smoke detectors once a month. Change batteries at least once a year
  5. Keep a whistle in each bedroom to awaken household members in case of fire
  6. Check electrical outlets. Do not overload outlets
  7. Purchase a fire extinguisher (5lb., A-B-C type)
  8. Have a collapsible ladder on each upper floor of your house
  9. Consider installing home sprinklers

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