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Disaster
Plan
Make your family disaster plan
Disaster can strike quickly and without
warning. It can force you to evacuate your neighborhood or confine you to
your home. What would you do if basic services--water, gas, electricity or
telephones--were cut off? Local officials and relief workers will be on the
scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone right away.
Four Steps to Safety
1. Find Out What Could Happen to You
- Contact your local Red Cross chapter or
emergency management office before a disaster occurs--be prepared to
take notes.
- Ask what types of disasters are most likely
to happen. Request information on how to prepare for each.
- Learn about your community's warning
signals: what they sound like and what you should do when you hear
them.
- Ask about animal care after a disaster.
Animals are not allowed inside emergency shelters because of health
regulations.
- Find out how to help elderly or disabled
persons, if needed.
- Find out about the disaster plans at your
workplace, your children's school or day care center and other places
where your family spends time.
2. Create a Disaster Plan
- Meet with your family and discuss why you
need to prepare for disaster. Explain the dangers of fire, severe
weather and earthquakes to children. Plan to share responsibilities
and work together as a team.
- Discuss the types of disasters that are most
likely to happen. Explain what to do in each case.
- Pick two places to meet:
• Right outside your home in
case of a sudden emergency, like a fire.
• Outside your neighborhood
in case you can't return home. Everyone must know the address and phone
number.
- Ask an out-of-state friend to be your
"family contact." After a disaster, it's often easier to
call long distance. Other family members should call this person and
tell them where they are. Everyone must know your contact's phone
number.
- Discuss what to do in an evacuation. Plan
how to take care of your pets.
3. Complete This Checklist
- Post emergency telephone numbers by phones
(fire, police, ambulance, etc.).
- Teach children how and when to call 9-1-1 or
your local Emergency Medical Services number for emergency help.
- Show each family member how and when to turn
off the utilities (water, gas and electricity) at the main switches.
- Check if you have adequate insurance
coverage.
- Get training from the fire department for
each family member on how to use the fire extinguisher (ABC type), and
show them where it's kept.
- Install smoke detectors on each level of
your home, especially near bedrooms.
- Conduct a home hazard hunt.
- Stock emergency supplies and assemble a
Disaster Supplies Kit
- Take a Red Cross first aid and CPR class.
- Determine the best escape routes from your
home. Find two ways out of each room.
- Find the safe places in your home for each type
of disaster.
4. Practice and Maintain Your Plan
- Quiz your kids every six months or so.
- Conduct fire and emergency evacuations.
- Replace stored water and stored food every
six months.
- Test and recharge your fire extinguisher(s)
according to manufacturer's instructions.
- Test your smoke detectors monthly and change
the batteries at least once a year.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Working with neighbors can save lives and property. Meet with your
neighbors to plan how the neighborhood could work together after a disaster
until help arrives. If you're a member of a neighborhood organization, such
as a home association or crime watch group, introduce disaster preparedness
as a new activity. Know your neighbors' special skills (e.g., medical,
technical) and consider how you could help neighbors who have special
needs, such as disabled and elderly persons. Make plans for child care in case
parents can't get home.
If Disaster Strikes
- Remain calm and patient. Put your plan into
action.
- Check for Injuries
- Give first aid and get help for seriously
injured people.
- Listen to Your Battery-Powered Radio for
News and Instructions
Check for Damage in Your Home...
- Use flashlights. Do not light matches or
turn on electrical switches, if you suspect damage.
- Sniff for gas leaks, starting at the water
heater. If you smell gas or suspect a leak, turn off the main gas
valve, open windows, and get everyone outside quickly.
- Shut off any other damaged utilities. (You
will need a professional to turn gas back on.)
- Clean up spilled medicines, bleaches,
gasoline and other flammable liquids immediately.
Remember to...
- Confine or secure your pets.
- Call your family contact--do not use the
telephone again unless it is a life-threatening emergency.
- Check on your neighbors, especially elderly
or disabled persons.
- Make sure you have an adequate water supply
in case service is cut off.
- Stay away from downed power lines.
Return to Red Cross Safety Information
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