The ABC’s of Personal Emergency Preparedness

ABC’s of Personal Emergency Preparedness Infographic

NATUAL AND MANMADE DISASTER EXACT A HEAVY TOLL. Including the loss of life, property and countless community connections. From the wildfires of the Midwest to the record-breaking hurricanes to make U.S. landfall, the chances of suffering disaster seem immeasurable.

In fact, explains the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), October 2017 witnessed 15 weather and climate disasters resulting in losses in excess of $1 billion each in physical damage, not to mention the untold trauma resulting from loss of life and emotional upset. Meanwhile, the costs of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria are still in review, reflecting only a part of the end-costs incurred.

Although your family and community may sit a secure, rarely affected area, the importance of a disaster preparedness plan cannot be overstated. According to Michael Lahey, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Director for the Northwest Michigan Health Department, “During a disaster, first responders and the health care system may have their hands full. Being prepared is going to help you and your family for those first 72 hours after the disaster hits. Build a kit, make a plan and listen for more information is the overall game plan.”

You owe it to your family, your friends and yourself to think consciously about disasters. Rather than approaching the topic from a point of fear, follow the ABC’s of disaster preparedness.

A: Assemble a Disaster Preparedness Kit

A disaster preparedness kit includes all the items necessary to survive for at least 72 hours, including basic items your household uses daily. It should be easy-to-carry and compact too.

For example, a large backpack, duffel bag or plastic bin is ideal for your kit.

What Goes Into Your Emergency Preparedness Kit?

While kit contents may vary slightly for distinct types of disasters, such as flooding versus wildfire preparedness, the overall contents stay the same. As explained by Ready.gov, your disaster preparedness kit should include at least the following:

• Water
• Non-perishable food, such as canned or boxed items
• A battery-powered or hand-crank radio, and if possible, a NOAA weather radio
• Whistle for helping other people find you
• Dust masks, available at any hardware store, grey duct tape and plastic sheeting, such as that used to weatherize a house. This helps prevent exposure during rain or the inhalation of toxic fumes, such as smoke
• Wet wipes, trash bags and plastic twist-ties for disposing waste if sewer or plumbing systems fail
• A wrench or pliers for shutting off utilities
• Local maps. Google is not always right, especially in rural areas
• A cell phone with chargers and a backup battery. Also, consider a renewable power supply for this device, such as a solar-powered cellphone charging mat
• Flashlight
• Batteries of different sizes
• A First Aid kit. While creating a First Aid kit is possible, it is much simpler to buy a ready-made First Aid kit from a drug store or big box retailer at a cost comparable to the costs of buying individual items.

Depending on the unique needs of your family, include additional emergency supplies, documentation or necessary personal belongings, such as the following:

• Medications, including both prescription and over-the-counter medications your family members take daily. Also, the aftermath of a disaster is a time of extreme stress, so it is important to have medications for ailments brought on by stress, such as pain relievers, antidiarrheal medications, antacids and laxatives. Ensure all medications added to your emergency preparedness kit are well within their expiry dates.
• Contact lens solution. If anyone in your family uses contact lenses, even on an as-needed basis, include one to two bottles of contact lens solution in your kit, but be mindful of potential expiration dates on contact lens solution as well.
• Pet food, water and medications, if applicable. Many of today’s pet stores offer emergency-preparedness food and water dishes for pets, which collapse to conserve storage space.
• Cash or traveler’s checks. In case of a long-term disaster, cash or traveler’s checks may be necessary to help you and your family obtain resources, such as housing, food and medication.
• Important family documents, such as health, dental, flood or other insurance information, bank account records and identification. Seal such documentation in waterproof, portable containers, and if preferred, store copies electronically.
• Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Sleeping bags are an ideal choice due to their compact size with put away.
• Complete change of clothing. Each family member should have one complete change of clothing, as well as durable shoes, in the emergency preparedness kit.
• Chlorine bleach and medicine dropper to disinfect water. Add one drop per 20-ounce bottle of water to disinfect water prior to drinking, bathing or cleaning, if advised by local officials.
• Fire extinguisher.
• Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items, including shampoo, bath soap, mouth rinse, toothpaste and toothbrushes.
• Paper or plastic dinnerware and cutlery.
• A manual can opener.
• Paper and pencil
• Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children.

Keep Your Kit Safe and Secure

The best-laid plans for emergency preparedness will fail if the contents of your emergency preparedness kit spoil or expire. So, follow these tips to keep your kids safe and secure:

• Store canned foods in a cool, dry place.
• Store boxed food items in waterproof containers, such as a coffee can with duct tape around the lid.
• Rethink your needs annually.
• Check the expiry dates of food, medications and other perishable items every six months.

It is also important to have more than one disaster kit ready at all times. Create like kits for your home, family, vehicle and storm shelter. This ensures you have access to necessary resources regardless of location when disaster strikes.

B: Build Your Personal Emergency Preparedness Plan

While your emergency preparedness kit holds the items needed to survive a disaster, you and your family members need to know what to do if a disaster occurs. In other words, you need to build an emergency or personal preparedness plan.

Begin Your Emergency Preparedness Planning With a Family Discussion

A common mistake in planning for emergencies is the exclusion of family members from the planning discussion. Include all family members when discussing what will happen if a disaster occurs, including both shelter-in-place and evacuation mandates. Ask the following questions as they pertain to each family member:

• How will I receive information about updates and warnings?
• Where will I go for shelter?
• What is the primary evacuation route?
• How will I communicate with my family?

The family discussion should also consider specific needs of your household, such as special considerations for school-age children, adolescents and seniors. Review each person’s responsibilities, such as picking up younger children or obtaining the emergency preparedness kit from its storage location. Furthermore, review the locations most frequented by family members, as well as everyone’s special dietary or medical needs.

For example, families with individuals with disabilities should think about necessary medical equipment to survive, such as walkers, wheelchairs, nebulizers, diabetes supplies, and oxygen concentrators or tanks.

If you or your family members have existing medical problems, you should also consider completing training for CPR and First Aid.

Write Down Your Plan

Like your emergency preparedness kit, your family discussion and creation of an emergency plan should evolve with changing needs. But, you should still write down the details of your plan during your family meeting. Distribute copies of the family plan to all family members, including school-age children. To prevent children from losing the document, include a laminated copy of your disaster preparedness plan in their backpacks, school bags or notebooks. This is key to ensuring your children’s teachers, educators or other responsible parties know how to reach you in case of an emergency.

Unfortunately, typing the information within your family plan can be a challenge, not to mention writing it by hand could take hours. So, consider printing a pre-made emergency preparedness plan that includes a comprehensive checklist for ensuring everyone’s responsibilities, meeting places, contact information and other pertinent details, such as medical information. In fact, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created a printable family emergency checklist available online.

Practice Your Plan

After creating your plan, have a mock event for your family. If family members forget their responsibilities, review the plan, and conduct another practice. In addition, practice the plan often, such as the beginning of each season.

C: Continue to Listen for More Information About the Disaster or Event

Unlike predictable disasters, such as hurricanes, which have a generally defined path several days in advance, some disasters occur in the blink of an eye. As a result, it is important to listen for all updates and communications on the status of the event.

For example, the recent wildfires of the West Coast changed path within minutes, putting thousands at risk and resulting in the immediate evacuation of homes in the dead of night. When a disaster is likely to occur or located nearby, stay in contact with others in your family and community. Additionally, use all devices at your disposable to stay in touch with status updates and evacuation orders, and follow these tips:

• Use NOAA-approved weather radio, and take turns listening to it. This is especially important to continue monitoring the event during nightfall or even when a disaster appears to have passed.
• Shut down fans, air conditioners and forced air heating systems. These systems can interfere with emergency radio signals, reducing the likelihood of hearing an order, and during a disaster, the systems can become harbingers of doom, spreading toxic gases or fumes throughout your home.
• Check the internet often. The internet is an invaluable resource for information before, during and after an event occurs. Follow local radio and news outlets on social media, as well as connect with other community organizations to watch for updates to disaster status. Additionally, consider downloading weather notification apps, such as The Weather Channel, and set your device’s location to “on.”

D: Do Something to Help: Take Emergency and Personal Preparedness a Step Further

After disaster strikes, few things bring greater peace of mind than knowing your family is safe and secure, but first responders in your area may be overwhelmed. Nearby friends, acquaintances, coworkers or other family members could need help, but they may be unable to reach first responders. As explained by Lahey:

“Knowing CPR and First Aid is one step you can take to strengthen personal preparedness. Knowing some of these basic, life-saving techniques is making yourself a resource for your family and neighbors when the Emergency Medical System may already be stressed.”

This is the “D” of disaster preparedness, doing something to help others after helping your family prepare. This aspect of personal preparedness takes the concept of emergency preparedness and personal responsiveness a step further with these steps:

• Get your CPR and First Aid certification. Obtaining your CPR and First Aid certification can help you save the lives of personal family members, friends and complete strangers experiencing the worst parts of a disaster, medical emergencies. While local resources may offer CPR and First Aid training and certification, these courses are also available online, which can be completed at your leisure and at comparable cost to programs offered by local providers.
• Volunteer to help others once you and your family are safe, if possible. Everyone wants to help others, but you must ensure you the safety of yourself and your family before venturing out to help other people during a disaster. If you are unsafe, you could add to the tragedy. Local authorities may also ask for registered volunteers to assist before a disaster occurs as well.

“Volunteers are great during disasters. Pre-credentialed, registered and trained volunteers are even better. There’s lots of training out there volunteers can get involved in and some they can do on their own, like CPR and First Aid, that will make them more useful when deployed. Ensuring you are personally prepared as a volunteer is essential to being deployed and ultimately having a positive impact,” says Lahey.

• Contact local first responders for additional, location-specific information you may need to know. Local first responders, medical centers and other authorities may be able to provide you with location-specific information, such as the best evacuation routes to use during different disasters, for your unique home, work or school locations.

Quick Review

Not having an emergency preparedness plan for yourself and family is a terrible mistake, and it is 100-percent preventable. While an emergency preparedness plan takes time and can feel overwhelming, ask yourself, “Are you willing to sacrifice yourself or the lives of your family members due to a lack of planning?” By following these four, simple steps to emergency preparedness, you could save your life, the lives of your family members and even complete strangers.

• Assemble a Kit
• Build a Plan
• Continue to Listen for Status Updates
• Do Something to Help

The next disaster could occur today, tomorrow or in two years. Get started with the ABC’s of emergency preparedness today, and review your CPR and First Aid training options today at NHCPS.com. You can redeem a free CPR certification course by using coupon code: MEDIUMCPR at checkout on NHCPS.com.

Checkout our CPR, AED & First Aid Webinar for a preview of our CPR certification course on NHCPS.com.