September is National Preparedness Month

Make A Plan

Make sure you have a family emergency plan. 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:

• 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 coins or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact.
• You may have trouble getting through, or the telephone system may be down altogether, but be patient.

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:

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
Click here for information, including a family emergency plan template.

9/1 Tip Of The Day - Best Way Out

In an emergency, do you know the best escape routes to get out of your house? Find at least two ways out of each room. Now write them down - you've got the beginning of a plan. To make a complete emergency plan, click on this link: Emergency Plan - 1.26 Mb Adobe Acrobat PDF.

http://www.ready.gov/america/npm08/tips/090108.html