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July 05, 2007 09:31 am
Editor's notes: Creating 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 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; or 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.
Source: www.redcross.org
Get it together for disaster
Emergency kits, plans essential in dealing with unexpected
By Dustin Shipman
CNHI News Service
— An emergency such as a tornado, flood or fire can arise when least expected, and the best way to be prepared is to have a plan.
Janice Travis, the emergency services manager for the American Red Cross in Joplin, Mo., said the organization has a motto about how people should be prepared: “Ready in 3.”
“You should make a plan, make a kit and be informed,” Travis said. “The most important part of being prepared is actually taking the steps to prepare in case an emergency takes place.”
Tornadoes
For people living in an area known as Tornado Alley, it should become almost second nature what to do when a tornado is reported.
According to the National Weather Service’s Web site (www.spc.noaa.gov), the best way to be stay safe in a tornado is to avoid windows and get in the basement and under some kind of sturdy protection such as a heavy table or work bench, or cover yourself with a mattress or sleeping bag.
Supplies should also be kept on hand for when a warning is issued.
“You should make a kit with all of your emergency supplies,” Travis said. “You should make sure that you have everything that you are going to need in case there is an emergency and you have to survive for a few days.”
Flood
As recent weather has demonstrated, flooding is also a danger.
Determining escape routes from your home and places to meet is one of the most important things you can do, according to the National Weather Service.
Also, thinking ahead of time and putting together a preparedness kit can help during a flood.
According to Travis, things to make sure that you have in the kit are the same things you would need in case of a tornado: fresh drinking water (at least one gallon daily, per person, for three to seven days), non-perishable canned goods and a can opener, a first aid kit, clothing and blankets, some cash and anything else that you might need for a few days after the disaster hits.
“Always make sure that you have extra medications, if you are on any medications, and try to have some extra medicine in there,” Travis said. “Something a lot of people don’t think about is putting some cash in there. A lot of times, I have gone to these areas and the electricity is out and you can’t use an ATM, so always have something, even if it is just $20.”
Fire
Unlike a flood or a tornado, the most important thing to keep in mind in the event of a fire is to get out safely and to have a meeting place where all the members of the family can be accounted for.
“In the event of a fire, it is important to know where your family is going to meet afterward,” Travis said. “In a fire it is always good to have a meeting place, and the fire department will almost always call the Red Cross and we will get there to help and give them those basic necessities.”
Dustin Shipman writes for The Joplin (Mo.) Globe.
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