How to Prepare for a Local Emergency

By: Brian Jenkins

Emergencies can range from severe weather to a terrorist attack. Interestingly enough, most emergencies require the same basic steps to get you and your family through them safely. The best way to remain safe is to take steps early so that you and your family are prepared in the event of an emergency. The first step in prevention is in knowing the danger. Depending on the area of the country in which you live, you may be at risk of flooding, tornadoes or hurricanes. Contact your local fire department or Red Cross office to find out if your town has any sort of emergency communication system.

Be Prepared

Once you know what to expect, it’s time to be prepared. Have a list of emergency phone numbers posted by each telephone, and make sure that your children know how, and why to dial 9-1-1. Make a plan with all of the members of your family about where they should go in case of emergency. It is important to designate two different meeting areas. The first, such as a neighbor's home, is the ideal meeting place, but you should set up another meeting place, such as a family member’s house, where you will meet if it is impossible for you to return home. It is important to know what the emergency plans at your children’s schools are as well. Will they shelter the children at the school? Send the children home? Attempt to call? In an emergency, the school's phone lines will be busy with concerned parents, and you cannot count on getting through to your child. Know what the school's emergency policy is and then discuss it with your child.

Teach everyone in your family how to turn off the gas and water to your home. This is important, particularly if you have school age children who may be home alone while you are at work. Make sure that they can recognize the smell of natural gas as well, and know to leave the area immediately and call the fire department if they smell it.

Prepare a first aid kit for your family, which includes basic first aid supplies such as antibiotic ointment and adhesive bandages, but also includes a week or two worth of any prescription medications, as well as any emergency medications, such as epi-pens or inhalers that anyone in your family may require. Your physician should be willing to write you an extra prescription for most drugs, or they may even provide samples to cover this time frame.

In addition to the first aid kit, you should also have bottled water and non-perishable food items stored. After an emergency, getting to a grocery store can be difficult, and even if you can get there, there may be no food, the store may not be opened, or they may not be able to accept checks or credit cards. One week's supply of nonperishable food, along with several gallons of water, some emergency cash, a flashlight and extra toiletries can make any emergency less of a problem.

When preparing for a local emergency, you may want to consider taking a first aid and CPR class. These classes provide you with the training necessary to perform potentially life saving duties at a time when police, firefighters and paramedics may be hard to find.

To truly be prepared in the case of an emergency, it is important to have a plan for all family members. This means your pets. If you are evacuated to an emergency shelter, your pet will not be permitted to enter. It is important to have a plan in place for what to do with your pet if you must leave him behind. Some ideas are boarding at a veterinary hospital, leaving him in your home with plenty of food and water and packing him up and driving far enough away to be out of danger and staying in a hotel room. Regardless of how you decide to deal with your pet, make sure that he has well secured identification tags, with your home and cell phone number on them.

When an Emergency Strikes

Hopefully, all of your precautions will prove to be needless, and your family will never experience an emergency. If an emergency does strike, it is important to remain calm and develop a plan. If the entire family is together, your job will be much easier. Call an out of town family member and let them know what is going on. If you need to meet up with other family members, head to your designated meeting spot. Depending on how comfortable you are with your situation and the type of emergency it is, you may want to check on any elderly or disabled neighbors that you have. Once your family is reunited, you can return home if it is safe, or head to the local emergency shelter if necessary. Whatever your decision, it will be much easier because of the time that you spent preparing for this emergency.