| 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 (see below).
____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.
Home
Hazard Hunt
In
a disaster, ordinary items in the home can cause injury and damage.
Anything that can move, fall, break, or cause a fire is a potential
hazard.
-Repair defective electrical wiring and leaky gas connections.
-Fasten shelves securely.
-Place large, heavy objects on lower shelves.
-Hang pictures and mirrors away from beds.
-Brace overhead light fixtures.
-Secure water heater. Strap to wall studs.
-Repair cracks in ceilings or foundations.
-Store weed killers, pesticides, and flammable products
away from heat sources.
-Place oily polishing rags or waste in covered metal
cans.
-Clean and repair chimneys, flue pipes, vent connectors,
and gas vents.
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.
All
information collected from The
American Red Cross and NWS/NOAA |
