Creating a Family Emergency Preparedness Plan

Creating an emergency preparedness plan can help your family respond quickly and more efficiently during an emergency.

All family members should help prepare the plan and assist in assembling a basic emergency response kit so that all required individual items will be included.

In creating your plan and kit, take time to to consider those with special needs and medical needs in your family.  These can include:

• Elderly Family Members
• Infants and Children
• Family members with physical and mental disabilities
• Pets
  
  

• Review your plan each year, or during peak disaster seasons, such as hurricane season.
• Review your needs and update your emergency kit as family needs change.
• Review and revise all contact information.
• Review and revise important documents and information.
• Change stored food and water supplies.  Label each item by date stored.

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Evacuation

If you are planning to evacuate during an emergency, make sure all family members know where the family meeting place is located.  Remember:

• Decide on transportation and route and points of contact if separated.
• Allow plenty of time to evacuate.
• Have your basic emergency kit ready to travel.
• Lock up your home and unplug small appliances.  Call your utility companies to learn how to turn off utilities properly, and ask what is required to have them turned on again.  It is best to have learned about this before a disaster.

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Sheltering-in-Place

If you are planning to shelter-in-place during an emergency, use the following tips:

• Make sure all family members are aware of the sheltering-in-place location and have an alternate location if you can not get home.
• Know the location of the emergency supply kit.

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Designated Emergency Shelter

• Decide beforehand where you will seek shelter and have a designated meeting place and places to call with your location if separated.
• Take your emergency supply kit with you so that your family will have the supplies that they will need at the shelter.
• Be considerate and helpful to others in the shelter.  Practice the basic principles of disease control listed (we will discuss later) as well as any specific shelter instructions.
• Register upon arrival at the shelter and establish a designated meeting place within the shelter site for your family.
• Remain at the shelter until local authorities say it is safe to leave.  

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Disaster Preparation Checklist

• Contacts - Review your contact list and make sure these individual know your plans.  Choose one or two contacts not in the disaster area where people can call in their locations if separated.  It might be a friend, family, home office, or organization like your church.
• Car - As soon as you get an official warning that you may have to evacuate for a disaster, fill up your car with gas and check your oil and tires.  Make sure you have jumper cables, a jack and a spare tire.
• Emergency Supply Kit - Check your kit to make sure everything in it is working, charged, and up-to-date - cell phones, weather radio, flashlights, batteries, maps, identification, insurance cards and other items.
• Medications and Medical Equipment - Pack your prescription medications and other items such as aspirin and antacids in a plastic bag.  Make sure you have at least a week's worth of medicine left.  If not, try to get refills.  Double check your medications list for you and your family to make sure that any new medicines are on it.  Look to see that you have all necessary medical equipment and supplies.
• Sanitation - related items include hand sanitizer, baby wipes, kleenex, toilet tissue, bleach, paper towels, plastic bags, rubber gloves and boots.
• Pets - Be sure to get your pet's food, medications, food and water bowls, cat litter, cages and collars with rabies tags and leashes.  Call your vet or humane shelter or visit the Web sites listed for help with pets or other animals in a disaster.
• Food and Water - Put food that does not have to be cooked or refrigerated in plastic bags.  Include bottled water.
• Clothing, Bedding, Eyeglasses and Other Personal Items - If flooding may be a problem, put them in plastic bags to keep items dry.  Do not forget money, cell phones and phone chargers.
• Utilities - Unplug small appliances.  Leave your refrigerator plugged in unless there may be flooding.  Check with your utility company about turning off your utilities properly if you have not already learned how.
• Place things inside and outside the home in as secure a position as possible; board up windows if needed.

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Assemble an Emergency Supply Kit

• Food and drink that does not have to be refrigerated; pet supplies.
• Water - one gallon per person, per day; include pets.
• Portable, battery-powered radio or weather radio, extra batteries.
• Flashlights, extra batteries.
• Matches and waterproof container.
• Whistle, air horn, or other noisemaker.
• Basic personal hygiene items (toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, feminine products, baby wipes, etc.)
• Heavy-duty trash bags.
• First aid kit
• Non-electric can opener and basic kitchen accessories (salt, sweeteners, non-dairy creamers, foil, plastic storage bags, paper plates, plastic spoons, etc.)
• Bathroom tissue, paper towels, facial tissue.
• Extra clothing, shoes, socks.
• Waterproof coats, ponchos, boots, gloves.
• Towels, blankets, small or inflatable pillows, air mattresses, sleeping bags.
• Chlorine bleach (pure, unscented)
• Prescription medications for people and pets. Include non-prescription fever/pain relievers, antacids, anti-diarrhea items, etc.)
• Small repair kit (Screwdriver, hammer, nails, duct tape).
• Pens, pencils, paper, tape, whistle, needles, thread, safety pins
• Important documents; cash.
• Other items such as pet dishes, leashes, cat litter, carriers, books, toys small games.
• A reminder list of things to turn off, cover up, find and include; people to call and plans for pets.
• Plywood, nails, tape, plastic to cover windows, etc.

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Important Documents and Information

During an emergency you may be required to produce several documents.  The following is a suggested list of documents and information to gather and store in your basic emergency supply kit.  Use waterproof containers to store your information.

• Copies of driver's licenses, immigration papers, work identification badges, social security cards, birth certificates, marriage licenses and other items.
• Current photos of family members and pets for identification; make sure medical ID bracelets, etc., are up-to-date; talk with your vet about having an identification microchip placed in your animal.
• Copies of credit cards with company names and numbers.
• Copy of your family preparedness plan and contact information.
• Medical prescriptions, including eyeglasses; serial numbers for pacemakers, etc.
• Immunization records
• Wills
• Insurance policies
• Stocks and Bonds
• Bank account numbers
• Inventory of valuable household goods - if you can, take photos or videotape your belongings and e-mail the pictures to a friend or family member for safekeeping.
• Deeds, titles and mortgage papers
• State and local area maps
• Backup of computer files
  

TIP - Put a copy of the drug information that comes with your medicines in a plastic bag.  Replace the copies every year or when your medicine changes.

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Special Populations and Medical Needs Shelters

People in special populations and those with medical needs should make plans with health care providers and personal and community helpers for assistance in an emergency event.

Special Populations
Special populations include those with physical and mental disabilities; people without vehicles; non-English speaking persons; people with special dietary needs; infants and children; and the elderly.

Special needs may include:

• Transportation and handicap access
• Communications assistance -- this should include receiving warnings, orders to shelter and evacuate, and updates
• Equipment to aid in movement or communications
• Information on food allergies or diets as well as a two-week minimum supply of special foods

Medical Needs Shelters
People with medical needs are persons with physical and/or mental conditions requiring limited medical / nursing oversight and who provide their own  caregiver, medical supplies, equipment or special dietary supplies.  During a disaster, these people should have enough prescription medicine and medical supplies for a minimum of 10 days.

A limited number of medical needs shelters will be opened during an event, and space within these shelters is extremely limited.  Shelter locations will be publicized through the news and various health and community resources.

Those who qualify for medical needs shelter include persons who require minimal to moderate assistance with activities of daily living and are:

• Wheelchair-bound patients
• Patients dependent on electricity to operate medical equipment
• Those requiring assistance with medication injections or simple dressing changes
• Ostomy patients
• Foley/supra-pubic catheter patients
• Peritoneal dialysis patients, if either self-administered or with family assistance without complication
• Managing intraveneous therapy at home without complications
• On oxygen, nebulizer, or sleep apnea therapy that has been stabilized / maintained at home for 30 or more days
• Hospice patients
• People living with mild dementia without abusive or wandering behavior
• People experiencing frequent incontinence (urinary/bowels)

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Disease Prevention and Control

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