Travelers offers some great tips for families to stay prepared and on top of any emergency situation, including inclement weather. Learn tips on how to make your family preparedness plan here.
Preparedness Tips from Travelers:
Make a Survival Kit-Generally, a survival kit is very similar to what you would be packing for a camping trip for you, your family and pets for up to a week. Pack enough supplies to last between three and seven days for your family, and pet(s). Make sure you have copies of important documents including your insurance policy, home inventory and other personal documents (photos, legal / financial documents, etc.) that you can find and reference after the storm.
Make an evacuation plan– Have a plan for where your family will evacuate. Plan your evacuation route and make sure you leave as soon as an evacuation order is issued. Also, please be sure to fuel up your car before you leave. Make sure you have car chargers for your cell phones and portable devices.
Create an inventory- Be sure to have a copy of your home’s inventory in a separate location. The Instance Information Institute offers a home inventory app, making it easy for families to create one.
Be a Weather Whiz- Know the difference between a watch and a warning. A watch is just that – meteorologists are watching a storm with hurricane conditions that may strike within 48 hours. A warning is more serious – hurricane force winds (74 mph or higher) are expected to hit your area within 36 hours. As soon as you hear of a weather watch or warning, it is important, depending on the type of alert, to immediately begin or complete your preparedness. You can never be too prepared when it comes to protecting your loved ones and your property.
Who are you going to call? –Identify an individual that you and your family can contact regarding your whereabouts after a disaster. This is especially helpful if you and your family members are separated during the disaster. It may be easier to communicate with your family members and your contact person after a disaster by using your cell phone’s text messaging capabilities. Telecommunications networks tend to be strained in emergency situations, and making voice-to-voice contact may be difficult. Make sure everyone in your family knows how to send and receive text messages.
Know the Facts-
Important personal documents can help you reestablish your life after a disaster. Consider storing digital copies of the following on a password-protected flash drive and keeping it with your survival kit or in a different location:
- Wills, trusts, deeds and birth certificates
- Personal and family records, copies of licenses including medical records
- Legal and financial documents and account numbers
- Inventory of your home’s contents
- Photographs of your home and your belongings
More Helpful Links from Travelers:
Prepare & Prevent—Helpful Preparedness Documents
