Disaster comes in all shapes and sizes: air crashes, electrical loss, fire, flood, chemical spills, gas leaks, etc. One characteristic of all disasters is that the community services (police, fire, utilities) are overtaxed during the first 72 hours following a disaster. We need to be prepared to take care of ourselves.
Tom discussed many aspects of disaster preparedness. Chaos reigns in a disaster. Planning and preparation are necessary to mitigate the confusion tht occurs during a disaster. Two key aspects or preparedness are an evacuation plan and an emergency kit.
EVACUATION PLAN
An evacuation plan can help ameliorate some of the confusion that enshrouds a disaster. Map out the floor plan for your building. Make sure that everyone knows an escape route. Establish a nearby meeting place so that you know who has escaped and who is missing. In case the disaster is widespread, establish an alternate distant meeting place. If your home needs to be evacuated, be sure you know where your utility shutoffs are. Designate an out-of-state phone number to use as a message center. The distant number will not be clogged with local calls and a central number will ensure that everyone has access to the same information. Consider gas, electric, and water. Make sure that everyone knows how to open the garage door without electricity.
EMERGENCY KIT
Prepare an emergency kit to ensure you have the things you need to sustain life during a disaster. Pack your kit in an easy to carry container. You may want to consider a suitcase with rollers so that it is easy to take with you. All items in the kit should be place in airtight plastic containers. Be sure to include the six basic necessities: water, food, first aid, sanitation, family documents, and medication. Your kit should include one gallon of water per person per day. Be sure to date the bottles and rotate them. Foodstuffs should not require cooking. Be sure to include salt, pepper, and other seasoning. Date your food and rotate it before it goes stale. Pack items you ordinarily eat so that it doesn't go to waste when you rotate it. In addition to bandages, gauze, antibiotics, and bandaids, your first aid kit should also include sunscreen and insect spray. Consider storing a separate kit in the home, and each of the cars. Sanitation items include toilet paper, towels, soap, detergent, disinfectant, feminine supplies, and garbage bags. Having copies of your birth certificates, passports, wills, insurance policies, social security cards, and other important papers in your emergency kit will prevent endless headaches if these items are lost in a disaster. Store a supply of your medication in your emergency kit. Be sure to date the supply and rotate it so that it can be used before the expiry date.
Be sure to remember pets in your planning. Your emergency kit should include water, food, a leash, and a carrier for each of your pets.
Additional information on disaster planning and emergency kits may be found at http://www.prepare.org/children/familyplan.htm and http://www.ready.gov/.