January 1st, 2016 9:57 PM by Dan Howard
This is a time where we gather and celebrate with our loved ones, and when that is not possible, at the very least, we are thinking about them. It is ever so much more important to be able to reach our loved ones in times of disaster. Make creating a disaster plan your New Year’s resolution
Prepare for Disaster Ahead of Time
Imagine that something terrible has happened. Connecting with the people you love is likely to be your most important goal. Sadly, we need to add terrorist caused events to the list of natural disasters to consider in our planning. You need to have a plan for your family. Communication is difficult at best after a disaster. With terrorism and attacks on our technological infrastructure, our technology may be wiped out and leave us unable to use a cell phone to connect with each other.
One part of the plan is to have a local place to meet. That plan should also have a place out of the area for family members to call and "report in" so that you know that “all are safe” when everyone can’t get to the meeting place.
Then there are the basic necessities of food, water and light. Finding clean and healthy supplies of these items can be a problem in times of disasters. Keep a bin of food and water stored in your home with a couple of flashlights and batteries. Throw an emergency radio into the bin. We have one that operates off of a hand crank avoiding dead battery problems. Make sure you include a couple of LED lights that shine a very long time with little battery drainage.
A container of gasoline stored in a shed outside of the home may be a good idea. This is important if you need to travel away from the area, and there isn’t any power to get gas at a gas station.
Another necessity is keeping some cash on hand just in case the ATM machines and credit card processing are disabled.
Have a portable fire safe for important documents that you may need. You should always have these items in that safe so that they are protected from a fire, and portable to take with you in other disasters. Swapping an extra copy of these papers with a trusted relative in another location is a great backup plan.
www.Ready.gov has a great downloadable resource for collecting and keeping important disaster information. It will guide you through collecting the most important information, and be a resource to copy and give everyone in your family. The website URL for their “Wallet Planning Card” is http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/108887