Make a Plan
q Find out what could happen to you. By learning what disasters could occur in your community and what your risks may be, you can prepare for the disasters most likely to occur in your area.
q Pick two places to meet:
- Right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, like a fire.
- Outside your neighborhood in case you cannot return home or are asked to leave your neighborhood.
q Pick two out-of-town contacts:
- A friend or relative who will be your household’s primary contact.
- A friend or relative who will be your household’s alternative contact.
q Discuss what to do if a family member is injured or ill.
q Discuss what to do in the rare circumstance that authorities advise you to shelter-in-place.
q Discuss what to do if authorities advise you to evacuate.
q Be familiar with evacuation routes.
q Plan how to take care of your pets. Pets (other than service animals) usually are not permitted in public shelters or other places where food is served.
Make and complete a checklist
q Post emergency numbers (fire, police, ambulance, etc.) by telephones.
q Teach all responsible members of the household how and when to turn off the water, gas, and electricity at the main switches or valves.
q Attach a shut-off valve wrench or other special tool in a conspicuous place close to the gas and water shut-off valves.
q Check if you have adequate insurance coverage.
q Be sure to have working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms in your home.
q Consider equipping your home with alternative heating sources, such as fireplaces, wood- or coal-burning stoves, or space heaters.
q Get training from the fire department in how to use your fire extinguisher (A-B-C type), and show household members where extinguishers are kept.
q Conduct a home hazard hunt.
q Consider your need to add physical protection measures to your home.
q Assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit and stock emergency supplies.
q Keep a portable, battery-operated radio or television and extra batteries in your Disaster Supplies Kit.
q Consider buying a NOAA Weather Radio with a tone-alert feature.
q Take an American Red Cross first aid and CPR class and have other household members take one too.
q Plan home escape routes.
q Find the safe places in your home for shelter during different types of disaster.
q Make a complete inventory of your home, garage, and surrounding property.
q Keep the originals of important documents in a safe deposit box, if possible, and make two copies of each document. Keep one set of copies in a waterproof, fire-resistant, portable container in your home and give the other set of copies to an out-of-town relative or friend.
q Practice and maintain your plan.
q Conduct fire and emergency evacuation drills at least twice a year.
q Include your pets in your evacuation and sheltering drills.
q Use the test button to test your smoke alarms once a month.
q Replace batteries at least once a year in battery-powered smoke alarms.
q Replace your smoke alarms every 10 years.
q Look at your fire extinguisher to ensure that it is properly charged.
