Emergency Preparedness: Weather Alerts and Family Safety
Whether you are young or old, you should discuss weather alerts with your family. How will you get notifications that severe weather events are in your area? Are your young children old enough to understand what these notifications mean and how to protect themselves? What if your children aren’t with you? Maybe they are at school, with a friend or at an activity. Will they know what to do? Will the people they are with know the plan your family has in place? Talk about and make a plan as to how this information will be communicated. Ready.gov has great shareable you can use that are pre-made!
FEMA and Ready.gov‘s printable Wallet Cards and Emergency Plans are a great place to start. Complete a wallet card to include with your children’s school registration packet, include it in your child’s daycare instructions, or laminate and place in your diaper bag. Plan to communicate with your children what the card is, when it should be used and what the plan is that is contained on it. Don’t under estimate your toddlers! Giving them this information may not stick now, but it gives them the opportunity to feel a part of things and as they grow they will be better prepared when they do fully understand. Together you will make a great plan that everyone will be aware of.
Where you will find shelter during an event depends on the type of weather event and the amount of time you may or may not have to prepare. If the event is a hurricane or snow storm, you may have days or several hours to prepare and develop a long term plan. However if the event is a flood, tornado or lightning storm, you will only have minutes to react. For this reason it is important to discuss your emergency plan often and review with your family regularly to ensure that being prepared becomes second nature to them. Your family should always have safety in the back of their minds to quickly access in times of need.
How will you and your family get back together if separated? This is a little thought of question, but will be extremely important if you get separated. The panic and frustration that your family will experience if this question goes unplanned can escalate and cause terrible heartache and confusion. Discuss a location to meet and under what circumstances for each type of emergency. Obviously if you are experiencing tornado damage, flooding or fire, you may not be able to meet at your home or in your neighborhood. Discuss what your options are, agree to a plan and write it down!
Don’t let an emergency cause unneeded panic, anxiety or worry. By taking a day trip and talking while you ride, or sitting down to write it out during a picnic lunch you can be one step ahead. True POWER is knowing what to do and when. Give your family the gift of a day trip and a plan of action. Mix fun with a much needed plan of preparation during an emergency and your family will not soon forget either topic!