Preparing Your Family for a Disaster



Getting your family to safety during any sort of disaster, whether it be natural or artificial, is of the utmost importance.  The problem is that many people seem to want to rely exclusively on their ability to adapt to danger, rather than come up with a plan in advance.  While confidence in one's abilities is a good thing, banking your ability to adapt to unfamiliar circumstances is not.  There is little you can be certain of during an emergency, so hedge the bets you and your family make with just a little preparation.

Know How to Get Out of Your House: In the event that an emergency makes your house unsafe, everyone should know how to get out.  Discuss where different escapes are, and when to use them.  Obviously, the front door is going to be everyone's first thought.  There can be times where that just isn't possible.  Talk about which windows are going to allow for a safe exit, should the need arise to use them.

Have a Place to Meet Up At Close By: Once you get out of your house you don't want to run the risk of getting separated, so talk amongst your family and find a spot close by that everyone can easily find.  Ideal locations are nearby government buildings, shopping centers, or local playgrounds.  If you have gas station nearby, don't chose that!  While the chances of explosion are small, people with less cool heads may be running to the pump,  Avoid the confusion, and try to select a calmer place.  If you have younger children in your household, make sure you give them very specific instructions of what to do.  Chances are they're going to want to go to mommy or daddy first anyhow, but make sure they know where you will be waiting in the house before you leave.

Have an Alternative Place to Meet Up That is Further Away: Circumstances may call for a much further rendezvous point, should your area need to be evacuated for some reason.  Alternatively, you're going to need somewhere else to go should your first option be unsafe due to the disaster.  Pick somewhere within half a mile of your home; far enough away to have a good chance at being safe, but close enough that it can easily be found.  

Have A Family Member to Contact if You Get Split Up: There may be enough chaos that you get split up even in spite of your plans. As such, decide on a contact person.  A grandmother or uncle in another city can help you co-ordinate a little bit easier should relief efforts spit you up.

Discuss Different Situations: How your family will have to react to a flood will be much different than how they will need to react to a plane crash.  Go over some of the alternative options you have available, during different natural disasters.

Preparing for a disaster can make you feel like some extremist survivalist.  In reality, it's just common sense.  This isn't a matter of stocking piling guns and ammo; its only making sure that you and yours know how to get away from danger as a family.  Just talking about it and acknowledging that it can happen can make a world of difference.
