Hurricane Plan: Your Family Emergency Plan
How do I create a family disaster plan?
Check: Printable Family Disaster Plan Form
There are several things you can do to get started:
- Identify the safe areas in your home to take shelter.
- Identify an out-of-town contact. It is sometimes easier to make a long distance phone call after a disaster.
- Collect up-to-date phone numbers and addresses for: schools, work, doctors, pharmacists, hotels to use during an evacuation
Next:
- Designate a meeting place. Choose a location outside your house in case of a household emergency, such as a fire, and one outside your neighborhood in case you can not return to your house.
- Make a plan now for what to do with your pets if you need to evacuate. Click here for more information on preparing with pets.
- If possible, make arrangements to stay with the friend or relative who resides closest to your home and who will not have to evacuate.
- If a hotel or motel is your final intended destination during an evacuation, make reservations before you leave.
- Post emergency telephone numbers by your phones and make sure your children know how and when to call 911.
- Stock non-perishable emergency supplies and a Hurricane Supply List.
- Make sure you have a radio and plenty of extra batteries.
Related: Hurricane Plan - What To Do Before The Storm
What important family documents do I need to assemble and pack?
Keep these records in a waterproof, portable container:
- Will, insurance policies, contracts, deeds, stocks and bonds
- Passports, social security cards, immunization records
- Bank account numbers
- Credit card account numbers and companies
- Inventory of valuable household goods, important telephone numbers
- Family records (birth, marriage, death certificates)
- Keep items in airtight plastic bags
- Ask your physician or pharmacist about storing prescription medications
