A few weeks ago we discussed building a Family Emergency Binder. This was a collection of all the documents you would need to rebuild your life in case of an emergency. And we stored it in a binder so, in case you had to run out of the house with no notice, you could grab the binder as you leave.
So today I want to talk about another important aspect of emergency planning. Today’s post is about building a Family Emergency Communications Plan. This is a family meeting where you all work together to build a plan so that, regardless of the emergency, you can communicate with each other if you’re not together when disaster strikes. Part of this plan is to discuss an alternate meeting place if you can’t make it home.
If your neighborhood is burning down, or under police lockdown because of a fugitive hunt (that happened to us two years ago), where will you all meet? A friend’s house? The library? A local coffee shop? It’s important to figure this out now, instead of later when cell communication might be iffy.
I know this is a distressing topic. But it’s an important topic to discuss now in a Family Emergency Communications Plan meeting, before an emergency, especially if you and your family are normally separated during the day. Luckily, a lot of this information is well laid out on the Ready.gov site, especially their tab titled Make A Plan. But since government sites can be glitchy, I will lay out the most important details in this post.
Here is a list of the basics to be discussed during your Family’s Emergency Communications Plan meeting:
- Figure out how each family member will receive information/alerts/phone calls from home and from local authorities. If the family members all have cell phones, that will help. But if you have younger children, talk to them about what to do. If the chances are good that they will be in school or daycare, or with a sports team/after school activity/religious group, talk to the schools and groups and find out what their emergency procedures are and make sure the children know. Will you meet the little ones at school? Have them go home with a neighbor? Can they go to shelter and you find them there? Ask the schools/after school activity centers about their emergency protocol so you can work that into your plan.
- Think about your pets. If none of you are home, and an emergency strikes and it will take hours to arrive home, what will happen to your pets? Can a neighbor check in? Do you have a dog sitter you can call? There may be no good answer to this, but knowing there is no answer is just as important. Now you know you need to figure this out before an emergency strikes.
- If you are all separated when an emergency hits, and can’t go home, where will you meet? Set up a meeting place that everyone can get to, even if they have to walk.
- Now that you know how you’ll receive information, decide which alerts you want to receive. Every jurisdiction has their own way of communicating, and here’s a good resource list to help you get started. There are all kinds of alerts to receive: weather/storm alerts, university alerts (for college-aged kids), local news & law enforcement alerts, national alerts, nearby airport alerts, alerts from nearby military posts/bases/forts, etc. You don’t need all of them, but discussing which alerts each family member should receive is an important part of your family emergency meeting.
- Now that you know how you’re going to communicate, and where you’re getting your information from, it’s time to talk about your emergency shelter plan. Talk about, and plan for, how to shelter in place. Then discuss the options of evacuating–where you’d go, how to get there, and what to bring with you besides your Family Emergency Binder. This discussion may take time as you all work through the pros and cons of staying and leaving and what each type of emergency would require. (we discussed the types of emergencies you’re most likely to deal with in Prep & Plan: Week 1.) Later in this series, we’ll talk in more detail about how to plan to shelter in place and how to prepare to evacuate.
- If you are going to evacuate, work out your evacuation vehicle, your evacuation route, and your relocation site. Make sure you have paper maps of the routes you are considering in case the internet/cell/satellite service goes out. You don’t want to get lost in the woods. Also, you may want to keep an extra red can of gas in the shed just in case you didn’t make it to the gas station before the emergency hit.
- Read reviews for emergency radios and choose one to purchase. If you can’t buy it now, at least you’ll know the price so you can save up for it. But you may need one if the emergency takes out the internet/cell/satellite services. Make sure is has a flashlight and can charge your cell phones. This is similar to the one I have. (I am not an Amazon affiliate so I don’t make any money off of click throughs. This is just to show you what’s available.)
- Build a Bug Our Bag, aka BOB. In a few weeks I will have a few posts devoted to this topic, but here is a FEMA list to help you get started. The basic idea is that you always have a bag (one per person/pet in the household) ready to take with you, along with your Family Emergency Binder, if you have to leave quickly. A lot goes into building these bags, and this meeting isn’t meant to discuss what’s in the bag. (that’s another meeting!). But just be aware that if you think you will ever have to evacuate, you can save yourself a lot of trouble by having BOBs for every family member/pet ready.
- If you work away from home, and for some reason you can’t drive home or use public transportation, how will you get home? Can you walk? If so, do you have walking shoes in your car or at work? Do you have a backpack to carry your belongings while you walk? Do you have the right kind of outerwear? Ask yourself, if you had to walk all the way home, how you would walk and what would you need to do it successfully regardless of the weather/season.
- If you have any medications you or family members need, how are you going to manage that? Do you have enough meds in the house in case you have to shelter in place and can’t leave for weeks? Do the meds need to be refrigerated? If so, can you travel with them? Or how will you keep them cold if you lose power? These are big questions so make sure you think of ALL your medical needs. Now is the time. Because in an emergency, it will be too late.
- Consider all disabilities your family members/friends may have. If you have to walk out of a situation, or walk home from work/school, will everyone be able to do that? If you care for people with mobility issues, your only choice may be to shelter in place (unless, of course, you’re forced to leave). While this is a difficult topic, it’s better to discuss all of your options now. There won’t be time to think clearly in an emergency.
- A few last questions to consider: Are there any language issues? Will someone in your family/group need a translator? Are there any dietary needs? Do you have any pregnant women or babies or very small children to take care of? Are there any religious/cultural concerns? Will you also be responsible for your elderly neighbor or close friends?
A few final notes:
I know all of this planning can be overwhelming and even scary. And, to be honest, it’s a huge amount of work. In fact, this entire series comes with a lot of homework. But please don’t let that put you off. Yes, there’s a lot to think about and to do but try to imagine yourself at the other end. If everything in your world falls apart, would you rather be prepared to save your family and be prepped to rebuild your life? Or would you rather be stuck in a FEMA camp, waiting for the Red Cross to help you? It’s a stark question, I know. But we all think that bad things will never happen to us, until they do, and then we’re stuck.
One of the other, most important reasons to do this work, is for others. If you are prepared with a long-term food supply, you won’t need to run to Costco when the next pandemic hits. Your family will be safe at home and that means there will be more necessary items available for others to purchase. If you end up on a closed highway in the middle of a snow storm, but have enough food, water, and blankets, you may be able to help out the family with young children who are stuck in the car next to you. Because if you’re prepared, you’re in a better position to help others. And that’s what a prepared and prepped mindset is all about.
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