EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN
Preparedness for disaster extends far beyond storing food, water and other supplies. The safety of your family and the immediate
actions that they take when disaster strikes are the highest priority. Most disasters occur without prior warning and you may
lose the ability to communicate with your family. Therefore, it is vitally important that you and your family take the time
to prepare an Emergency Action Plan well in advance of an emergency. Use these Guidelines to assist you in completing your Emergency
Action Plan and your family Emergency Cards. You can download an editable Emergency Action Plan form this page.
Complete
Your Emergency Action Plan Form
These guidelines will help you complete the Emergency Action Plan form. It is important
that you list all information as thoroughly and accurately as possible.
MEETING PLACES:
During a disaster, it is possible that
you can lose the ability to communicate with your family or group. If you and your spouse are at work or your children are at school,
you will need a plan to meet at a predetermined place. This may be your home but if it is inaccessible, you will need alternate
locations. Keep in mind that if your children are at school, they will be subject to the school’s emergency plan. You
may need to retrieve them from the school or the school’s evacuation site.
List at least three local meeting places and one out-of-town
location. Prioritize your local meeting places from the most likely to the least. Instruct your family to try to get to
the highest priority meeting place first (#1). This may be your home, a friend or family member’s home or some other location. If you or your family is cut off from the first meeting place, you should proceed to the second and so on. If your entire area
is compromised, it may be necessary to meet at the out-of-town location.
The logic behind this procedure is
to effectively narrow the search for family members that have been cut off; making it possible to reunite your family as quickly as
possible during or after a disaster.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Place your most important contact information in this section. If you and your family cannot contact each other directly, it may be necessary to leave messages with a local contact. It is
a very real possibility that local communications may be interrupted, and it will be easier to call out-of-state. List at least
two out-of-state contacts for this contingency. Instruct your family to use these contacts and leave messages for each other
if necessary. List work and school numbers for quick reference.
ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFORMATION:
Place all other important
contact information in this section. Be sure that you list all contact numbers and e-mail addresses for your family along with
any other pertinent contacts.
SCHOOL AND WORK EVACUATION LOCATIONS:
Check with your employer and the schools that your family
attends to find out if they have an emergency evacuation plan. Place the evacuation locations in this section so that you will
know where to retrieve your family members if there is an emergency. If your workplaces or schools do not have a working emergency
plan you might consider volunteering to help organize one.
PET INFORMATION:
Most emergency shelters do not accept pets. Therefore, it’s important that you make prior arrangements for the care of your pets during a disaster. You might want to check
with your pet’s veterinarian to find out if there are any local emergency protocols in affect for the care of animals during a disaster. It’s also important to make sure that you have plenty of pet food and pet related supplies on hand to care for your animals if necessary.
Place
your pet information and any special instructions in this section.
EMERGENCY INSTRUCTIONS:
In this section, you will outline
step-by-step instructions for your family if an emergency occurs. These instructions should work in conjunction with any school
and workplace emergency plans. It’s important that you and your family discuss these instructions so everyone completely understands
what they should do. Be sure to plan for all contingencies, such as, “If you are at school,” “If you are at home,” “If you are
at work” or “If you are at a friends house.”
EXAMPLE:
If you are at school:
Step 1: Stay at school and
do what the school officials say. We will pick you up there or at the school’s evacuation site.
Step 2: Try to call home
or our cell phones. If you can’t get through, don’t worry. We know where you are.
Step 3: Try to call Uncle Scott
(out-of-state contact) and leave a message for us with him.
Step 4: If you have to leave, try to leave us a note on the school bulletin board.
If you are at home:
Step 1:
ETC.
