September is National Preparedness Month. This is a great time to assess where you and your family are in regards to being prepared for various types of emergencies. Here are a few resources you might find helpful.
Protecting Your Important Documents
Whether you just have to leave your home for a few days due to a temporary threat or your home is destroyed by fire or flood, compiling your essential documents is a must. Having all of your documents in one place will make it easy for you to grab them quickly if you need to leave in a hurry. Here are a couple of articles with tips for compiling your essential documents and storing them in a safe manner.
Digitizing Your Important Personal Documents
https://news.leavitt.com/personal/digitizing-your-important-personal-documents/
Compiling Your Essential Documents
https://news.leavitt.com/personal/compiling-essential-documents/
Emergency Communication Plan
Disasters can strike anytime and anywhere. Your children may be scattered throughout town in different schools while you are working out of town. Or maybe disaster strikes the area where you and your family are vacationing. It is important to have an emergency communication plan in place to address these different scenarios and ensure everyone in your family knows the plan. Here are some tips and resources for building an effective emergency communication plan.
Updating Your Family Emergency Plan
https://news.leavitt.com/personal/family-emergency-plan/
Make a Plan
https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan
Call a Family Meeting and Make a Plan
https://www.ready.gov/kids/make-a-plan
Create Your Family Emergency Communication Plan
Preparing to Leave at a Moment’s Notice
Test your family’s ability to leave at a moment’s notice by conducting an emergency drill with your family. Test how long it takes to gather all family members, essential supplies, and important documents. You may be surprised at how quickly the time passes when you are trying to leave in an emergency. Simple things such as gathering diapers and a change of clothes for your children, finding important medications, and putting gas in the car can take more time than you expect. Here are some tips for preparing to leave at a moment’s notice.
Preparing a 72-Hour Kit
http://www.redcross.org/get-help/prepare-for-emergencies/be-red-cross-ready/get-a-kit
Evacuating Yourself and Your Family
https://www.ready.gov/evacuating-yourself-and-your-family
Preparing for an Evacuation
https://news.leavitt.com/personal/preparing-for-an-evacuation/
While we may not be able to foresee every emergency that will come our way, making a few preparations ahead of time can make a big difference in your ability to “weather the storm.”
