Earthquakes, tornados, blizzards, wild fires, and floods. Just a few of the things that have been happening in the last few months. Here in Florida, we aren't far from hurricane season. And of course there's always house fires that could happen. Are you ready for them? Do you have a plan?
There's a great guide put out by FEMA called "Are You Ready?" It lays out tons of hazards and what you should do before, during, and after these events. I encourage you to look it over, especially those sections that pertain to your specific area.
We've talked a lot about food, and emergency kits, but one thing I've neglected is that you need a plan. Do you know what the plan is if there is a fire in your house? Who gets the baby? Do older kids know what to look for? If you answered no, you really need a plan, and to rehearse the plan. The moment the smoke alarm goes off is not the time to be figuring out what to do. Same thing with tornadoes. When the siren goes, or the weather radio goes off, you need to know what your plan is. For larger events like hurricanes and wild fires, where are you going if you need to evacuate?
What about if you are at work when disaster strikes? Where will you meet up? There's a good chance during major disasters that you won't be able to contact your loved ones to tell them where to meet, so if you have a plan in place to meet at x,y,z place, then you'll know ahead of time.
FEMA also has a great page covering things you'll need to plan in advance, you can check that out here.
Remember, the time to plan is before you need it.
