Make A Plan

Advance Preparations

You should plan in advance what you will do in an emergency.

Be prepared to assess the situation, use common sense and use whatever you have on hand to take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Think about the places where your family spends time: school, work and other places you frequent.

Ask about their emergency plans.

Find out how they will communicate with families during an emergency. If they do not have an emergency plan, consider helping them develop one.

Create A Family Emergency Plan
Be prepared for a variety of situations--even if you're separated

Meet with your family and discuss why you need to prepare for disaster. Explain the dangers of fire, severe weather and earthquakes to children. Plan to share responsibilities and work together as a team.

• Discuss the types of disasters that are most likely to happen. Explain what to do in each case.
• Pick two places to meet: 1. Right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, like a fire. 2. Outside your neighborhood in case you can’t return home. Everyone must know the address and phone number.
• Ask an out-of-state friend to be your “family contact.” After a disaster, it’s often easier to call long distance. Other family members should call this person and tell them where they are. Everyone must know your contact’s phone number.
• Discuss what to do in an evacuation. Plan how to take care of your pets.
• Write down all of these contact numbers and information on the family emergency contact card (download one here).

• Post emergency telephone numbers by phones (fire, police, ambulance, etc.).
• Teach children how and when to call 911 or your local Emergency Medical Services number for emergency help.
• Show each family member how and when to turn off the water, gas and electricity at the main switches.
• Check if you have adequate insurance coverage.
• Teach each family member how to use the fire extinguisher (ABC type), and show them where it’s kept.
• Install smoke detectors on each level of your home, especially near bedrooms.
• Conduct a home hazard hunt.
• Stock emergency supplies and assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit.
• Take a Red Cross first aid and CPR class.
• Determine the best escape routes from your home. Find two ways out of each room.
• Find the safe spots in your home for each type of disaster.

• Test your smoke detectors monthly and change the batteries at least once a year.
• Quiz your kids every six months so they remember what to do.
• Conduct fire and emergency evacuation drills.
• Replace stored water every three months and stored food every six months.
• Test and recharge your fire extinguisher(s) according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Work and School Plan
Ask about plans at the places your family frequents

Like individuals and families, schools, daycare providers, workplaces, neighborhoods and apartment buildings should all have site-specific emergency plans.

Ask about plans at the places where your family spends the most time: work, school and other places you frequent. If none exist, consider volunteering to help develop one. You will be better prepared to safely reunite your family and loved ones during an emergency if you think ahead, and communicate with others in advance.

Neighborhoods and Apartment Buildings

A community working together during an emergency makes sense.

• Talk to your neighbors about how you can work together during an emergency.
• Find out if anyone has specialized equipment like a power generator, or expertise such as medical knowledge, that might help in a crisis.
• Decide who will check on elderly or disabled neighbors .
• Make back-up plans for children in case you can't get home in an emergency.
• Sharing plans and communicating in advance is a good strategy.

Schools and Daycare

If you are a parent, or guardian of an elderly or disabled adult, make sure schools and daycare providers have emergency response plans.

• Ask how they will communicate with families during a crisis.
• Ask if they store adequate food, water and other basic supplies.
• Find out if they are prepared to "shelter-in-place" if need be, and where they plan to go if they must get away.

For more information on developing emergency preparedness plans for schools, please visit the U.S. Department of Education at www.ed.gov/emergencyplan.

Businesses

Every year emergencies take their toll on business and industry. Businesses can limit injuries and dollars lost and return to normal operations more quickly if they plan ahead.

If you are an employer, make sure your workplace has a building evacuation plan that is regularly practiced.

• Take a critical look at your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to determine if it is secure or if it could feasibly be upgraded to better filter potential contaminants, and be sure you know how to turn it off if you need to.
• Think about what to do if your employees can't go home. Have employees make a family plan for emergencies.
• Make sure you have appropriate supplies on hand.

For more detailed information on emergency planning for businesses, please visit www.fema.gov/pdf/library/bizindst.pdf

(Information presented here is courtest of www.ready.gov)

High Rise Buildings
Be prepared for a variety of situations--even if you're separated

Click here to view, download or print a visual guide with graphics.

• Note where the closest emergency exit is.
• Be sure you know another way out in case your first choice is blocked.
• Take cover against a desk or table if things are falling.
• Move away from file cabinets, bookshelves or other things that might fall.
• Face away from windows and glass.
• Move away from exterior walls.
• Determine if you should stay put, "shelter-in-place" or get away.
• Listen for and follow instructions .
• Take your emergency supply kit, unless there is reason to believe it has been contaminated.
• Do not use elevators .
• Stay to the right while going down stairwells to allow emergency workers to come up .

Stay Or Go?
Guidelines for making a decision whether to stay put or get away

Depending on your circumstances and the nature of the attack, the first important decision is whether you stay put or get away. You should understand and plan for both possibilities. Use common sense and available information, including what you are learning here, to determine if there is immediate danger.

In any emergency, local authorities may or may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening and what you should do. However, you should monitor TV or radio news reports for information or official instructions as they become available. If you're specifically told to evacuate or seek medical treatment, do so immediately.

Staying Put

Whether you are at home, work or elsewhere, there may be situations when it's simply best to stay where you are and avoid any uncertainty outside.

There are other circumstances when staying put and creating a barrier between yourself and potentially contaminated air outside, a process known as "sealing the room," is a matter of survival. Use available information to assess the situation. If you see large amounts of debris in the air, or if local authorities say the air is badly contaminated, you may want to take this kind of action.

The process used to seal the room is considered a temporary protective measure to create a barrier between you and potentially contaminated air outside. It is a type of sheltering in place that requires preplanning.

How to "Shelter in Place" and "Sealing the Room"

• Bring your family and pets inside .
• Lock doors, close windows, air vents and fireplace dampers.
• Turn off fans, air conditioning and forced air heating systems.
• Take your emergency supply kit unless you have reason to believe it has been contaminated.
• Go into an interior room with as few windows as possible.
• Seal all windows, doors and air vents with plastic sheeting and duct tape. Consider measuring and cutting the sheeting in advance to save time.
• Be prepared to improvise and use what you have on hand to seal gaps so that you create a barrier between yourself and any contamination.
• Local authorities may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening and what you should do. However, you should watch TV, listen to the radio or check the Internet often for official news and instructions as they become available.

Getting Away

There may be conditions under which you will decide to get away, or there may be situations when you are ordered to leave. Plan how you will assemble your family and anticipate where you will go. Choose several destinations in different directions so you have options in an emergency.

Create an evacuation plan:

• Plan places where your family will meet, both within and outside of your immediate neighborhood.
• If you have a car, keep a half tank of gas in it at all times in case you need to evacuate.
• Become familiar with alternate routes and other means of transportation out of your area.
• If you do not have a car , plan how you will leave if you have to.
• Take your emergency supply kit unless you have reason to believe it has been contaminated.
• Lock the door behind you.
• Take your pets with you, but understand that only service animals may be permitted in public shelters. Plan how you will care for your pets in an emergency.

If time allows:

• Call or email the "out-of-state" contact in your family communications plan.
• Tell them where you are going.
• If there is damage to your home and you are instructed to do so, shut off water, gas and electricity before leaving.
• Leave a note telling others when you left and where you are going.
• Check with neighbors who may need a ride.

Learn how and when to turn off utilities:
If there is damage to your home or you are instructed to turn off your utilities:

• Locate the electric, gas and water shut-off valves.
• Keep necessary tools near gas and water shut-off valves.
• Teach family members how to turn off utilities.
• If you turn the gas off, a professional must turn it back on. Do not attempt to do this yourself.

The following information has been prepared by the Humane Society of the United States in cooperation with the American Red Cross

In the event of a disaster, if you must evacuate, the most important thing you can do to protect your pets is to evacuate them, too. Leaving pets behind, even if you try to create a safe place for them, is likely to result in their being injured, lost, or worse. So prepare now for the day when you and your pets may have to leave your home.

1. Have a Safe Place To Take Your Pets

Red Cross disaster shelters cannot accept pets because of states' health and safety regulations and other considerations. Service animals who assist people with disabilities are the only animals allowed in Red Cross shelters. It may be difficult, if not impossible, to find shelter for your animals in the midst of a disaster, so plan ahead.

• Contact hotels and motels outside your immediate area to check policies on accepting pets and restrictions on number, size, and species. Ask if "no pet" policies could be waived in an emergency. Keep a list of "pet friendly" places, including phone numbers, with other disaster information and supplies. If you have notice of an impending disaster, call ahead for reservations.
• Ask friends, relatives, or others outside the affected area whether they could shelter your animals. If you have more than one pet, they may be more comfortable if kept together, but be prepared to house them separately.
• Prepare a list of boarding facilities and veterinarians who could shelter animals in an emergency; include 24-hour phone numbers.
• Ask local animal shelters if they provide emergency shelter or foster care for pets in a disaster. Animal shelters may be overburdened caring for the animals they already have as well as those displaced by a disaster, so this should be your last resort.

2. Assemble a Portable Pet Disaster Supplies Kit

Whether you are away from home for a day or a week, you'll need essential supplies. Keep items in an accessible place and store them in sturdy containers that can be carried easily (duffle bags, covered trash containers, etc.). Your pet disaster supplies kit should include:

• Medications and medical records (stored in a waterproof container) and a first aid kit.
• Sturdy leashes, harnesses, and/or carriers to transport pets safely and ensure that your animals can't escape.
• Current photos of your pets in case they get lost.
• Food, potable water, bowls, cat litter/pan, and can opener.
• Information on feeding schedules, medical conditions, behavior problems, and the name and number of your veterinarian in case you have to foster or board your pets.
• Pet beds and toys, if easily transportable.

3. Know What To Do As a Disaster Approaches

• Often, warnings are issued hours, even days, in advance. At the first hint of disaster, act to protect your pet.
• Call ahead to confirm emergency shelter arrangements for you and your pets.
• Check to be sure your pet disaster supplies are ready to take at a moment's notice.
• Bring all pets into the house so that you won't have to search for them if you have to leave in a hurry.
• Make sure all dogs and cats are wearing collars and securely fastened, up-to-date identification. Attach the phone number and address of your temporary shelter, if you know it, or of a friend or relative outside the disaster area. You can buy temporary tags or put adhesive tape on the back of your pet's ID tag, adding information with an indelible pen.

You may not be home when the evacuation order comes. Find out if a trusted neighbor would be willing to take your pets and meet you at a prearranged location. This person should be comfortable with your pets, know where your animals are likely to be, know where your pet disaster supplies kit is kept, and have a key to your home. If you use a petsitting service, they may be available to help, but discuss the possibility well in advance.

Planning and preparation will enable you to evacuate with your pets quickly and safely. But bear in mind that animals react differently under stress. Outside your home and in the car, keep dogs securely leashed. Transport cats in carriers. Don't leave animals unattended anywhere they can run off. The most trustworthy pets may panic, hide, try to escape, or even bite or scratch. And, when you return home, give your pets time to settle back into their routines. Consult your veterinarian if any behavior problems persist.

About Other Pets

Birds
Birds should be transported in a secure travel cage or carrier. In cold weather, wrap a blanket over the carrier and warm up the car before placing birds inside. During warm weather, carry a plant mister to mist the birds' feathers periodically. Do not put water inside the carrier during transport.Try to keep the carrier in a quiet area. Do not let the birds out of the cage or carrier.

Reptiles
Snakes can be transported in a pillowcase but they must be transferred to more secure housing when they reach the evacuation site. If your snakes require frequent feedings, carry food with you. Take a water bowl large enough for soaking as well as a heating pad. When transporting house lizards, follow the same directions as for birds.

Pocket Pets
Small mammals (hamsters, gerbils, etc.) should be transported in secure carriers suitable for maintaining the animals while sheltered. Take bedding materials, food bowls, and water bottles

Return to the Be Prepared Stamford Home Page

Page last updated: June 7, 2006