Families can cope with
disasters by preparing in advance and working together as a team. If something
were to happen, how would you contact one another, how would you get to a safe
place, and what would you do in different emergency situations? Planning what
to do before a disaster strikes provides the best protection for you and your
family.
Be Informed
There’s no shortage of information
and good ideas on how to prepare in the case of a disaster. Find out what
evacuation routes are near you, how your community broadcasts emergency
information and what emergency plans exist in places you and your family
frequently spend time. Learn how other people and their families are preparing,
and share your own thoughts.
Because you and your family
may not be together when a disaster hits, it’s important to create a
communication plan to help you and your loved ones connect and get help.
The Livingston County
Emergency Planning Commission is leading an effort to educate the residents of
our county about being prepared for any emergency. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior
Services has provided Ready in 3 informational booklets “Planning for
Emergencies: Three Steps to be Prepared, A Family Safety Guide,” including a
hard copy Family Plan. The handouts have
been distributed to five locations in the community for your convenience. You can pick up a copy at the Health Center,
Livingston County Library, CMU, City Hall or the Courthouse at the County
Clerk’s office.
Make a Plan
Once you’ve gathered some
information, it’s time to put it to use. Make a plan for you and your family,
and make sure you all can connect in case of an emergency. Test your plan with
some questions, like:
•Who’s
counting on me, and who can I count on?
•Where
should we all meet?
•Who
could I contact to check in, especially someone far from the area of an
emergency?
•Does
anyone I know depend on electrically-powered medical equipment? Do we have a
fully-charged back-up battery?
•If
I get regular care for a chronic health condition, where could I go if the
facility nearby closes?
Because different disasters
may require you to go to different places, make sure you identify a meeting
place in your neighborhood, a meeting place just outside your neighborhood, and
a meeting place out of town. Review these plans with all members of your family
and don’t forget to consider what you would do with your pets who may not be allowed
in emergency shelters.
More Tips:
Identify an out-of-town
contact, such as a friend or relative, who family members can call to let them
know they are safe. It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to
call across town, because phone lines can be jammed. An out-of-town contact may
be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.
Teach your family members
how to text. It may seem like second nature to some of us, but not everyone
texts. During an emergency it’s often easier to get a text message delivered
rather than a phone call.
Subscribe to an emergency
alert system. Sign up for the Textcaster Emergency Alert program through our
website at www.livcohealthcenter.com, or the City of Chillicothe website under
Public Safety Information. Post
emergency telephone numbers by home phones or save them in your cell phone
(fire, police, ambulance, etc.).
A thorough plan could save
your life and the lives of your loved ones. You don’t have to build it alone. Pick
up a physical copy of “Planning for Emergencies” at one of the Chillicothe
locations listed above, or visit the National Library of Medicine website to
find free mobile apps, Ready.gov or the Missouri Department of Health website
at http://health.mo.gov/emergencies/readyin3/.
Sources:
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and US Department of Health
No comments:
Post a Comment