How to Protect Your Family With Pre-Disaster Planning - Emergency Preparedness Plan

There are many steps that can be taken toimportant to test the plan and make sure that it
prevent harm to your family when a disasteris effective and can be accomplished by all family
strikes. The primary key to ensuring the safetymembers. This is especially important when
of your family is to plan ahead. While everysmaller children or elderly are within the home.
disaster is different the steps that need to beThe designed emergency plan should be tested
taken for safety purposes are very similar. Aunder various pretend emergencies to make sure
simple cycle will help prepare you and your familyit is suitable for all major emergencies or to let
for what needs to be done. This cycle includesyou know that the plans need to be revised
four easy step, planning, testing, practice, andunder certain circumstances.
maintenance.Now that the plan has been designed, tested, and
The first portion of this critical cycle is of theready to be used in case of emergency, it is time
utmost important. It is planning an evacuation orto remind all the members of the family of what
reaction plan appropriate for the natural disaster.needs to be done. We never want an emergency
If a fire was to take place in your home anto occur, but when it does it is time to get down
evacuation plan would be more suitable while if ato business. To make sure there is no delay in
hurricane was approaching a safety plan directedfamily response, a monthly test should be run.
at the in home safety would prove to be moreThis way all the procedures stay fresh in
valuable. For this reason, it is advised that aneveryone's mind. So when that emergency does
evacuation plan and severe weather plan beoccur there is no doubt that everyone knows
created. A few things to remember whenexactly what they need to be doing.
creating your emergency plan is to designate aFinally, the last part of the cycle is maintenance.
single location for all the family to seek out whenThe portion is just as important as the first. The
an emergency arises. This will make is easy toreason being for maintaining your emergency
account for all family members and help saveplans is that sometimes house layouts change,
valuable time in trying to move the family to afamily members switch rooms, or they simply
safer location. Secondly, this plan needs to bebecome ineffective. This is also a good time to
discussed on a regular basis with the whole familycheck those first aid kits and emergency supplies
to make sure everyone understand the plan andsuch as bottled water, canned goods, and
also knows the importance of following the planconditions of the home. An emergency plan should
and not deviating from it. Finally, a good way tobe evaluated annually to make sure you and your
help refresh younger members of the familysfamily are doing all that they can to stay safe in a
memory is by posting your emergency plans onstate of emergency.
the refrigerator and in their bedrooms. That wayThis cycle will help keep you and your family safe.
there in a stressful situation when it is time toJust remember those four easy steps: planning,
implement these plans they can easily be locatedtesting, practicing, and maintenance. Following
and followed.those rules will make sure your plans are not
Before the final plan is put into place, it ishaphazard and will keep your family safe.