Are You Prepared For The Next Emergency?
It’s been two years since Super Storm Sandy ravaged the Tri-State Region, destroying thousands of homes and leaving millions without electricity. Are you prepared for the next emergency? And we are not just talking about hurricanes, but fire, terrorism, power outages, snowstorms, and more.
It always pays to expect the unexpected. Here are three basic steps to be better prepared:
- Develop A Household Emergency Plan
Sit down with the members of your household and draw up a simple plan and keep a physical copy in a place easily accessible to all. Your plan should outline the following:
- Emergency contact info including mobile and land-line phone numbers, social media handles, and email addresses
- All medication and prescription information
- The stock of supplies on-hand (e.g. dry food, flashlights, batteries, staples, device chargers, and bottled water, etc.)
- Two specific reunion locations, one close by and another away from your neighborhood
- Contact Your Building’s Managing Agent
- Get a copy of the disaster protocol from your managing agent
- Keep it on file and make all household members aware of:
- How the building will communicate with residents in the event of an emergency
- What the contingency plan is for loss of power, elevators, and/or water
- Make Plans For Staying In Your Home
If you are evacuated, services should be available to you. But be prepared to ride out the event in your own home. You need to be prepared for an extended stay without your normal creature comforts. Here are some tips on staying in your home for an extended period of time:
- Have a copy of your household emergency plan
- Intelligently ration your stockpile of food, water, and other supplies
- Lock doors, close windows and air vents
- Turn off fans, air conditioning and/or forced air heating units
- If you have children at school, wait for a school official to confirm that it is OK for you to pick them up
Like insurance, the best outcome of emergency planning is to not need it. But if you do, you will be glad you are ready.
