Have you practiced your family emergency plan lately?

Hurricane Irene passed Georgia by with not even a wisp of disaster. But you can be sure that a new emergency will arise soon. So let me suggest that this would be a good time to begin family emergency planning or, if you already have a plan, to practice it.

Emergency preparedness starts at home. You should have a personal/family disaster plan, and it should be written down and practiced. At a very minimum, you should have a family fire disaster plan.

Some things (probably not exhastive) that need to be in your plan:

• · Be prepared to exist for at least 3 days without outside help.
• · Prepare your home—secure all outside accessories—they can become missiles.
• · Prepare for electricity outages.
• · Videotape or take pictures of the contents of your home, and store them off-site.
• · If you are told to leave your home, plan beforehand where you will go.
• · Have a week’s supply of non-perishable foods for your family and pets.
• · Prepare 2-liter bottles for an emergency supply of water.
• · Make sure you have a flood-insurance rider to your homeowner’s policy.
• · Determine where the safest place in your home is for wind and water emergencies.
• · For fire emergencies, have a rally point where everyone in the house reports as they exit the house.
• · Make sure you have at least a 30-day supply of prescription drugs, ask your physician for nonperishable prescriptions for necessary drugs.
• · Stock plenty of batteries for your flashlights, radios, cameras, phone and the like.
• · As a situation develops, charge all cell phones and the like.
• · Be sure you have a battery powered or crank weather radio for warnings.
• · Locate valuable papers and put them in a safe, off-site location, or secure them in a watertight envelop to take them with you.
• · Equip you home with working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
• · If your bedrooms are on a higher floor, make sure you have emergency ladders and know how to use them.
• · Determine environmental factors, such as trees overhanging your home that need to be addressed before disaster.
• Try to have an emergency supply of cash on hand, ATM won't work without electricity.
  

Having a plan is only the beginning. Family discussions and practice are needed. Some disasters are slow moving and give time to get ready. A fire in your home at 2AM is a catastrophe in the making, giving little time to act to save yourself and your family. Prepare your own plan, and have a fire drill some dark night.

It might save your life.