Last summer, we had an emergency at my parent’s home. The electrical box overloaded, showering the room where one of my disabled sisters was sitting with sparks, starting several small fires. Smoke alarms and crackling electricity punctuated the sudden darkness. My son calmly gathered the five younger children, including my infant niece, and took them to the safe meeting point outside. His quick action freed the adults to deal with the emergency. We were lucky, but we also had a plan that we practiced over and over again.
In the last year alone, we have seen hurricanes, forest fires, tornadoes, and flooding devastate communities across the nation and world. It has been a scary time, but knowing we have a plan and that my son was able to act on it without direction, helps to ease my fears. We use April {National Disaster Preparedness Month} as a reminder to reevaluate our plan, update our emergency book, and help others make a plan.
Our emergency plan adventure began through the Boy Scouts of America when my son was just a cub scout but quickly spread from there as we helped our extended family create their own plans meant to help a variety of people. I started by using my favorite general research source: Pinterest. You can view the board I created here. I will share a breakdown of the steps I took.
Figure Out Your Needs
The first thing you need to do is figure out is your needs. My family is small but we have two dogs to worry about too. Our kit has enough food, water, and shelter for three humans and two large dogs for 72 hours. My son is 12 so he has a backpack to carry his own supplies as do our two large dogs. Remember to take into account how much a person can reasonably carry if you have to walk a long distance. There are several examples of 72-hour kits on my Pinterest board. You can also use websites like Ready.gov and The National Safety Council for more planning information.
Make A Plan
Once you identify the needs of your group and their skills, come up with a plan. We have multiple plans depending on the emergency. We have spent a lot of time talking about and acting out our roles. My son has high functioning autism so for him, acting out a plan is very important so he remembers it. We live near a river that floods regularly, so we have plans for serious flooding and what serious flooding actually means. We also live close enough to the woods making forest fire a consideration for us as well. Don’t be afraid to plan for the things that worry you.
Bug Out Bags {our version of 72-hour kits}
This is essentially a bag or kit filled with essentials. We made our bug out bags out of old hiking bags because we were updating our camping gear. There are plenty of other bags that you can use. My niece found hers at a dollar store and my parents have a big, sealed {new} trash can that stores everything they need. Baby wipes are a great extra item to include. My husband also found great solar-powered battery packs to power cell phones.
The Red Book
Our Red Book is one of two and gets updated at least once a year. One of these is on the shelf with our 72-hour kits and one is in a water/fireproof safe. Inside we keep copies of important documents, medical information, pictures with detailed descriptions, and vet records. For my parents and my disabled sisters, this includes detailed instructions about medications and a baclofen pump.
This is just what we use in our emergency plan. Each family has different needs. What is your plan should disaster strike?
