In the event of a sudden
emergency such as a hurricane, you may have just minutes to gather your family
and important papers, and get out of your house, possibly for good. Are you
prepared? Where would you go? What would you take with you?
With
preparation and practice, you stand the best chance of getting out with what you
and your family need, and ending up in the right place.
Planning ahead
is crucial; this five-step plan can help get you and your family on the road to
safety:
1. Arrange Your Evacuation Ahead of Time
- Identify where you can go in the event of an evacuation. Try to have more
than one option: the home of a friend or family member in another town, a hotel
or a shelter. Keep the phone numbers and addresses of these locations handy.
- Map out your primary route and a backup route in case roads are blocked or
impassable. Make sure you have a map of the area available.
- In case your family members are separated before or during the evacuation,
identify a specific place to meet and ask an out-of-town friend or family member
to act as a contact person.
- Listen to NOAA [link: http://www.noaa.gov/] Weather Radio or local radio or TV
stations for evacuation instructions. If advised to evacuate, do so
immediately.
2. Create a Home Inventory
Create a
complete home inventory of your personal property. A home inventory will help
you ensure that you have purchased enough insurance to replace your possessions.
It will also speed the claims process, and will substantiate losses for income
tax purposes.
The I.I.I. has created the Know your Stuff home inventory
software, which can be found at www.knowyourstuff.org. This free, downloadable
software helps you organize and list your possessions on your computer and then
and burn the finished inventory onto a CD-ROM; you can also print a copy for
your records. Whether you do your inventory electronically or on paper, make
sure you keep a copy with your important documents and a second copy in a safe
place outside your home (in a safe-deposit box, or with an out-of-town friend or
family member).
3. Plan What to Take
- Medicines, prescriptions and first aid kit
- Bottled water
- Clothing and bedding (sleeping bags, pillows)
- Flashlight, battery-powered radio and extra batteries
- Special items for infants or elderly or disabled family members
- Computer hard drive or laptop
- Photographs
- Pet food and other items for pets (litter boxes, leashes)
4.
Gather Important Documents
Keep important documents in a safe place
that you can access easily. In the event of an evacuation take the following
documents with you:
- Insurance policies
- Prescriptions
- Birth and marriage certificates
- Passports
- Drivers license or personal identification
- Social Security cards
- Recent tax returns
- Employment information
- Wills, deeds and recent tax returns
- Stocks, bonds and other negotiable certificates
- Bank, savings and retirement account numbers
- Home inventory
5. Take the Ten-Minute Challenge
To
find out if you are ready, do a real-time test. Give yourself just 10 minutes to
get your family and belongings into the car and on the road to safety. By
planning ahead and practicing, you should be able to gather your family members
and pets, along with the most important items they will need, calmly and
efficiently, with a minimum of stress and confusion.
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