Designing an Emergency Response Plan

To ensure the safety and the wellbeing of your family, the most important thing to do is build a plan. You can do so by following these easy steps:

• Identify evacuation routes
• Include at least two meeting places, one outside your home and one outside the impacted area.
• Establish a family contact in and out of state to inform if and when you decide to evacuate.
• Make a list of emergency contacts of all family members living in the household and their contact information.
• Determine the best routes to escape from your home in the case of a fire or some other form of blockage preventing you from escaping.
• Find safe spots in or near your home for every type of disaster.
• If you have children in the home, you can make this a scavenger hunt to make sure they play a crucial role in understanding these plan components.
• Include a copy of everyone’s identification cards, birth certificates, Social Security cards, and all medical information.
• Include a copy of all insurance papers (health, car, house, and things of value) periodically to confirm your coverage and records.
• If you have pets, make a list of all pet information: name, medicine, vet, and other vital information.

Be sure to practice your plan with your family to ensure they know how to follow the plan in its entirety.