Being organized means being prepared. This weekend in Austin we had some very severe weather, and last night I happened to catch a show on New Orleans and the upcoming hurricane season. Both things brought to mind the need for a family emergency plan... here are some questions to answer:
- How would you and your family communicate during a natural disaster?
- Do you have contacts lined up to pick up and care for your children in an emergency?
- Does your family know where would you go in your home for shelter during a tornado? Or earthquake?
- Do you have any supplies of food and water stored?
Ready.gov is a fantastic resource for planning. They have checklists and handy printable pocket guides you can fold up for your wallet. It's a great time to think through this, as tornado weather is definitely here, hurricane season is not far off, and I know some people who experienced the recent earthquakes in the midwest!
The photo shown here is of Hurricane Hortense, which I experienced when living in Puerto Rico in 1996 (photo is public domain, NOAA). I learned to make sure you have stocked up on diapers... Have you lived through a natural disaster? Share your stories and tips in our comments!
Also, check out www.texasprepares.org -- another remarkable resource for emergency preparedness. This interactive site leads you through creating your family plan, step by step. For people who are just beginning to put all this together, it seems a lot less overwhelming.
Posted by: Kristen Card | April 29, 2008 at 09:40 PM
*sigh*
This is so important Lorie. It's ironic that you posted this, as I have had a emergency preparedness kit prep form in my to-do file for... wait... over a year.
Why do we procrastinate things like this? I am originally from the Midwest so disasters were few and far between... now living (basically) on a volcanic range, I should maybe think about moving that up the list...
Sorry for the rant... great post!
Posted by: Megan @ Disorder2Order | April 29, 2008 at 10:54 PM