Be Prepared!

Horizons in Hemophilia, September 2011 

By Karen Geney, Compliance Officer

September is National Preparedness Month.  While emergency or disaster planning may sound like something only businesses should be worried about, do you know what YOU would do in case of an emergency if you had to leave your home quickly?  An emergency can take many different forms so it pays to be prepared.

Very simply, there are three steps to being prepared for an emergency:
1. Have a kit of emergency supplies.
2. Make a plan.
3. Be informed.

What kind of emergency are we talking about?   It might be an emergency where you have to leave your home suddenly or it might be a situation that requires you to stay at home, but the power is out.  Since an emergency or disaster can happen at any time, it’s important to be prepared at places where you spend large amounts of time such as your car or at home or work.

Many people find that they need more than one plan.  If you had to evacuate your home because of wildfires or flooding, you would need to have items that you could grab quickly and run.  However, if there is an ice storm or a tornado, the roads are impassable and you have no power, you need what is called a "shelter in place" plan.

Your family may not be together when an emergency happens.  How will you contact each other? Many people are dependent on their cell phones.  What if cell service isn't working as happened during the recent earthquake in Virginia?   If you aren't able to contact family members, having a meeting place set up in advance may be a good idea.  You might decide to meet at the home of a relative who lives in another area. 

Think about your specific circumstances: For example, do you have pets?  Older adults who live with you?  A family member with a bleeding disorder or disability?

This isn't a difficult process, so why not take the first step today?  There are plenty of great (and free) resources available to help you develop your own emergency plan.  The links below offer guides to help you write an emergency plan and lists of useful items to keep in your emergency kit(s).

https://www.ready.gov/america/publications/allpubs.html

This website has some great resources: https://www.onestorm.org/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=/OnePlan.   If you want to complete a plan on-line you can do that (although it does require a free registration).

If you need to find a shelter, use this link that is updated every 30 minutes by the Red Cross:
https://app.redcross.org/nss-app.