How To Prepare For a Natural Disaster This article is reproduced with permission from OnMAS, the magazine for MAS members. For more articles like these visit www.on.mas.co.nz Natural disasters are stressful and frightening events that can happen at any time. Here are some useful tips to help you out in times of an emergency. Check your emergency kit. Use the information provided on the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management sponsored website, Get Ready, to help plan your emergency kit.
Make a plan. Make a plan with your family/flatmates/friends to get through an emergency. Fill in the template provided on the Get Ready website, stick it on the fridge and make sure everyone knows the plan.
Create fun practice drills for the family. Use different scenarios such as fire, flooding, earthquake, and tsunami so that everyone is familiar with what to do.
Talk to your neighbours. It's nice to know that if you're away from home when a disaster strikes, someone is close by to grab your pets or turn off the mains.
Keep emergency numbers and important information handy. Make sure to include the details of local relief centres and evacuation routes.
SEPTEMBER 2021
Where possible, secure large and heavy furniture. These should be items such as bookcases, televisions, and art.
Keep a soft copy of all your important documents. Have these handy on a secure server or mobile hard drive. Keep a hard copy with your emergency kit and save all your policy numbers in your phone for easy access.
What to do before a flood Inside your home • •
Make sure everything of importance to you is in a safe place and in a waterproof bag, for example, jewellery, documents, personal items, medicines and other valuables.
Move what household items you can to higher places. Put furniture and rugs up onto beds and tables – place electrical items on top of furniture and cupboards. Be careful if you're putting things up in your roof space or on an upper level, as these areas may not be able to safely support the extra weight.
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