Plan for the Best, Hope for the Worst. Best, Worst.

PREPARING FOR NATURAL DISASTER EMERGENCIES WILL GIVE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY THE UPPER HAND ON CALAMITY

By Janice F. Booth

Over the past months and years, in our own communities, we have experienced homes blown away by tornadoes; we’ve read accounts of communities evacuated as fires raged, watched as people fled their homes and cities as floodwaters rose. Some of us have taken precautions to prepare for unexpected and unspeakable disasters. Some of us prefer to think about those issues tomorrow, or next week, or...

Kasey Thomas, Public Information Officer with Anne Arundel County’s Office of Emergency Management, acknowledges the stress created for us as we try to plan for emergencies. She points to the very present pandemic as an emergency that has stretched the resources of our national, regional, and local government agencies, as it has individuals and families. If there is a silver lining to the pandemic, Thomas points out, it is that our counties work more closely now with the State of Maryland to expand the help they can offer to community residents. Over the past two-and-a-half years, government-directed emergency preparedness has become better coordinated and more robust.

Maryland and its counties are better prepared to help citizens deal with emergencies—tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and fires. Individually, however, we can be safer if we make our own plans for emergencies, plans that use what the State and Counties have to offer.

Planning for emergencies caused by natural disasters is stressful. There’s a lot to think about. It’s easy to procrastinate; there’s so much to do. Don’t wait; plan. Organize your

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: There are two types of information you will want to have on hand if you must leave your home; Contacts and Financial . The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has some useful checklists and templates online that can be printed and filled in. Basically, here’s what’s useful:

A list of Contacts should be included in each person’s “GO” backpack: adult, child, pet. If families are separated, those names, addresses, and numbers will be useful. If there is a key contact for everyone, be sure to note that on your list. Be sure to identify childcare phone numbers, physicians, and veterinarians, if appropriate.

RENDEZVOUS PLAN:

Prepare a simple, clear document in THREE parts: Where to meet if you are fleeing your house (fire/flood/gas leak). Make a simple escape map that a child could follow from bedroom to exit. Where should everyone gather, outside the house? (On the lawn of which neighbor? At the edge of the vegetable garden?)

Where to meet if you must leave your home, but not your town or city. A local church, community center, or designated mass-care shelter.

Where to meet out-of-state. Is there a home or cottage of a relative or family friend that everyone knows? Include the address and simple directions.

Remember: Power outages, downed cellphone towers, dead batteries all can keep you from communicating with family and friends. Have a specific safe-site, a place where everyone can reunite and regroup, away from the disaster area.

For the Financial Sheet you can decide what level of detail you’ll need. Bank accounts with Customer Care 800-numbers would seem basic. Also, your insurance company’s 800-number and your policies’ numbers. Copies of Wills, Titles, Deeds may save you trouble later.