Disaster Preparedness: A Checklist
National Crime Prevention
Council
- Make a list of important phone numbers, such as non-emergency numbers for the police and fire departments, FBI field office, and local emergency management office, and post it by your telephone. Make sure children know how to dial 911 or “0” in an emergency.
- Develop a communications plan for your family. Choose someone who does not live with you (preferably out-of-town) that you and other family members can contact to check on each other in the event that you are separated during a disaster. Carry the number in your wallet.
- Establish a meeting place for family members if home or neighborhood evacuation is necessary. Pick one place near your home and one outside your neighborhood in case you can’t return after a disaster.
- Assemble and emergency preparedness kit that contains the following supplies:
o Three- to five-day supply of
water (one gallon per person per day)
o Food that will not spoil and
requires no cooking
o First-aid kit and needed
medicine
o Emergency tools, such as
battery-powered radio, cell phone, flashlight
o Extra batteries
o Personal items like toilet
paper and plastic garbage bags
o Change of clothing and
blankets for each person
o Portable generator if possible
- Take a basic course in CPR and first-aid.
- Learn how to turn off water, gas, and electricity at main switches.
- Learn about emergency plans for you children’s school or day care center.
- Draw a floor plan of your home and mark two escape routes from each room. Practice your evacuation plan.
- Know your community’s evacuation routes.
- Work with you Neighborhood Watch group or civic association to create a community disaster preparedness plan.