The next time disaster strikes, you may not have much time to act. PREPARE NOW for a sudden emergency and discuss ideas with your family to create an Emergency Plan.

People don’t plan to fail: they fail to plan! In this busy, hectic world anything can happen. You and family members could be anywhere: at home, at work, shopping, at school, on the road, and it could be hours¸if not days, before help is available.

PLEASE make some time in your busy lives to prepare for a disaster…a few minutes now could possibly save a life when disaster hits!

1. Ask an out-of-state friend or relative to be your “family contact” in the event of a disaster that finds your family members separated and out of contact. This person should live at least 100 miles away. Long distance phone lines were “hardened” years ago to withstand nuclear attack and are quite resistant to damage caused by disasters.

After a disaster, if local pones are down, as soon as possible all family members call this person to tell him or her how and where they are and to find out how other family members are doing.
· Enter this person’s name and phone numbers on the card.

2. If a fire breaks out in your home and you must evacuate, have a ‘buddy’ system to make sure no one gets left behind. You should have a reunion point near your home identified as the place where you will all go. This way you will know right away that all are safe and no one will go back to hunt for someone who is already safe.

This can be at the corner by the mailbox, across the street at a neighbor’s tree, etc. It should be far enough from the house to be safe and also leave space for fire equipment to park. The most important thing is that each and everyone knows just where it is and that they all should go there immediately after leaving the house.

You can fill out as many cards on the back of this sheet as you need and cut them out. Or you may want to make a copy on card stock.

On the back of the card you may want to tape two quarters for a pay phone. Pay phones are part of the emergency services phone network and are high on the priority list to be restored to service. (If your cell phones are working, use them.)

You can also use the back of the card to provide other emergency information. Things like your Doctor’s name and number, insurance policy numbers, critical medical information, etc.