Are you prepared for emergencies & natural disasters? These essential questions will help you create & put your crisis plan into action

September marks National Preparedness Month, and to help you build not just an emergency plan, but confidence in your personal safety, we’ve put together this list of helpful questions.

Each one will nudge you in the right direction when it comes to identifying and preparing for the unique safety hazards that can happen in your local area.

What Safety Risks & Natural Disasters Commonly Occur Where We Live, Work, Go to School, Etc.?

Is your area prone to hurricanes and flooding? Earthquakes? Blizzards and heavy snowfall?

Maybe your commute is on a notoriously dangerous roadway. Or your job involves safety risks that you have to navigate on a daily basis.

Go through your schedule in your mind and make note of any risks you regularly encounter at home, at work, or when traveling, as well as the natural disasters that commonly occur in your area.

Identifying these concerns is the first step to building a personal safety plan that covers all your bases. 

Do We Have a Way of Staying Up to Date on Local Emergencies & Natural Disasters?

With information so readily available these days, it’s pretty easy to keep track of the weather and local goings-on. But life gets busy, and sometimes things can slip through the cracks and sneak up on us.

That’s why it’s crucial to have a reliable source for weather and emergency alerts. If you haven’t already, we recommend downloading the FEMA app this National Preparedness Month. It’s an excellent resource that allows you to receive “real-time weather and emergency alerts from the National Weather Service for up to five locations nationwide.” 

It also provides valuable information, such as local shelters, disaster recovery centers, how to make an emergency kit, creating a crisis communication plan, and more.

Additionally, many states have websites that allow you to sign up for public safety alerts in your local area. A quick Google search can potentially provide you with another layer of protection!

What Supplies Would We Need to Endure These Emergencies & Disasters?

If any of the potential emergencies you identified in question one happened, what would you need to keep yourself, your children, your elderly loved ones, and your pets safe and healthy?

Do you have enough non-perishable food to feed you and your family for several days? Do you have essential medical supplies? Are you or any of your family members on medication that can’t be missed?

Based on the type of emergency you might experience, it’s vital to have a stock of supplies ready to go at a moment’s notice. Here’s a general list of items you may need in a variety of emergencies:

• Food and water for the whole family 
• First-aid kit
• Credit and debit cards, cash, and IDs
• Blankets and warm clothes (for blizzards and extreme cold weather)
• Masks (for earthquake dust and debris)
• At least two flashlights 
• A battery-powered radio
• Enough batteries to power the flashlights and radio for several days
• At least two portable phone chargers
• Necessary medications (with temperature control devices, if applicable)
• Emergency whistles (for earthquakes)

Do We Have a Plan to Collect & Preserve Family Valuables in an Emergency?

If you have to evacuate during an emergency with a high risk of property damage, you don’t want to be caught without a plan to preserve your family’s treasures.

Whether priceless heirlooms, photos, or documents, go through your most precious items and create an emergency plan to protect and transport them. This can look like storing them in an easily accessible place in your home in case you need to leave in a hurry, and putting them in airtight, waterproof, or otherwise protective containers to prevent damage in transit.

However, in some situations, you may not be able to take everything, so be sure to identify the must-haves and prioritize them in your plan. You can store whatever you have to leave behind as safely as possible to maximize their chances of surviving.

Do We Have Designated Meeting Spots in Case We Get Separated During an Emergency? 

The whole family may not be together when an emergency strikes, so identify a few meeting spots near your home or local area and make sure everyone knows them well. This will ensure you can safely reconvene if you are or you become separated during an evacuation.

Do We Have a Place to Go if an Evacuation Order Comes Through?

In addition to meeting spots, it’s important to have a safe destination to evacuate if necessary. It can be at a family member or friend’s house, a local community shelter, a nearby hotel, or another safe location that can house you, your family, and your pets for a reasonable amount of time. 

Like with most things, however, it’s good to have a backup plan in case your first evacuation spot doesn’t pan out.

Do We Have a Fast, 100% Reliable Way to Contact Emergency Services in a Crisis?

The lynchpin of any emergency plan is ensuring you can reach the authorities when you need them. And if you’re looking for the fastest way to get help, 911 unfortunately doesn’t cut it.

Between staffing shortages, non-emergency and prank calls, and network outages, there are simply too many risks at play that can bog the 911 system down and impact your ability to get help.

But with the Rescu app, you can dispatch responders to your home address or current location anywhere in the US with just two taps on your smartphone or Apple Watch. And believe it or not, you don’t have to say a word over the phone if you don’t want to.

The app stores your personal and medical information and instantly sends it to your first response team when you send an alert. It also gives you the option to text or call a Rescu dispatcher if you feel the need to, but again, you’ll never be forced to answer time-consuming questions if you’re in pain, you need to be quiet, or you simply don’t want to.

Rescu is the fastest in the business because it removes needlessly lengthy steps and operates out of a UL-certified subscriber-dedicated operating center. That way, you’ll never have to worry about delays due to non-emergency calls or staffing shortages.

When you and your family have Rescu on your team, you can carry confidence and peace of mind wherever you go. Visit our website to learn more, and use the buttons below to add Rescu to your emergency plan for National Preparedness Month.