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Make a Plan
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What to have in your head
Your Household Emergency Plan
Emergency preparedness is simple if you plan ahead. It is easy and inexpensive for anyone. Here are the steps you should follow:
Talk About Emergencies
- Talk with your family about emergencies that can happen where you live and why you need to prepare for these events
- Calmly explain the potential dangers, and plan to work together as a team
Pick a Meeting Place
- Decide where your household will meet after an emergency. You need two places to meet: one right outside your home, and another outside your neighborhood, such as a library, community center, or place of worship.
Create a Family Communications Plan
- Ask an out-of-state friend or relative to be someone that household members can call during an emergency. (If Philadelphia phone circuits are busy, long distance calls may be easier to make.)
- Be sure every member of your family knows the emergency phone number and keeps coins or a prepaid phone card on hand.
- Be patient. You may have trouble getting through, or the telephone system may be down altogether.
- Think about everyone in your family – especially seniors, people with disabilities, and non-English speakers. They may have special needs.
- Give everyone in your house a copy of your household emergency plan and emergency contact information to keep in their wallets and backpacks. (link to household guide and/or pocket guide, reference page number)
Emergency Information
- Know how you you will be notified in an emergency
- Methods of alerting you vary from community to community. One common method is to broadcast via emergency radio and TV news. Others include special sirens, telephone calls, or emergency workers going door to door.
- Find out what kinds of disasters, both natural and man-made, are most likely to occur in your area.
- The Philadelphia area may experience flooding, severe winter storms, hurricanes, heat waves, fires, a hazardous materials incident or a possible terrorist attack.
The American Red Cross has more about the types of emergencies that may occur in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
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