Emergency Preparedness

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Emergencies can happen anytime of the day or night, every single day of the year. We understand that getting prepared for such an enormous impact to your life is overwhelming. So much so, it’s almost impossible to know where to start. We’ve compiled a list of resources that will help you down this important path.

Know your Household

Knowing your household is one of the best ways you can prepare to respond appropriately in case of an emergency. Aspects of your home you should think about:

Heavy objects hanging over beds that may fall during an earthquake
Being able to locate and shut off your main water line
Knowing where the main gas shut off valve is located
Being able to safely restart your furnace

What To Keep At Hand

One of the most important steps you can take to prepare for an emergency is to make sure you have important items nearby or safely stored. Some of these items are:

Duplicate keys
Copies of important insurance and other papers stored outside the home
Emergency cash
First aid kit
Shoes by your bed for quick access
Flashlight

Family Organization

In case of emergency, you want to know you and your family are on the same page about several issues.

Make sure everyone is aware of fire escape routes
Given the need to evacuate your home, establish a meeting place
Choose an out-of-state contact

Prolonged Emergencies

Sometimes emergencies can last for days before help is available to you and your family. If an emergency lasted for 72 hours, it is especially useful to keep the following in mind:

Sufficient food, as well as water for drinking, cooking and sanitary needs
Supply of medications that you may need

preparing makes sense

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"Be ""Red Cross Ready"" for an emergency by following our easy 3 steps to preparedness. We understand getting prepared may sound difficult or time consuming, but with a little help from us, it's actually very doable. Learn by watching our video today! For more information on emergency preparedness, please visit http://www.redcross.org/prepare .

Are you wondering how well prepared you, your family, and pets are? Download our helpful list of questions as a great first step:

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