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Developing a Family Disaster Plan and a Home Survival Kit
| Prepare for winter storms and any other
weather hazard or natural disaster that could affect your community by
assembling a disaster plan for your family. Just complete these four
steps... |
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- Find out what could happen to you.
- What type of disasters are most likely to happen in your community?
- How should you prepare for each?
- How would you receive a warning for a winter storm or other hazard?
- If you care for elderly or disabled persons, how can you help them?
- What are the disaster plans at your workplace, your children's
school or day care center, and other places where members of your
family spend time?
- Create a Family Disaster Plan.
- Meet with your family and discuss why you need to prepare for disaster.
- Discuss the types of disasters that are most likely to happen. Explain what to do in each case.
- Pick two places to meet in case of an emergency. (Ex. Right in front of your house, and somewhere outside of your neighborhood.)
- Develop an emergency communication plan.
- Ask an out-of-town relative or friend to be your "family contact."
- Discuss what to do if authorities ask you to evacuate.
- Be familiar with escape routes.
- Plan how to take care of your pets.
- Complete your checklists.
- Post by phones emergency telephone numbers
- Teach all responsible family members how and when to turn off water, gas, and electricity at the main switches or valves.
- Check if you have adequate insurance coverage.
- Install smoke alarms on each level of your home, especially near the bedrooms.
- Get training from the fire department on how to use your fire
extinguisher (A-B-C type), and show family members where extinguishers
are kept.
- Conduct a home hazard hunt. (Ex. Anything that can move, fall, break, or cause a fire.)
- Have enough food, water, medications and clothing for at least three
days for each person in the home.
- Stock emergency supplies and assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit.
- Keep a smaller Disaster Supply Kit in the trunk of your car.
- Keep a portable, battery-operated radio with extra batteries.
- Consider using a NOAA Weather Radio with a tone-alert feature.
- Take a first aid and CPR class.
- Plan home escape routes.
- Find the safe places in your home for each type of disaster.
- Make two photocopies of vital documents and keep the originals
in a safe deposit box. Keep one copy in a safe place in the house, and
give a second copy to an out-of-town friend or relative.
- Make a complete inventory of your home, garage, and surrounding property.
- Practice and maintain your plan.
- Quiz your kids every six months so they remember what to do, meeting places, phone numbers, and safety rules.
- Conduct fire and emergency evacuation drills at least twice a year.
- Replace stored food and water every six months.
- Use the test button to test your smoke alarms once a month.
- If you have battery-powered smoke alarms, replace the batteries at least once a year.
- Replace your smoke alarms every 10 years.
- Look at your fire extinguisher to ensure it is properly charged.
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| Home Disaster Supplies Kit for Winter Storms |
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- A warm coat, gloves or mittens, hat, and water-resistant boots for each member of the family
- Extra blankets and extra warm clothing
- Non-clumping kitty litter for generating traction, and ice melting products for walkways
- A portable, battery powered radio and extra batteries
- Older style phone that doesn't require electricity to work
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- Supply of prescription medications
- Credit card and cash
- Personal identification
- An extra set of car keys
- Matches in a waterproof container
- Signal flare
- Map of the area and phone numbers of places you could go
- Special needs (Ex. diapers or formula, prescriptions, hearing aid batteries, spare eyeglasses, etc.)
- A week's supply of food (Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation, or cooking and little or no water.)
- Hand held can opener in case you lose power and the automated one
doesn't work
- At least a three-day supply of water - a minimum of three gallons per person
per day.
- Wrench to turn off household gas and water.
- Emergency Generators.
For information on how to safely install a standby generator,
click here. This .pdf brochure is provided by the State of Montana
Department of Disaster and Emergency Services.
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www.weather.gov 
