The one thing that you need to keep in mind, and the most frightening in my opinion as the mother of young children, is that the family may not be together when disaster strikes. Having a plan in place and teaching your children the plan is incredibly important!
Phone numbers: Teach your children the home phone number and parents cell phone numbers. If they don't know the numbers, they don't know how to reach you. As a parent, put yourself in your child's shoes and think how it would feel if you were in an emergency and didn't know the numbers or how to call them for your mommy or daddy.
In an emergency situation it's easy to forget phone numbers. In order to be prepared for that, put an emergency card in wallets, purses and/or backpacks. FEMA has an excellent emergency contact card that you can print out or use an example at http://www.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready/basic_preparedness.pdf on page 13 under Family Communications.
Both the Red Cross and FEMA suggest that you have out-of-state contact that can relay information for family members. The idea behind that seems to be that it's often easier to call long distance than locally in a severe emergency that affects an entire community.
Meeting Place: It's always a good idea to have a meeting place for all emergency situations. If you have a house fire, deciding ahead of time where the family is to meet, can potentially save lives. In the aftermath of a hurricane or tornado, knowing where to go is just as important. Prepare your children ahead of time.
Talking About Hurricane Katrina
During the month of September, proceeds from Bella Online's ebook sales will
be donated to the Red Cross! Just go to Ebooks at Bella Online and pick one that you like!
Other articles at Bella that might interest you:
Hurricane Katrina - One Person Can Make a Difference from the Christian Living site at Bella Online.
Prepare now - Essential items for the Family with an Autistic Child from the Autism Spectrum Disorder site at Bella Online.
