Disasters can take lives, homes, cars, and personal belongings. Safety comes first when preparing for a disaster. Through the federal resource ready.gov, we have compiled an exhaustive list of disaster preparedness steps you can take today to help ease any potential burdens in the year ahead.
Make a Resolution
- Make an emergency plan: choose a safe place to meet, learn evacuation routes, and establish an out-of-town contact.
- Take a current photo of you and your pet together, if you are separated during a disaster.
- Get to know your neighbor and invite them to be part of your emergency plan.
- Complete your free Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK) today to organize all your crucial documents for peace of mind tomorrow. Get started today: https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_effak-toolkit.pdf
- Snap photos of important documents and save them in a secure place or online.
- Set up group text lists so you can communicate with friends and family during emergencies.
- Take a class in CPR and first aid.
- Keep and update emergency supplies; remember to include cash.
- Have backup power sources available to charge devices in case of a power outage.
- Snap pictures of your property for insurance purposes.
- Check your insurance for coverage on disasters like floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes.
- Sign up for alerts and warnings. Download the FEMA app to get real-time alerts, safety tips, and locate open shelters.
- Save for a rainy day! Start and grow your emergency fund.
- Financially prepare for the New Year. Find out how with the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit: www.ready.gov/financial-preparedness
- Spend within your means. Use a personal budgeting worksheet to help plan for holiday expenses and beyond.
Get Tech Ready
- Download the FEMA app to get real-time alerts, safety tips, and locate open shelters.
- Sign up to receive text or email alerts about emergencies from your local Office of Emergency Management.
- Snap photos of important documents and save them online or in a secure place you can access during an emergency.
- Set up group text lists so you can communicate with friends and family simultaneously during emergencies.
- Download money saving apps to help you save for a rainy day.
- Have external power sources available to charge phones and other devices in case of a power outage.
Preparedness Tips
- Include cash in your emergency supply kit. During an extended power outage, ATMs and credit card machines may not work.
- Check-in with neighbors to see how you can help each other before and after a storm.
- Pick an out-of-town person for everyone to contact during an emergency.
- Preparing your family for an emergency is as simple as having a conversation over dinner. Make a plan tonight.
- As part of your family’s emergency supply kit, include games and toys to keep children entertained.
- Get prepared by having an emergency supply kit already stored. www.ready.gov/kit
- Snap pictures of your property and make an inventory for insurance purposes.
- 30: The number of days it takes for flood insurance to begin. The time to buy is when it’s dry.
- If you rely on public transportation, contact your local emergency management agency about evacuation procedures before a hurricane.
- Make a list of the things you would need or want to take with you if you had to leave your home quickly.
- Prepare your car for winter: keep your gas tank near full to help avoid ice in the tank and fuel lines.
- Make a plan to check on neighbors if extreme cold or winter weather knocks out your power.
- Learn how to shut off the utilities where you live, including water, electricity, and gas.
- Take a first aid and CPR class. www.ready.gov/safety-skills
- Plan how you will leave and where you will go if you are advised to evacuate. Don’t forget to include pets in your plans! www.ready.gov/evacuation
- Assemble supplies for a “go-bag” you can carry if you need to evacuate www.ready.gov/evacuation
- Make a portable emergency kit for your car http://www.ready.gov/car
- Save. Save. Save. Your emergency savings can help you get lifesaving items like food, shelter, and water in an emergency. Saving tips: www.ready.gov/financial-preparedness
- 48% of people have an emergency fund, which gives them the savings to overcome simple emergencies. www.ready.gov/financial-preparedness #FinancialFuture
Planning with Pets
- Take a current photo of you and your pet together to have in case you are separated during a disaster. www.ready.gov/pets
- Search online today for local pet-friendly evacuation locations if you need to evacuate.
- Update your pet’s microchip registration info, so you can be contacted if your pet gets lost in a disaster. www.ready.gov/pets
- Put your name and contact information on your pet’s ID tag if you’re separated in an emergency. www.ready.gov/pets
- Remember to include your pets in your family’s emergency plans.
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines, who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. LSLA focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety, stability, health, and wellbeing; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those with disabilities, the aging, survivors of crime and disasters, the unemployed and underemployed, the unhoused, those with limited English language skills, and the LGBTQIA+ community. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
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