September is National Preparedness Month. Here’s how to create a simple emergency plan your whole family can follow.
September often feels like a reset. Summer is winding down, kids are back in school, football season is getting started and we’re settling into a new fall routine. It’s also National Preparedness Month, which means September is the perfect time to think about something most of us would rather not think about at all – What would your family do if something unexpected happened?
For Indiana residents, that question isn’t exactly hypothetical. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes can arrive quickly. Winter can bring ice, snow and dangerous cold, and power outages can leave homes without heat or air conditioning, sometimes for hours or longer. Even something as ordinary as a fallen tree or a local utility outage can disrupt your family’s routine. Being prepared doesn’t mean building a bunker or stockpiling years’ worth of supplies. It means having a plan in place in case of an emergency.
Why Preparedness Matters in Indiana
Indiana experiences a wide range of weather throughout the year, and severe weather doesn’t always give you much time to prepare. Spring and summer can bring tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, high winds, hail and flooding. Fall can bring strong storms and unpredictable weather. Winter presents its own challenges, including snow, ice, freezing temperatures and extended power outages. For families with young children, older relatives, pets or anyone who works outside the home, an emergency can become complicated quickly.
What happens if you’re at work and your kids are at school when a tornado warning is issued? What if cell service is down? What if a winter storm makes the roads unsafe? What if everyone gets home safely, but the electricity is out? You can’t predict exactly what will happen, but in these instances, you need to determine what you’ll do if something happens.
Start With a Home Emergency Kit
You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars putting together an elaborate emergency kit. Start with the basics and build from there. Your household should have enough food and water to get through an interruption in normal services, along with supplies that allow you to communicate, see what’s happening, and take care of basic needs.
A basic emergency kit might include drinking water, nonperishable food and a manual can opener, flashlights, extra batteries, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, a first-aid kit, medications and basic personal-care items. Don’t forget the things that are specific to your household, including things like baby supplies, pet food and medications, eyeglasses, mobility equipment, or important medical supplies for family members with specific needs.
It’s also smart to keep copies of important documents and emergency contact information somewhere accessible. Depending on your circumstances, that could include insurance information, identification, financial account information, and property records.
Make Your Family Communication Plan
Your family should also know how to reconnect if you’re separated. Start with a few simple questions. Where will you meet if you can’t return home? Who should the kids contact if they can’t reach you? Who is an emergency contact outside your immediate area? How will you communicate if phone calls aren’t going through? Choose an out-of-town or out-of-area contact who can serve as a central point of communication. Sometimes it’s easier for family members to reach someone outside the affected area than it is to reach one another locally.
Choose a family meeting place, too. You might have one location close to home and another farther away in case you can’t access your neighborhood. Then make sure everyone knows the plan. This is particularly important for families with children. Talk to them about where they should go, who is authorized to pick them up from school or activities and what they should do if normal routines suddenly change.
Know Where You’ll Go During Severe Weather
Every member of the household should know the safest place to go during a tornado or severe storm. In general, that means moving to a small, interior room on the lowest level of the home and away from windows. If your home doesn’t have a basement or designated shelter, identify the safest available location ahead of time. Don’t wait until the warning is issued to start deciding where everyone should go, including your household pets. Make sure you know where they will go during severe weather and keep leashes, carriers and other necessary supplies accessible.
Your Home Is Part of Your Emergency Plan
Emergency preparedness isn’t only about what happens during a storm. Some of the best preparation happens long before the weather turns dangerous. Take a look around your home. Are smoke and carbon monoxide detectors working? Do you know where your main water shutoff is? Do you know how to shut off your home’s gas or electricity if necessary? Are gutters and downspouts clear? Are trees near your home properly maintained? Are your roof, windows, and other vulnerable areas in good condition?
Routine home maintenance can help reduce the impact of severe weather and other emergencies. It’s also worth keeping an up-to-date inventory of your home’s important possessions. Photos or video of your belongings can be useful if you ever need to document damage for an insurance claim.
Power Outages
Power outages can affect heating, cooling, refrigeration, internet access and communication. Keep flashlights where you can easily find them, especially one near each person’s sleeping area. Keep phones and other essential devices charged when severe weather is approaching and consider having backup charging options available.
If you rely on electrically powered medical equipment or other critical devices, make sure you have a backup plan for extended outages. Remember that generators require careful handling. Never operate a fuel-burning generator inside a home, garage or other enclosed space because of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Five-Minute Family Preparedness Test
For a quick assessment of your Family’s Preparedness, ask everyone the following questions:
Where do we go during a tornado warning?
Where do we meet if we can’t get home?
Who is our emergency contact?
Where are the flashlights?
Where is our emergency kit?
Who picks up the kids if we’re unavailable?
What do we do if the power goes out for 24 hours?
Being prepared doesn’t mean expecting the worst, it means being ready to take care of the people and things that matter most when the unexpected happens. This September, take a few minutes to build your emergency kit, talk through a family plan and make sure your home is ready for whatever Indiana’s weather may bring. You may never need to use your plan, but if you do, you’ll be glad you took the time to make one.
