Quick Guide to
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
1. Getting Ready
COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD
1. Find out about likely risks in your area.
2. Learn your community’s warning signals and what to do if you hear them.
3. Learn your community’s evacuation shelters and guidelines.
4. Know the location of the nearest police station, fire station, and hospital.
5. Learn where to get information on weather warnings and hazards.
6. Talk to your neighbors about emergency preparedness. The more people who are
prepared, the greater support you have in your neighborhood.
 Find out who has medical experience.
 Give spare keys to your trusted neighbors.
 Show them how to shut off your utilities and ask how to shut off their utilities.
 Provide them with a list of contact phone numbers.
HOME
1. Identify Safe Areas
 Under major beams that are secured to the rest of the structure
 Behind strong doorways
 Near inner structural walls
2. Identify and Avoid Dangerous Areas
 In front of windows or glass doors
 Near fireplaces and chimneys
3. Prepare Utilities
 Repair defective electrical wiring and leaky gas connections.
 Show everyone where and how to shut off your water, electricity, and gas.
 Place a flashlight or an emergency light next to your breaker panel.
 Place a wrench in your water meter box located near the street.
 Brace overhead light fixtures.
 Plug emergency lighting into selected outlets. (These flashlights are constantly
charged, & turn on automatically when power fails or when they are unplugged.)
 Install smoke detectors on every level of your home and near sleeping areas.
 Put emergency phone numbers by each phone.
 If you have gas appliance:
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Quick Guide to
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
1. Getting Ready
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Strap gas appliances to the wall. Gas appliances that move can cause fires
after a quake.
Replace solid gas lines with flexible lines on stoves, water heaters, and
dryers.
Place or attach a tool on your gas meter for turning off the gas.
Let everyone know you must have a professional turn the gas back on.
4. Secure Heavy and Moveable Items
 Verify that your house is bolted to its foundation.
 Don’t hang heavy things above beds, couches and places where people sit or
rest.
 Fasten shelves securely to walls and put large or heavy objects on lower
shelves.
 Move things that could fall to lower places out of the way.
 Store glass and things that break easily in low, closed cabinets with latches.
 Store household chemicals on a bottom shelf of a closed cabinet. Never store
bleach and ammonia in the same cabinet. They form a lethal gas if mixed.
5. Yard Preparation
 Keep trees trimmed so they don't touch any wires.
 Keep trees that are next to your house free of dead or dying wood.
 Store combustible or flammable materials in approved safety containers and
keep them away from the house.
FAMILY
1.
Prepare a plan and make sure everyone knows the plan:
 What to do in an emergency;
 Escape routes and meeting places if you need to evacuate;
 How and where to reunite if separated.
2.
Hold a home evacuation drill to test your emergency plan with all members of the
family present.
3.
Gather emergency supplies for home, work, car and personal Grab and Go bags.
4.
Ask an out of state relative or friend to serve as the "family contact" (after a
disaster, it's often easier to call long distance). Make sure each family member and
any caregiver or sitter has the names, addresses, and phone numbers of your
emergency contacts.
5.
Teach children when and how to get help from neighbors and 911.
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Quick Guide to
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
1. Getting Ready
6.
Always carry personal identification information, important phone numbers, out-ofstate contacts and photos of family members (who may be missing) in your wallet
or purse. Do not rely on cell phones to store the information.
WORK
1.
Know your company's evacuation plan, including the designated meeting site.
2.
In your office, note the emergency exit routes and location of stairs, fire
extinguishers and first aid kits.
3.
Keep your own emergency supplies at your desk in a tote bag or backpack.
4.
Store a pair of walking shoes and a pair of socks.
5.
Keep the space under your desk free of wastebaskets, etc. This area may be used
to shelter in during an earthquake.
CAR
1.
Keep your car gas tank at least one-half full.
2.
Maintain your car with regular service checks.
3.
Prepare and store emergency supplies in the car trunk (see emergency supply list)
along with other items like tools, jumper cables and spare tire.
4.
Replace your battery every 2-3 years. In an emergency, you may need to run the
radio for long periods of time.
SCHOOL
1.
Your child’s school has an emergency plan—find out what it is and where the
school evacuates to.
2.
In case of emergency, many schools can use their computer system to send
telephone voice messages to inform parents. Do not try to call the school if you
know they are asked to evacuate.
3.
In preparation for an emergency, inform the school and make a plan to stay in
contact. Include your out-of-state emergency contact information.
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Quick Guide to
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
1. Getting Ready
Practice and maintain your plan
1.
Every month…
 Test your smoke alarm.
2.
Every 6 months…
 Go over family emergency plan with your family. Do practice drills.
 Replace (or rotate) food, water, medicines, medical supplies, etc.
 Update your personal information.
 Update your health information.
3.
Every year…
 Replace the batteries in smoke alarms.
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