Home · 16 records · for a shared workspaceMake a family emergency plan

An emergency plan is worth most in the first ten minutes, when nobody has time to think. This agrees meeting places and an out-of-area contact, writes down what each person does, packs an emergency kit and a grab bag of documents, and practises once, because a plan nobody has walked through is mostly theory.

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The whole plan, before you install it

Goal

A plan everyone in the house knows, and a kit that is packed Week 6

Agreed, written down, packed, and practised once.

Agree the plan Week 2

Decided together, so everybody knows their part.

  • Find out which emergencies are most likely where we liveDo firstDay 3
  • Choose a meeting place near home and one further awayDo firstDay 6
  • Choose an out-of-area contact and tell themDo firstDay 8
  • Decide who collects the children and the petsDo firstDay 10
  • Fill in the plan note and share it with everyoneDo firstDay 13

Pack the kit Week 5

Kept in one place everybody knows.

  • Pack water and food for at least three daysDo firstWeek 3
  • Pack a torch, radio, first aid kit and batteriesDo firstWeek 3
  • Put copies of documents and some cash in a grab bagDo firstWeek 4
  • Save emergency numbers in every phoneWeek 4

Practise it Week 6

Once, so it is not theory.

  • Walk through the plan with everyone, including leaving the houseDo firstWeek 6
✦ It puts something in the calendar

Dates you will not have to remember

Emergency plan practice

Week 610:0060 min
✦ It comes with a note

Our emergency plan

Meeting place near home: Meeting place further away: Out-of-area contact and number: Who collects the children: Who takes the pets: Where the water, gas and electricity shut-offs are: Where the kit and grab bag are kept: Medication, and who needs it:

Review it once a year, and replace the water and food in the kit on the same day.

Questions

Make a family emergency plan, answered.

Two meeting places, one near home and one further away; an out-of-area contact everybody can call; who collects the children and the pets; how to turn off utilities; and where the kit and documents are. The note in this plan is a template to fill in.
Water, non-perishable food, a torch and batteries, a first aid kit, medication, a radio, phone chargers, cash, copies of documents and supplies for pets. Official guidance in many places suggests enough for at least three days, and more in areas prone to storms or earthquakes.
Once a year, and whenever something changes: a new school, a new job, a new baby. Replace the water and food in the kit on the same day, since both expire.
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