Smart Safety: Focus on Family Safety During National Preparedness Month

Did you know September is National Preparedness Month? The U.S. government recognizes that no part of our country is completely free from the threat of natural disaster. Be it tornadoes, floods and blizzards, like our region commonly faces, or hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, wildfires or more, the best way to keep your family safe in times of disaster is to prepare.

Preparation saves lives! Headwaters Relief Organization, a Golden Valley-based collaboration of volunteers who help natural disaster victims around the world, knows this all too well. In instances where people, especially children, have planned what to do in disaster ahead of time, there is less chance of serious injury or death.

Without understanding what an earthquake was or that their homes were dangerously unstable after the earthquake that shook Haiti in 2010, many Haitian children died by returning to a familiar, safe place – home – because they didn't know any better. Headwaters Relief saw this while providing relief work there and wrote a book, When Haiti Shakes, to help prepare Haitian children for future earthquakes.

Stemming from these firsthand experiences with lack of knowledge and preparation for natural disasters, Headwaters Relief is particularly dedicated to helping area moms prepare their families for the worst. They'll be presenting at the 2014 Minneapolis Emergency Prepare Fair on September 23rd (held at the IDS Crystal Court & Nicollet Mall between 6^th and 10^th Streets). And they're sharing tips for families to get ready for worst-case-scenarios.

·       Make a family plan: Your family plan must cover 3 critical components: 1) Escape routes from your house (ideally 2 from each room) and from your neighborhood; 2) A meeting place outside your neighborhood where your family can get together if separated; 3) An emergency contact outside of the area who can help you coordinate (e.g. an aunt who lives out of state). All family members, babysitters and immediate neighbors should be aware of the plan and family members should memorize the emergency contact phone number. (Note: if you have pets, your family plan should also include what to do with pets in a disaster.)

·       Talk to your children: Children often don't understand the scope of natural disasters and dangers associated with them. You need to talk them through the family plan and explain what to expect in disasters that threaten our area. Tornadoes, for example, bring big winds and make even heavy things like cars fly around. Floods come with too much rain and can fill the streets and even your house with water. Talk in terms your kids will understand so there's no confusion and unnecessary fright. End the talk by allowing your children to ask you questions and talk about what worries them. You can also let your kids play online games designed to teach them about disaster preparedness in a fun way. FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security have some games available at Ready.gov.

·       Prepare an emergency kit: Drinking water; non-perishable food; a change of clothes; blankets; flashlights; a battery-powered radio; batteries; necessary medications; important documents like personal identification and passports, birth certificates, deeds and insurance information; mobile phones and chargers; cash; a first aid kit; and emergency contact numbers should all be in a basic emergency kit. You can find additional ideas from the Red Cross. Put your kit in an easy-to-access place and make sure the entire family knows where the kit can be found.

·       Conduct family drills: Some ideas for drilling your family – essentially practicing your family plan – include grabbing the emergency kit, escaping the house, finding their way to the meeting point and dialing the emergency contact. You can make this fun for kids by offering prizes at the end of each activity or awarding points that tally up to a winner who receives an award. The purpose of practice isn't to scare your children, but to help them remember what to do should a disaster happen.

If you'll be attending the Emergency Prepare Fair, Headwaters Relief volunteers will be happy to talk to you about your family's preparedness and answer any questions you may have. If you can't make it to the Fair, you can talk to Headwaters Relief on Facebook and Twitter.

Hopefully your family will never need to put the family plan into action. But just in case, it's important to keep the plan fresh in your kids' minds, so they stay safe in dangerous times.