Creating a Severe Weather Plan With Your Family | SERVPRO® of North Kenosha County

1/24/2019 (Permalink)

Having an emergency plan in place can give you valuable time to act in sever weather situations. #preparedness #emergency #safety

Creating a Severe Weather Plan With Your Family | SERVPRO® of North Kenosha County

How do you ensure the preparedness of your family before an unexpected severe storm situation when we are caught off-guard by Mother Nature?

Fortunately, there are actions you can take and safety tips to follow that will give you the peace of mind you deserve in various severe weather occurrences.

The best way to win at the severe weather game is to compile a family emergency plan and have it available at all times.

If your family does have an emergency plan in place, be sure that it is often practiced and reviewed prior to each weather season so everyone, both young and old, knows exactly what to do.

If you’ve not yet created your family emergency plan, here are some things to think about and take into consideration when creating a plan:

1. How will emergency alerts and warnings be received?

Not only does today’s technology include radio and television broadcasts that alert us as to emergency situations, but thanks to smartphone technology, it is easy to quickly receive emergency alerts and warnings by way of Google or a weather app, giving you valuable time to act in severe weather situations.

2. What type of storm shelter do you have?

A storm shelter should, ideally, be in the lowest part of your home, like a basement, especially if you live in an area where tornadoes are common. But if there is no basement available you’ll want to use an interior room that is away from windows and doors. Check out ready.gov for other situations requiring storm shelters besides tornadoes.

3. What is our evacuation route?

When planning for evacuation, you should always have routes mapped out that can serve for evacuation before situations like hurricanes, floods and fires force you from your home in a hurry. It’s wise to have multiple routes just in case one is impassable, and don’t forget to check where you can stay with your pets along the way if you have furry family members also evacuating with you.

4. How will the family stay in touch?

Staying in touch with your family members during an emergency is important. It’s normal to expect to rely on cell phones for this purpose, but in some circumstances, that just isn’t feasible.

Cell phone towers are often damaged during severe weather, phones could be lost or left behind, and how will batteries be charged on your phones if there is no power? Your family must have an emergency communication plan in place for peace of mind and a safe meeting place for your family to gather in the event you are separated during an emergency.

If a storm does cause damage to your home or business, don’t hesitate to call your friends at SERVPRO® of North Kenosha County to get the cleanup and restoration process started.