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Be Ready for Disaster Is your family prepared for a disaster? By OC FamilyPublished: September, 2006

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Is your family prepared for a disaster? September is National Preparedness Month, the perfect time to make certain your family is prepared in the event  of an emergency. ReadyOC, a disaster preparedness awareness program  that seeks to educate and inform Southern California residents  and businesses about the importance of preparing for any type of  disaster, offers these tips for families. Create a plan Your family and loved ones may not be together in the event of  an emergency, so plan now how you will contact one another and  review what you will do in different situations.     •     Meet with your family, share responsibilities  and work together as a team.     •     Discuss what to do in each type of  emergency.     •     Pick two places  to meet. 1)Right outside your home. 2) Outside your neighborhood  in case you can’t return home.     •     Write down important information about  your family’s health, like each person’s blood type, allergies, pre-existing medical conditions and  current medications.     •     Ask an out-of-state friend to be your “family  contact.     •     Plan how to take  care of your pets. Make a kit Just like having a working smoke detector, having emergency supply  kits will put the tools you may need at your fingertips. Keep  the items that you would most likely need during an emergency in an easy-to-carry container.     •     Water  (and plenty of it)     •     Non-perishable food     •     First-aid supplies     •     Battery-operated radio & batteries     •     Flashlight & batteries     •     Medications (2 weeks supply of prescription  medications)     •     Clothing  and bedding     •     Tools and emergency supplies     •     Sanitation and personal hygiene     •     Important family documents     •     Cash and change     •     Specialty items for babies, pets, and important  medical needs Be involved Be involved in your community and at work by spreading the word  about being ready. Working with neighbors and co-workers can  save lives and property. Here’s how:In your community     •     Meet with your neighbors to plan how the  community could be ready for an emergency.     •     Introduce emergency preparedness as a new activity  at your neighborhood organization.     •     Know  your neighbor’s special skills (i.e., medical, technical).     •     Consider  how you could help neighbors who have special needs, such as disabled and  elderly persons.     •     Attend CPR and first-aid training. At work     •     Make  sure your business has an updated plan and emergency kit.     •     Contact  your local emergency professionals and organizations on  how to be better prepared.     •     Pass out this information to all  employees.     •     Inform your customers and clients  about the need to prepare.m Information  supplied by the ReadyOC pamphlet. Visit readyoc.org for more details. ReadyOC works in partnership with the American Red Cross. Contact your local chapter for more information.

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