Creating A Custom Disaster Plan

Creating your disaster plans are easy. Most people just don't think about it, but luckily you have me to do it for you. You're probably thinking- Disaster plan? What do you mean.. I'm gonna watch the news and do what they tell me to do. Don't do that. Natural disaster's are UNPREDICTABLE, Sam Champion said last year we were going to get a Nor'Easter, yet we didn't even see rain... much less snow. Don't let someone else save you. Save yourself. Prepare.

You should have 6 disaster plans, YES, I did say SIX. You should have a separate plan for everything that can go wrong.

1. TSUNAMI
2. VOLCANIC ERUPTION
3. EARTHQUAKE
4. HURRICANE
5. TORNADO
6. ELECTRICITY CRISIS

Here's my disaster plan with footnotes (Footnotes in here) so you can begin to construct your very own disaster plan. I live in Bergen County, New Jersey- so my disaster plans reflect my area, that where you do your customization.

1. TSUNAMI - (Severe Damage, Flooding)
-Track resources of affected areas to determine what course of action is necessary. (Coast Guard Weather Center is the best resource when it comes to weather) Access damage, staying home if possible, seeking shelter via FEMA or local O.E.M. in a hotel.
-If area is affected grab kit & quickly head to higher ground in Bald Mountain NJ in 240FT elevation isn't enough. (For this you need your town's elevation & the closest highest elevation in your area/state.)

2. VOLCANIC ERUPTION - (Property Loss/Health Hazards)
-Track resources of Yellowstone observatory (Track whatever's closest to you)
-Remain home if area will be unaffected by magma, Remain indoors, seal all windows, and wait for Ash Cloud to come, & subside.
-If magma will reach home, grab kit & evacuate to an unaffected area.

3. EARTHQUAKE - (Property Damage/Power Outages)
-Seek shelter, if home avoid windows and get to a hallway located in the strongest area of the house (usually the middle)
-If out find a sturdy place to hide, still preferably a hallway.
-Access damage, staying home if possible, seeking shelter via FEMA or local O.E.M. in a hotel.

4. HURRICANE - (Power Outage/ Wind Damage / Flooding)
-Get Kit
-Remain home, if not home get home. (Most people would choose to evacuate before hand)
-Board Windows
-Create & stay in safe room (Choose room with few windows, high elevation)
-Wait for storm to pass
-Access damage, staying home if possible, seeking shelter via FEMA or local O.E.M. in a hotel.

5. TORNADO - (Damage / Power Outage)
-Get Kit
-Get to Underground shelter immediately
-Wait it out
-Be careful when leaving as you do not know what kind of damage to expect
-Access damage, staying home if possible, seeking shelter via FEMA or local O.E.M. in a hotel.

6. ELECTRICITY CRISIS
-Immediately go to store and stock up on non perishables, water, extra gasoline, and anything you may need. Prepare for the worst. For instance if a solar flare was large enough it could put the whole east coast in the dark, for months. All our parts are made in other countries and would take weeks to months to fix. Their priority would be their country first which would put us back into the stone age.

Create your plan and be careful when picking what you will do. Major disaster's will leave the highway systems packed, and most likely you won't be able to get out unless you know what your doing. Next week I'll be blogging about preferred methods of transportation in times like these.

xoxo disaster girl