Disaster Preparedness Series

By Russell Williams

In the run up to the Hurricane Season we commence a series on preparing for disasters natural or otherwise and will provide useful information and resources to help our readers be effectively prepared in any eventuality.

In the Caribbean we typically think about disaster preparedness in the run up to the hurricane season. However Haiti’s earthquake disaster in January turned my attention to the fact there are other disasters which can affect us and we ought to be prepared for them.

This series of articles will cover securing your family, home and your business and put you on the road to successful disaster preparedness. In researching the topic, I was given pointers to many issues that I had not given any thought to and I will be sharing these and other resources that you can review.

Every household should have three things to be disaster ready:

1. An emergency kit
2. A disaster plan
3. Information

If one considers the Emergency Kit, we know the kit should contain water, canned and non-perishable food items and so on, however how many would remember to include matches and can openers?

There are two files at the end of this article which can be downloaded that speak to what should be in a Disaster Kit and it is strongly suggested that you take a look and begin to accumulate the items over time, but start now! One should also ask yourself what are the specific things you and your family would need? For example does any one need a walking cane, eye glasses, medication, special foods etc.? These things must be included in your kit.

However there are practical things that each of us can do and make them habits so that you are as much as possible prepared should a disaster strike. Basic things such as:

• Keep your mobile phone charged for the day, by charging the phone every night
• Do not let your petrol tank fall below half full
• Ensure that every family member has current photographs and contact numbers for of family members
• Agree a common meeting place in the event that communications are down

Visit these links for more detailed information on being prepared in the event of an event in your area.

Be_Red_Cross_Ready

Ready-gov checklist

CDERA 2005-09-12_family_plan_ed2_en

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