Emergency Planning in Four Easy Steps

Emergency Planning in Four Easy Steps

Emergency planning in four easy steps is all about keeping your family safe! This is one of the most important duties you need to attend to day in and day out (and also one of the most challenging).  It is important to know right from wrong and what to do when disaster strikes. With the recent floods and fires across the country the reality that disaster could strike at any time has really set in. So at the next family meeting, make sure you and your spouse talk about the following things:

Step One – Gain first aid knowledge

Knowing what to do in an emergency can make things a lot less stressful if you are ever faced with one. Even if you never use your CPR training, having it can make you feel a lot less calm and prepared. There are CPR and first aid training courses available across the country. Many are catered towards parents and are designed to teach you the basics of newborn, baby, toddler and children emergency care. Spending a day in one of these courses can really make the difference in a life or death situation and when it comes to kids, you really never know.

Step Two- Make an emergency contact number list

Do you know the emergency numbers to contact if you are in need of assistance? 000 is not the only number you need to know and most people are only aware of the numbers when they are flashing on the television. However, if you are without power or phone service, like what happened across Queensland with the recent flooding’s, then how will you know who to call? Don’t rely on the internet, television or radio to tell you what number to call instead, have these numbers written down in a safe place just in case.

Step Three – Decide on an evacuation plan

Sit down with your partner and go over the different scenarios that could happen in your area. Flooding, cyclones, storms and fires are some of the natural disasters that parts of Australia seem to face year after year. Make sure you agree on where to go whether it is to a friend’s house, whether it is into a bunker or basement in your own home, whether it is to a relative’s house in another town or whether you decide on an evacuation centre now so that you do not spend the final hours before the natural disaster strikes arguing about what to do.

Step Four Make an emergency kit up

Finally, spend a day making an emergency kit together. The fun bit is that you get to go shopping, for essentials, but it’s still shopping! Put batteries, tinned food, bottled water and nappies on your list. Then add a torch, extra clothes, a first aid kit and personal items such as your insurance papers, passports and birth certificates to the kit as well. Store these items in a water proof and weather proof container. When you hear the news that disaster could strike, you will be prepared to gather the kids, gather your emergency kit and head to safer ground immediately.