Emergency Communication Plan

You will be better prepared to safely reunite your family and loved ones during an emergency if you have an emergency communication plan in place.

Separation is particularly likely during the day when adults are at work and children are at school.

If household members are separated from one another in a disaster, everyone will know where to meet and if they are unable to reach the planned location, they will know who to contact.

Assign a Designated Place to Meet

Emergency meeting places should be planned in advance.

 

Plan how your family would stay in contact if you were separated. Begin by identifying two places away from your home to meet.

1) Choose a spot in your neighborhood to meet, one that is a safe distance from your home such as under a tree or at a neighbor's house in case of a fire.

2) Plan a place outside of your neighborhood such as a school yard or park to meet, in case it’s not possible to get to your home or neighborhood.

Know How to Access the Community Warning System

Keep a portable, battery-operated radio or television with extra batteries in your home and vehicles.

Consider buying a NOAA Weather Radio with a tone-alert feature. NOAA Weather Radio is the best way to receive warnings from the National Weather Service.

The National Weather Service recommends a NOAA Weather Radio that has both a battery backup and a Specific Area message Encoder (SAME) feature, which automatically alerts you when a watch or warning is issued for your county.

NOAA Weather Radio also provides 24 hour alerting for a variety of public safety hazards, from child abduction alerts, to 9-1-1 system outages, to hazardous chemical spills. NWR is an all-hazard alert network. Unlike television or radio, its alarm can alert you to hazards awake or asleep. Battery backup keeps it operating when electrical power fails.

 

Other Community Warnings Systems

Most communities throughout the US use sirens in the outdoor early warning system. The high-pitched siren will sound continuously for a full three minutes and will repeat in eight minute intervals for the duration of the warning period.

For example, during a 15-minute warning period, the sirens will sound twice. The sirens will be activated for the initial warning and again during the eighth minute of the warning.

Emergency Contact List

Emergency contacts can help you get back in touch with family members in other locations during an emergency.

Choose a local person for family members to call or email. Also choose a long distance contact. Long distance calls may still go through when local phone service isn’t working.

Pick two out-of-town contacts:

1. A friend or relative who will be your household’s primary contact.

2. A friend or relative who will be your household’s alternative contact.

Both adults and children should know the primary and alternative contacts’names, addresses, and home and cell telephone numbers, or carry the information with them. They should call the primary contact. If the primary contact cannot be reached, they should call the alternative contact.

Remember, after a disaster, it is often easier to complete a long-distance connection than a local call.

• An out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.
• Be sure every member of your family knows the phone number and has coins or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact.
• You may have trouble getting through, or the telephone system may be down altogether, but be patient.
  

Create individual communication cards for each member of the family to to carry with them at all times.

Emergency Contact List Should Include

• Post emergency numbers (fire, police, ambulance, etc.) by telephones. You may not have time in an emergency to look up critical numbers.


• Post emergency telephone numbers such as fire, police and ambulance by the telephones. Teach children how and when to call 911 for help.


• In addition, include these contact numbers on your pet’s identification tags, or use a national pet locator service that someone could call to report finding your pet.
  

Neighborhood Emergency Communication Plan

You may also want to inquire about emergency communication plans at places where your family spends time: work, daycare and school. If no plans exist, consider volunteering to help create one.

Talk to your neighbors about how you can work together in the event of an emergency.

 

 

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