Many disasters will affect essential services and possibly disrupt your ability to travel or communicate with each other.
Get your family or household together and agree on a plan.
Household emergency checklist
(54 kb, less than 1 min to download, 56K modem)
Household emergency plan
(44 kb, less than 1 min to download, 56K modem)
- Download the documents above, print them out, fill them in and stick them on the fridge door.
- Make sure someone is responsible for checking the emergency survival items and replacing food, water and batteries twice a year (for example, at daylight savings changeover times).
- Decide where you will shelter in an earthquake, flood, or storm.
- Decide which radio station you will tune to for emergency broadcasts. Write down the frequency (AM/FM) and stick it on the fridge door.
- Allocate tasks for those at home when an emergency occurs, like turning off water, electricity and gas, gathering up pets and checking on neighbours.
- Arrange authorised people to collect children from school and provide the school with a list of these people.
- Discuss how to get in touch with each other and other family members in an emergency.
- Decide on a meeting place in the event that your house becomes unusable and family members are separated.
- Know how to contact your local Civil Defence centre for assistance during an emergency.
- Know your local Civil Defence warning system.
- Know where your nearest Civil Defence assembly point is (usually your local public school).
- Do a first aid course.
- Get to know your neighbours by joining (or forming) a neighbourhood support group.