Ready your family communications plan before disaster calls!

We are often planting little reminders for you to get your supplies ready and know where your safe place is in case of an emergency. Communicating essential information about your plan to each other keeps you and your family safe. But have you planned how you will communicate when the disaster is upon you? Each situation will be different and you and your family may not all be in the same place when severe weather hits. You may also have family in other areas that you need to reach out to so they know you are safe.

As you Build a Kit and Make a Plan, be sure to include a Family Communication Plan as well. Each member of the family should have a list of emergency contacts and one out-of-area contact person should be designated since it may be easier to text or call long distance if local phone lines are overloaded or out of service. Everyone should have emergency contact information in writing or programmed into their cell phones. Also make sure that if you and your family get separated in an emergency situation that you have a set meeting place outside of the neighborhood. Each family member should know that is the place to go once it is safe to get there.

With the recent severe weather and more on the way, now is the time to get your Family Communication Plan set. It’s easy and only takes moments to make sure you and your family stay connected. Download the Emergency Contact Cards PDF to help get you started. You can fill in all the information you will need in case of a disaster and each folds up to wallet size so you can carry it anywhere.

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Let them know you are Safe and Well

With the deadly tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri on Sunday afternoon, friends and family are desperately trying to make sure their loved ones are accounted for. With many disasters happening across the country, the Red Cross Safe and Well website is one way for people to check on loved ones in areas where disaster has hit.

Safe and Well allows people in the affected areas to list themselves as “safe and well” online whether they are in a shelter, staying with friends, or if they are moving to another location. Friends and family outside the disaster area can then search for messages from their loved ones by using a pre-disaster phone number or complete address. Disaster victims can also update their Facebook and Twitter status through the Safe and Well website.

You can either register yourself or search for a registered family member on Safe and Well by visiting www.redcross.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Safe and Well can also be accessed from a smart phone by going to www.redcross.org/safeandwell and click on either “List Yourself as Safe and Well” or “Search Registrants”.

Communication is key before, during and after a disaster. Make certain you have a plan with your family members that may be dispersed throughout the country before a disaster hits. Remember that communications may be overloaded or down completely after a disaster. Utilizing resources like Safe and Well, social media, and email can help you get a message to your loved ones quickly, but it is only effective if they know where to check for your updates in case of a disaster.

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Show Her You Care: Prepare!

Being able to contact our loved ones is something we may take for granted—and it’s only in an emergency that we realize how tenuous those connections can be. So when you call your mom this Mother’s Day, take a few minutes to make an emergency communication plan.

Make a Plan

Print out the Emergency Contact Card to help guide you. Write down your local emergency numbers and the contact information for an out-of-area emergency contact person. As often happens during disasters, it may be easier to text or call long distance since local phone lines may be overloaded or out of service.

Putting a plan in place can help families stay connected with loved ones nearby and overseas, should an emergency strike. Every year, people are separated from their relatives in an emergency, such as an earthquake, typhoon or armed conflict. Telephone, Internet and postal services are often disrupted, leaving loved ones miles or oceans apart with no way to communicate.

Tips to keep in mind in case you can’t reach a loved one during an emergency:

• Call during off-peak hours or send text messages, which can often work even if telephone lines are down.
• Check social networking profiles, such as Facebook or Twitter.
• Contact employers, schools or religious centers where loved ones might go.
• Use a free Internet-based tool, such as Safe and Well at www.redcross.org, to send or search for messages from loved ones within the U.S.
• Reach out to the U.S. State Department (1-888-407-4747) to inquire about loved ones with U.S. citizenship who are traveling or residing in another country.

Restoring Family Links

The Red Cross also offers a free service to help re-establish communication between immediate relatives separated internationally by a war or disaster, and this past year helped reconnect more than 4,200 families.

Local caseworkers work with families to find loved ones and send messages until normal communications can be restored. In places like refugee camps, such a message is often the only method of communication available, but the words “I am alive” may be all that is needed to ease the minds of distraught relatives half a world away.

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Ready your family communication plan before disaster calls!

We are often planting little reminders for you to get your supplies ready and know where your safe place is in case of an emergency. Communicating essential information about your plan to each other keeps you and your family safe. But have you planned how you will communicate when the disaster is upon you? Each situation will be different and you and your family may not all be in the same place when severe weather hits. You may also have family in other areas that you need to reach out to so they know you are safe.

As you Build a Kit and Make a Plan, be sure to include a Family Communication Plan as well. Each member of the family should have a list of emergency contacts and one out-of-area contact person should be designated since it may be easier to text or call long distance if local phone lines are overloaded or out of service. Everyone should have emergency contact information in writing or programmed into their cell phones. Also make sure that if you and your family get separated in an emergency situation that you have a set meeting place outside of the neighborhood. Each family member should know that is the place to go once it is safe to get there.

With the recent severe weather and more on the way, now is the time to get your Family Communication Plan set. It’s easy and only takes moments to make sure you and your family stay connected. Download the Emergency Contact Cards PDF to help get you started. You can fill in all the information you will need in case of a disaster and each folds up to wallet size so you can carry it anywhere.

Read More