Do You Have A Disaster Plan?

September is National Preparedness Month, and the American Red Cross is encouraging every family to create a disaster plan.

America Red Cross responders are continuing to help with relief efforts from Hurricane Isaac and officials says disaster plans help families become ready for when emergencies occur, whether it's a hurricane, earthquake or house fire.

“Just like no coach would bring a team onto a field without a game plan, every family needs their own game plan for emergencies,” said Russ Paulsen, executive director of Community Preparedness and Resilience at the Red Cross. “When disaster strikes, it’s too late.”

Disaster plans should include designating a meeting place right outside the home in case of a sudden emergency like a fire, a location where everyone should meet if they can't go home and an out-of-area contact who can help connect separated family members. All members of the household should work together on the emergency plan and each person should know how to reach other family members.

To encourage families to create disaster plans, the American Red Cross is sponsoring a prize drawing for a new iPad, onto which may be downloaded free Red Cross Preparedness Apps.

The Red Cross has tools to make it easier for people to make or update their plan. The American Red Cross Hurricane App for iPhone and Android smart phones helps people create a plan and share it with household members and over social networks. In addition, a template to build a plan is available at redcross.org/npm.

“Being prepared is a family’s best defense,” said Richard Bissell, Ph.D., chair of American Red Cross Preparedness Sub-Council and member of its Scientific Advisory Council. “Having a plan is vital to making sure all household members know what to do in an emergency.”

The Red Cross has several programs to help people, businesses, schools and communities be better prepared.

• Be Red Cross Ready is a web-based, interactive tutorial that teaches people how to be ready for emergencies.

• Red Cross Ready Rating™ is a free, web-based membership program that measures how ready businesses, organizations and schools are to deal with emergencies and helps them improve their readiness level.

• The Ready When the Time Comes program trains employees from businesses so they can be used as a community-based volunteer force when disaster strikes.

• Red Cross First Aid and CPR/AED training courses provide participants with the knowledge and skills to respond to emergencies in case advanced medical help is delayed.

• People can visit redcross.org for information on what to do before, during and after emergencies and disasters.

“We can’t control Mother Nature,” said Paulsen, “but we can control what we do. And having a plan can make all the difference.”