Response Plan
family disaster response plan
When an earthquake occurs, activate the following Family Response Plan:
- Get to a safe place in the room. Safe places include:
- Under a sturdy table or desk
- Braced in an interior corner
- Braced in a framed, door-less entryway (swinging doors can smash fingers)
- Make sure your head is not the high point in the room. Cover your head and neck. Close your eyes - you'll do better psychologically if you don't watch, and you'll protect your eyes.
- Hold on - in case the thing you're under moves.
- GET DRESSED. Resist the instinct to run. Before you leave the room, make sure you are dressed. Dress for safety:
- Long pants
- Long sleeved shirt
- Sturdy soled shoes
- Leather gloves
- Hard hat (or bicycle helmet)
- Jacket
- Grab your Bed Bag or Bug-Out Bag and head for your family's reunion point (a safe location just outside your home where you all meet to count heads).
- If you are trapped or hurt, get out your whistle and flashlight (stored in your hard hat under your bed or in you Bed Bag with your hard hat). Blow the whistle and signal with your flashlight to make it easier for someone to find you.
- At the Family Reunion Point, count heads, treat injuries, then assess your home for damage.
- If you find that your house is damaged or is otherwise unsafe (broken gas lines or broken glass), activate your Family Response Plan teams, activate your Neighborhood Disaster Response Plan, or both.
Bed Bags and Bug-Out Bags
Bed Bag
We recommend that you have a few emergency survival items stored in a bag* inside a hard hat under your bed or hooked to your bed that you can grab easily and take with you after an earthquake or when you hear the smoke alarm.
Include the following items in a bed bag for each member of your family:
*[Note: The "bag" doesn't need to be any fancier than a couple of plastic grocery store bags tied to your bed frame with a shoelace. A "sports bag" or something that complements the decor of the bedroom works too as long as you don't put off assembling this bed bag while you find something or make something else. Assemble the bed bag now and make it "pretty" later.]
We recommend that you have a few emergency survival items stored in a bag* inside a hard hat under your bed or hooked to your bed that you can grab easily and take with you after an earthquake or when you hear the smoke alarm.
Include the following items in a bed bag for each member of your family:
- Hard hat
- Sturdy soled shoes, socks
- Disposable dust mask (earthquakes can cause vast amounts of dust)
- Complete change of clothing
- Emergency food (MRE or equivalent)
- Whistle
- A house key (so you can get back into your house in case you exited through a window)
- Extra set of car keys for each car/driver (in case you forget where you put them last)
*[Note: The "bag" doesn't need to be any fancier than a couple of plastic grocery store bags tied to your bed frame with a shoelace. A "sports bag" or something that complements the decor of the bedroom works too as long as you don't put off assembling this bed bag while you find something or make something else. Assemble the bed bag now and make it "pretty" later.]
If you wear glasses, watch where you put them at night. A case Velcro'd to the wall, bed frame or night stand will keep them from flying across the room during an earthquake. Or, if you prefer, get into the habit of keeping them inside a drawer with a safety latch. Or better still, put them inside your hard hat under your bed each night.
Also, attach a crow bar to the bed frame with a bungee cord in case your doors jam and you need to pry your way out of the house.
Also, attach a crow bar to the bed frame with a bungee cord in case your doors jam and you need to pry your way out of the house.
Bug-Out Bag
A Bug-Out Bag contains everything listed above for the Bed Bag as well as several additional items to provide for your comfort and convenience in the event you need to evacuate your home.
In addition to the Bed Bag items listed above, you will need a moderate sized sports type bag for each member of your family and the following items:
- Rain gear or poncho
- Beanie and gloves/mittens
- 1 quart water (minimum)
- Glasses or contact lenses (and lens care products) and reading glasses if you need them
- Family Disaster Plan information
- Emergency Medical information
- Pocketknife or Leatherman
- Mess kit
- Shampoo, conditioner
- Deodorant / Antiperspirant
- Bar of soap
- Razor, shaving cream
- Brush, comb
- Toothbrush, toothpaste
- Wash cloth
- Hand towel
- Lotion
- Chap stick
- Book, small games
- Other items you think you might need or want
[A family evacuation drill that lasts at least 24 hours will help you determine what you didn't bring that you wished you had with you.]
To complete your Bug-Out Bag, include emergency cash for your family ($500 should be more than adequate), duplicate ATM card, a credit card with plenty of available credit, and spare checks or other documents for identification.
Family Response Teams