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Glendale, AZ - Be Glendale Monsoon Ready

Making a Family Disaster Plan

Planning ahead is the first step to helping to keep your family safe during an emergency. The Red Cross offers the following tips to guide you in creating a plan that will work for your family.

1. Talk. Discuss with your family what can happen during a monsoon storm. Establish responsibilities for each member of your household and plan to work together as a team, and have a back up person for every task. For example, assign someone to batteries and flashlights and someone else to turning off electrical appliances.
   
   
2. Plan. Choose two places to meet after a disaster:
   
   Right outside your home, in case of a sudden emergency such as a fire.
   
   Outside your neighborhood, in case you cannot return home due to a flood or are asked to evacuate your neighborhood.
   
   
3. Learn. Each adult in your household should learn how and when to turn off utilities such as electricity, water and gas. Have a fire extinguisher in your home and know how to use it.
   
   
4. Check supplies. Review your disaster supplies and replace water and food every six months.
   
   
5. Tell. Let everyone in the household know where emergency contact information is kept. Make copies for everyone to carry with them. Be sure to include an out-of-town contact. It may be easier to call out of the area if local phone lines are overloaded or out of service. Keep the information updated.
   
   
6. Practice. Practice evacuating your home twice a year. Drive your planned evacuation route and plot alternate routes on a map in case main roads are impassable or grid-locked. Practice earthquake, tornado and fire drills at home, school and work.
   
   
7. Also, don't forget to trim your trees before storm season. By pruning trees, you lessen the chance of destruction during heavy winds.