Make A Plan

How might a disaster affect you? Could you make it on your own for at least three days? After a disaster you may not have access to a medical facility or even a drugstore. It’s crucial to plan for your regular needs and know what you would do if they become limited or unavailable. Additional planning steps should include:

• Create a support network. Keep a contact list in a watertight container in your emergency kit.
• Be ready to explain to first responders that you need to evacuate and choose to go to a shelter with your family, service animal, caregiver, personal assistant and your assistive technology devices and supplies.
• Plan ahead for accessible transportation that you may need for evacuation or getting to a medical clinic. Work with local services, public transportation or paratransit to identify your local or private accessible transportation options.
• Inform your support network where you keep your emergency supplies. You may want to consider giving one member a key to your house or apartment.
• Contact your city or county government’s emergency management agency or office. Many local offices keep lists of people with disabilities so they can be helped quickly in a sudden emergency.
• If you are dependent on dialysis or other life-sustaining treatment know the location and availability of more than one facility.
• If you use medical equipment in your home that requires electricity, talk to your doctor or health care provider about how you can prepare for its use during a power outage.
• Wear medical alert tags or bracelets.
• If you have a communication disability make sure your emergency information says the best way to communicate with you.
• If you use an augmentative communications device or other assistive technologies, plan how you will evacuate with the devices or how you will replace equipment if lost or destroyed. Keep model numbers and note where the equipment came from (Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, etc.).
• Plan how you will communicate with others if your equipment is not working, including laminated cards with phrases, pictures or pictograms.
• Keep Braille/text communication cards, if used, for two-way communication.
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ online tool helps people locate and access their electronic health records from a variety of sources.
• Plan for children with disabilities and people who may have difficulty in unfamiliar or chaotic environments.

Impacts of Power Outages

Extended power outages may impact the whole community and the economy. A power outage is when the electrical power goes out unexpectedly. A power outage may:

• Disrupt communications, water and transportation.
• Close retail businesses, grocery stores, gas stations, ATMs, banks and other services.

• Cause food spoilage and water contamination.
• Prevent use of medical devices.

Mitigation Measures for a Power Outage

• Keep freezers and refrigerators closed.
• Use a generator, but ONLY outdoors and away from windows.
• Do not use a gas stove and ovens to heat your home.
• Disconnect appliances and electronics to avoid damage from electrical surges.
• Have alternate plans for refrigerating medicines or using power-dependent medical devices.
• If safe, go to an alternate location for heat.
• Check with your local officials for locations of warming centers. Locations may have changed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• CDC has provided guidance on public shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic. to help protect people from COVID-19. This guidance can be used for warming shelters, too.
• If you go to a public warming center, keep at least six feet of space between you and individuals who are not a part of your immediate household.
• Wear masks when in public spaces. Masks should not be worn by children under 2 years old, people who have trouble breathing, and people who are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove them.
• Try to bring items that can help protect you and others in the warming center from COVID-19, such as two masks for each person age two or older in the household, hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol, and cleaning materials.
• Review the CDC’s guidelines for “Going to a Public Disaster Shelter During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” 
• Be a good neighbor. Check on the welfare of others.
•  Follow the latest guidelines from the CDC and your local authorities to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Learn About Fires

• Fire is FAST! In less than 30 seconds a small flame can turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house or for it to be engulfed in flames.
• Fire is HOT! Heat is more threatening than flames. Room temperatures in a fire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level. Inhaling this super-hot air will scorch your lungs and melt clothes to your skin.
• Fire is DARK! Fire starts bright, but quickly produces black smoke and complete darkness.
• Fire is DEADLY! Smoke and toxic gases kill more people than flames do. Fire produces poisonous gases that make you disoriented and drowsy. Asphyxiation is the leading cause of fire deaths, exceeding burns by a 3-to-1 ratio.

Create and practice a fire escape plan

Keep a working smoke alarm

Fire Escape Planning for Older Adults and People with Access or Functional Needs

• If you use a walker or wheelchair, check all exits to be sure you get through the doorways.
• Make any necessary accommodations – such as providing exit ramps and widening doorways – to facilitate an emergency escape.
• Speak to your family members, building manager or neighbors about your fire safety plan and practice it with them.
• Contact your local fire department’s non-emergency line and explain your special needs. Ask emergency providers to keep your special needs information on file.
• Keep a phone near your bed and be ready to call 911 if a fire occurs.

The following link helps you to plan to prevent fires, how to prepare for a fire, what to do after a fire, and teaching children that fire is a tool, not a toy.

https://www.ready.gov/home-fires

Man-made Disasters

Acts of Terrorism

Attacks in crowded and public spaces include persons with firearms, using a vehicle to cause mass casualties, using bombs to cause mass casualties and other methods. These are addressed here:  https://www.ready.gov/public-spaces

Bioterrorism is when Biological agents (organisms or toxins that can kill or disable people, livestock and crops) are deliberately released. To protect yourself, check this link: https://www.ready.gov/Bioterrorism

Cyberattacks

Cybersecurity involves preventing, detecting and responding to cyberattacks that can have wide-ranging effects on individuals, organizations, the community and at the national level.

Cyberattacks are malicious attempts to access or damage a computer or network system. Cyberattacks can lead to loss of money, theft of personal, financial and medical information that can damage your reputation and safety.  To learn how to protect yourself from cyberattacks, refer to this link: https://www.ready.gov/cybersecurity

Explosions

Explosive devices can be carried by cars and people and are easily detonated from remote locations or by suicide bombers. There are steps you can take to prepare.  To learn what to do before an explosion, including bomb threats, suspicious packages, and letters, during and after an explosion, please see this link:  https://www.ready.gov/explosions

Hazardous Materials Incidents

Hazardous materials can include explosives, flammable and combustible substances, poisons, and radioactive materials. Emergencies can happen during production, storage, transportation, use, or disposal. You are at risk when chemicals are used unsafely or released in harmful amounts where you live, work or play.To find out if your community has a local emergency planning committee, or how to plan and respond to a hazardous incident, see this link:  https://www.ready.gov/hazardous-materials-incidents

Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear power plants use the heat generated from nuclear fission in a contained environment to convert water to steam, which powers generators to produce electricity. Although the construction and operation of these facilities are closely monitored and regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), accidents are possible. An accident could result in dangerous levels of radiation that could affect the health and safety of the public living near the nuclear power plant.

Nuclear power plants operate in most states in the country and produce about 20 percent of the nation’s power. Nearly 3 million Americans live within 10 miles of an operating nuclear power plant.

To plan and understand what to do before, during, and after a nuclear power plant emergency, see this link:  https://www.ready.gov/nuclear-power-plants