Emergency Preparedness

What To Do At Work, Home and School 

Preparing for an unexpected emergency allows you and your family to respond quickly to the threat or presence of an emergency. You should be prepared for an emergency whether you are at work, school  or at home. These plans should include emergency preparedness issues whether the family is together or in separate locations. 

Your plan should address:  

• Awareness:  be informed of what is happening around you on a daily basis. At home or at work, keep a radio  tuned to a local channel, which will allow you to hear weather advisories and breaking news. At school, students will have to depend on the school staff to keep them advised. Awareness also involves developing a plan so that one can respond to different emergency scenarios. 
• Response: putting your plan into action. Seeking shelter is normally your first action. No matter where you are you should know how to find shelter. At work or school the area for shelter will normally be designated for you. At home, your shelter area will depend on the threat and the level of protection you will need. It may vary from going to the lowest level of your home during a tornado warning, or to a sealed room in a biological or chemical attack. If you are out in public during an emergency you can go to a public place and ask for directions to the nearest shelter. 
  • If your family is not all together, set up a phone contact person, and call that person to let them know who is with you and where you are. Get out your emergency kit and have it ready to use. Whether or not the emergency passes you by unscathed, the final phase of preparedness is always recovery. 
• Recovery is the process of returning your life to the way that it was before the emergency. It may be as simple as putting your emergency kit back in its place and continuing on with your daily activities or it may be more involved depending upon the impact of the emergency on your family. 
  • Getting your family back together if they were separated during the emergency. Have a meeting place away from your neighborhood, such as a store or school. Establishing a meeting place will keep family members from having to search numerous possible places for each other and it will let you know for sure if a family member is missing which will help local authorities. 
  • Replacing what was lost to the emergency. Your insurance agent can help you in this process. As part of  your emergency planning, your agent can show you how to inventory your belongings and keep track of recovery costs. After an emergency, your agent can assist you in obtaining temporary housing, clothing and food. 
  • Recovering your state of well-being and security. This part may require the help of a mental health expert as well as support from family members and friends. 

For more information on emergency preparedness you can contact the Liberty Fire Department at 816.439.4310, the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency or Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).