Abby's Story
With two autistic children ages three and five, Abby's life revolves around her family's routine. Between therapies, school and gymnastics, she manages over 30 appointments a week. She says, “Routine is everything to autistic kids. It reduces their anxiety.” On a warm day in May 2013, Abby saw the routine she had carefully constructed destroyed by an EF-5 tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma and neighboring Oklahoma City.
Although forecasts that day called for severe weather, Abby and her husband wanted to take advantage of a rare day off and went to a movie. She says, “We thought, we are going to a movie, it is two hours, [it's] not even raining outside, if something is going to get bad then it will get bad later tonight.” About halfway through the movie, Abby got a call from the daycare center across the street from where her children were playing—a tornado was coming and they were evacuating the children to a storm shelter.
Find out what happened by watching the latest America's PrepareAthon! disaster survivor video, “ It Started Like Any Other Day .”
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Locating Loved Ones
Have you ever thought about how you will communicate with and locate your loved ones in the event of a disaster? You never know where you will be or with whom you will be when a disaster strikes. This week, the focus for National Preparedness Month is, “How to Reconnect with Family After a Disaster.” Use this time to build a family communications plan . Your priority will be to get to a safe place, contact your loved ones and reunite with them as soon as possible. The best course of action is to have a plan for each of the common locations where you spend most of your time – home, work, gym, or place of worship.
Below are some tips on how to get in contact with your loved ones in an emergency.
- Complete a contact card for each member of your family and have them placed in purses, wallets and book bags;
- Have a contact that does not live in your area that each family member can notify when they are safe if unable to contact family in the affected area. An out-of-area contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members;
- Remember you can use text messaging when calling does not work because phone lines commonly have network disruptions after disasters; and
- In addition to text messaging, use social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, to alert family members that you are safe. You can also use the American Red Cross's Safe and Well program .
Check out America's PrepareAthon! to participate in other drills and exercises with your family, and practice the communications plan you just developed as part of National Preparedness Month.
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The Mobile Way to Go
In this day and age, technology is rapidly changing and improving. Every day we are finding new ways to communicate and improve communication response times – especially during a disaster. The most incredible part is that everything we need fits right in our hand.
You may be one of the many people across the country who rely more on a mobile phone than a traditional house-hold land-line; therefore, in emergency situations, it is vital to understand how your mobile or smartphone can get you critical information instantly. The following are ways to receive emergency information on your mobile or smartphone:
One way to reduce the effects of disasters in your community is to invest in enhancing resilience through mobile technology. Using the above resources, we can start preparing for disasters and learn how to manage and mitigate emergency situations now, so that we don't wonder what to do later! For more information regarding mobile alerts and text messaging visit http://www.ready.gov/get-tech-ready .
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ABCs of School Emergency Planning
It's September once again and that means children across the country are heading back to school! Do you know the emergency plan at your child's school? What about the steps the school will take to share pertinent information with you? As a parent, it's important to understand what will happen after a natural disaster or emergency at your child's school.
Here are the ABC's of what you should know about a school's Emergency Operations Plan (EOP):
A. Always ensure your school has up-to-date evacuation plans , emergency kits and contact sheets . Ensure your school's nurse has your child's medical information and medications on hand. Ask your child's teacher to walk you through their evacuation plan and show you their emergency kits.
B. Be Prepared. Provide your school with your cell phone number, work phone number, and contact information for your relatives. If your child is old enough to carry a cell phone, make sure they know how to text you or a designated contact in case of an emergency. Also, be prepared to have a conversation with your child about emergencies and hazards.
C. Coordinate with your child's teachers and school officials to set a plan in place if there is not one. Guide them to Ready.gov for more resources and encourage the school to perform school wide drills and exercises as part of America's PrepareAthon!
These ABCs, tools and resources are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your child's at-school safety. For more information on how to get started visit http://www.ready.gov/school-emergency-plans.
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Dates for Your Calendar!
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