Communication Plan

In order to ensure that you can get in touch with friends and family in the event of an emergency, create a communication plan ahead of time. Below are things to consider when creating a plan for your friends and family:

• Create a list of phone numbers and email addresses for family and friends that you will want to get in touch with during an emergency.
  
• Make sure that each of these people knows how to get in touch with you.
  
• Choose an out of town contact to be a central communication point. This contact should live far enough away that he or she would be unlikely to be affected by the same event. Your contact will take calls from each member of your family and relay messages. Make sure this person knows they are your family’s contact and talk to them about what you will expect from them during an emergency. Providing a checklist of questions the contact should ask each family member might be helpful.
  
• Distribute contact’s information to your friends and family. Be sure to include a phone number and an email address. Often phone lines are flooded during an emergency, but emails may still get through. If you have children, it is a good idea to drop this information off at their school or place it in their backpacks.
  
• Check phone numbers and email addresses periodically to make sure the information is still current.

For more information on an emergency communication plan and other ways you can prepare yourself for a disaster, please click on the link to the Red Cross below:

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/keepsafe/unexpected.html