Emergency Contact List

Keeping in Touch During a Disaster

Now is the time to plan how your family will stay in contact if separated by any kind of disaster. Gather the family together to discuss and plan how you will all keep in touch, IF a crisis occurs.

Pick two meeting places:

1. Choose a location a safe distance from your home in case of fire.
2. Choose a place outside your neighborhood in case you can't return home.

Meet with Neighbors

Do you have a Neighborhood Watch Program organized in your neighborhood? If you do, hold a meeting to plan how the neighborhood could work together after a disaster. Know your neighbors' skills (medical, technical). Consider how you could help neighbors who have special needs, such as elderly or disabled persons. Make plans for child care in case parents can't get home.

Information about using cell phones and land lines during a crisis:

• Charge cell phones and extra batteries before predicted storms hit.
• Consider using a car charger for cell phones.
• Text message or email instead of calling on cell phones to help alleviate network overuse.
• Send short text messages on cell phones. They are more likely to go through and will stay in queue until they can be sent.
• Wait 10 seconds before redialing on cell phones to allow networks time to clear data.
• Save cell phone batteries by using working land lines.
• Use walkie talkies to communicate short distances.
• Make calls only in an emergency to keep lines and networks as free as possible.
• Remember land line cordless phones don’t work during a power outage.
• Sometimes cell phones will not work during an extended power outage.
• Keep phones and batteries dry.
• Have more than 1 method of communication as land lines, cell phones, cable, internet, and electricity can all be disrupted and at different times.
• If you evacuate, forward home numbers to cell phones.
• Program emergency contacts into cell phones.
• Have a central contact outside the storm area so family and/or friends can check in if they become separated from your group.
  
  

Establish an Out-Of-State 24-Hour Telephone Contact

• Calls out will not overload phone lines as will calls coming into a disaster area.
• All relatives should be informed now on procedures to call the phone contact, not after a disaster has occurred. Individual location and status should be requested.
• Take color pictures of every room plus pictures of valuables. Send one copy of legal papers and one copy of pictures to an out-of-state contact.

Your emergency contact list is one of the MOST important tasks you can complete for your family's safety in a real disaster.