Get a Kit

• Water - one gallon per person per day for a least 3 days
• Food - a least 3 days of non-perishable food that requires little or no water or cooking to prepare.
• Medications - at least a week’s supply of prescriptions or over the counter medications
• Radio - battery or hand crank, extra batteries
• First Aid Kit
• Personal Documents
• Contact Info
• Map  
• Clothing
• Sanitary Supplies
• Pet Supplies
• Tools

Planning ahead will help you have the best possible response to disaster.
Check items at least twice a year. Purchase a Disaster Supply and First Aid Kit.

Make a Plan

Planning ahead will help you have the best possible response to disaster.

• Talk - Discuss with your family the disasters that can happen where you live. Establish responsibilities for each member of your household and plan to work together as a team. Designate alternates in case someone is absent. If a family member is in the military, also plan for how you would respond if they are deployed. Include the local military base resources that may be available.
• Plan - Choose two places to meet after a disaster - one in the immediate area of your home, in case of a sudden emergency, such as a fire and one outside your neighborhood, in case you cannot return home or are asked to evacuate. Choose an out-of-area contact for all members of the family to call in case of disaster. The selected contact person should live far enough away that they would be unaffected by the same event, and they should know they are the chosen contact.
  Each family member should carry an Emergency Contact Card that inlcudes contact information for each household member, such as work, school and cell phone numbers.  If you need additional space, use the back side of the card.
  Remember that during a disaster, it may be easier to make a long distance phone call than to call across town.
• Learn - Each adult in your household should learn how and when to turn off utilities such as electricity, water and gas. Ask your local fire department to show you how to use a fire extinguisher.
• Tel l- Everyone in the household should know where emergency information and supplies are kept. Make copies of the information for everyone to carry with them. Keep the information updated. Practice evacuating your home twice a year. Drive your planned evacuation route and plot alternate routes on a map in case main roads are impassable or gridlocked.
• Pets - Include your pets as part of your family disaster plan. If you must evacuate, take your animals with you. If it is not safe for you to remain, it is not safe for them.

Be Informed

There are three key parts to becoming informed; Get Info; Know Your Region; Take Action Steps

• Get Info – Learn the ways you would get information during a disaster or an emergency -   Television, Radio, NOAA,  
  Weather Stations, Printed Notices, Telephone/Text Messaging, Local Emergency Warning System, Person to Person.
• Know Your Region – Learn about the disasters that may occur in your area. In the Houston area, we experience residential fires, flooding tornados, hurricanes and thunderstorms.  
• Take Action Steps – Get trained to perform First Aid and CPR and how to use an AED.