Families and Communities

Resources for Individuals and Families

What can a family do to prepare for disaster? The first step is to determine what kinds of emergencies might affect your home and family. Call a family meeting to discuss and decide how your family will respond to a disaster and then create a written family disaster plan. The plan should include information on family members (names of all family members and their birth dates and social security numbers); home address, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses; emergency numbers; vehicle information; insurance information (vehicle, household, health); and a household inventory. The University of Missouri has created a downloadable disaster plan template to guide families through the process of developing a plan.

Prepare

  • The Alabama Department of Insurance provides information for consumers and insurance agents on disaster preparedness.
  • American Red Cross provides a wealth of information and links to services.
  • Emergency Financial First Aid Kit is a tool created in partnership with U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Citizen Corps and Operation HOPE. The publication lists five tips for preparing for emergencies and provides forms for families to complete. The forms are useful for keeping financial records in order to help maintain stability in the event of an emergency.
  • The eXtension Family Caregiving resources range from a description of the difference between voluntary and mandatory evacuations to tips on addressing post-disaster stress.
  • The Federal Communications Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau wants you and your family to be able to communicate in a disaster. Tips for communicating in an emergency include recommendations for all users and additional tips for people with disabilities and for communications providers.
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency has developed an extensive guide for disaster preparedness. Are You Ready? provides a step-by-step outline on how to prepare a disaster supply kit, emergency planning for people with disabilities, how to locate and evacuate to a shelter and even contingency planning for family pets. Man-made threats from hazardous materials and terrorism are also treated in detail.
  • The National Safety Council provides dozens of fact sheets on topics that focus on driving, safety inside and outside the home and other issues in its Fact Sheet Library.
  • People with disabilities:

    Federal Emergency Management Agency suggests additional steps for a disaster plan.

    Prepare.Org, a Web site produced by the American Red Cross, includes disaster preparedness materials for people with disabilities. The site itself is primarily text in large print.

  • Child Emergency Preparedness (pdf)
  • First Aid Supplies (pdf)
  • Pet Preparedness (pdf)
  • Tornado Fact Sheet (pdf)

Respond and Recover

Cleanup

Food and Water Safety

Family Well-being

Financial Literacy