Make plans today. Your family may not be together if and when a disaster strikes, so know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if separated. Establish a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find. Your family’s needs change over time, so update your plan regularly.
Be Prepared
Decide on safe, familiar, accessible places where your family can go for protection or to reunite. If you have pets or service animals, think about animal-friendly locations. Consider places in your house, in your neighborhood, and outside of your city or town so you are prepared for any situation.
Practice! Practice! Practice!
Make a list. Write down your contacts and plans. You can download the Family Emergency Communication Plan Fillable Card (ready.gov) and print a copy for each member of the family. Make sure everyone has a copy and keeps them in a safe place, like in a backpack, wallet, or taped in a notebook. Hold regular household meetings to review and practice your plan.
Parents, Kids Need to Build a Kit
Being prepared for an emergency isn't just about staying safe during a storm or a disaster. It's also about how to stay comfortable, clean, fed, and healthy afterwards — when a storm or disaster may have knocked out electricity.
If power is out, you also might not be able to go to the store or the bank. Being prepared means having your own food, water, cash, and other supplies to last for at least three days and possibly longer if you are in a remote or hard-to-reach area.
Remember that your kit will depend on your own needs. Once you look at the basic items, consider what unique needs your family might have, such as supplies for pets or seniors. You can download and print emergency checklists for parents and kids at emergency-planning/build-a-kit.
Insurance & Financial Preparedness Tips
Americans at all income levels have experienced the challenges of rebuilding their lives after a disaster or other emergency. In these stressful times, having access to personal financial, insurance, medical and other records is crucial for starting the recovery process quickly and efficiently.
- Gather financial and critical personal, household and medical information.
- Consider saving money in an emergency savings account that could be used in any crisis. Keep a small amount of cash at home in a safe place. It is important to have small bills on hand because ATMs and credit cards may not work during and after a disaster when you need to purchase necessary supplies, fuel or food.
- Obtain property (homeowners or renters) health and life insurance if you do not have them. Not all insurance policies are the same. Review your policy to make sure the amount and types of coverage you have meet the requirements for all possible hazards. Homeowners insurance does not typically cover flooding, so you may need to purchase flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program.
- For more helpful insurance and financial preparedness tips, download Document & Insure Your Property and the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit to get started planning today.
Plan Ahead for Disasters at Ready.gov
Louisianans can find much more information about planning for the next hurricane, flood or other natural disaster, including links to online resources and free publications, by visiting https://www.ready.gov/.
For the latest information on Hurricane Laura, visit Louisiana Hurricane Laura (DR-4559-LA). For the latest information on Hurricane Delta, visit Louisiana Hurricane Delta (DR-4570-LA). For the latest on Hurricane Zeta, visit Louisiana Hurricane Zeta (DR-4577-LA) Follow the FEMA Region 6 Twitter account at twitter.com/FEMARegion6.