Personal and Family Emergency Preparedness

PLANNING GUIDEDate last updated:

For more information about emergency preparedness and for help in filling out these forms, visit preparedness.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

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“Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them” (Ezekiel 38:7).

Personal and Family Emergency Preparedness Planning Guide

We have been counseled to be prepared for personal and large-scale disasters. This preparedness includes sustaining life with food storage and a water sup-ply and extends to planning for reunification after a disaster, communication with family members, mental and emotional preparation, and many other consider-ations.This planning guide can help you create or update personal and family emergency response plans. Your emergency plan should be coordinated with ward, stake, and community plans. The most effective plans are simple and brief. As a family or individual, you should review and update this plan regularly. With the following steps and accompanying work sheets, you should be able to:

• Evaluate disasters and disruptions• Plan for disruptions• Develop a communications plan• Create a reunification plan• Plan for special needs • Create a list of action Items for things that require

further preparation

The first step of emergency and disaster preparation is to educate yourself and your family about what a disaster is, which are most likely to occur (depending on your geographical location), how they may disrupt your daily activities or routine, and what you can do to prepare for them. Don’t forget to discuss emergencies that occur on a family level such as unemployment or the death of a loved one.Consider the following as you build your own emer-gency plan.

Prior to a disaster: • Find a location for storing and accessing important

family documents, emergency funds, survival and emergency supplies, and food storage

• Set up a safe family gathering place that coincides with the ward and stake or community reunification plans

• Establish ways to communicate with each other about your safety in case you are separated during the disaster.

• Make an Emergency Information Card for any chil-dren in your home with basic identification, medical and contact information, and information to stay in contact in a disaster.

• Pack an emergency bag for each member of the family with things such as: basic hygiene items, clothing, a light source, snacks, activities, and a com-fort item to help children feel safe.

Immediately after a disaster:• Help to locate and reunite family members who

have become separated from the rest of the family. Attend to any immediate needs.Determine and report to ministering brothers or sisters or other Church leadership the condition of each family member.

• Obtain medical care for those who have been in-jured or who have other health challenges.

• Ensure you have access to a supply of basic provi-sions and services—such as food, temporary shelter, sanitation, and clothing.

Soon after a disaster:• Provide assistance to family members who are

suffering, have damaged shelter or belongings, or who are experiencing emotional trauma or loss of livelihood.

For more information about emergency preparedness and for help in filling out these forms, visit preparedness.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

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Disaster and Disruption ReviewList the disasters that are most likely to happen where you live. Make sure to think about natural disasters as well as human-made events. For each type of disaster, identify specific things that would be disrupted. (For example, disasters like earth-quakes, fires, floods, or hurricanes damage homes, so shelter would be one thing affected.)Consider personal or family disasters as well. These

types of disasters might include things like a job loss, a house fire, serious illness, the loss of a spouse, school lock-downs, closure of child care or schools, relocation, or separation from family.The worksheet will help you see the areas of your life most likely to be disrupted by a disaster. Then you can start planning for how to support disruptions to those areas.

EMERGENCY OR DISASTER

Examples include an earthquake, a hurricane, a typhoon, a cyclone, a fire, a flood, a tornado, a widespread disease, civil unrest, unemployment, divorce, the death of a family member, a house fire, and other disasters.

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Disruption Totals

For more information about emergency preparedness and for help in filling out these forms, visit preparedness.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

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Planning for DisruptionsUse this worksheet to plan for immediate and long-term needs. Identify the resources you will need in each time frame. For example, imagine the disruption is to your shelter. A short-term need could be using a meetinghouse, a midterm need could be staying

with friends or family members, and a long-term need could be repairing your home or buying a new one. Use the Take Action section to plan for any needs you might have.

DISRUPTIONSSHORT-TERM NEEDS MIDTERM NEEDS LONG-TERM NEEDS

(1–3 DAYS) (3 DAYS–2 WEEKS) (2 WEEKS–2+ MONTHS)

Food, Drinking Water, and Cooking

Physical Safety

Shelter and Clothing

Communication

Emotional Well-Being

Power Sources

Heating and Cooling

Medical Services

Sewer and Water

Transportation and Fuel Supply

Spiritual Well-Being

For more information about emergency preparedness and for help in filling out these forms, visit preparedness.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

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Communication PlanCreate a communication plan for contacting people in an emergency. It’s good to have a list of family members, friends, neighbors, Church leaders, and community resources. Consider memorizing phone numbers in case your contact list is unavailable. Plan other ways to make contact if you can’t make a phone call. This might mean texting, instant messaging, or posting on social media.

After a disaster, it can be hard to make calls within the area. It’s often easier to make long distance calls. Designate a relative in another city to be an out-of-town contact. Plan for all family members to contact that person. They can tell their condition and location to the out-of-town contact, who can help relay information.

COMMUNICATION PLAN

FAMILY CONTACTS NEIGHBORS, CHURCH, WORK MEDICAL, COMMUNITY, SCHOOL

Out of town contact:

Reunification PlanDesignate a safe place where you and your family can find each other after an emergency. It is also a good idea to pick an alternate place. Gathering places may change depending on the disaster or where you are when the disaster happens. For example, if you’re at school, you may

not be able to come to the safe place near your home. Your gathering place should be somewhere where children can find a trusted adult. Each ward and stake should also have a gathering place for reuniting families.

REUNIFICATION PLAN

Family gathering place:

Alternate family gathering place:

School or child care gathering place:

Ward or stake gathering place:

For more information about emergency preparedness and for help in filling out these forms, visit preparedness.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

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IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

Full name: Blood type: Medications:

Nick name: Allergies/conditions:

Date of birth:

Phone (cell): Emergency Contact

Phone (home): Name:

Street address: Phone:

City, State/Province, Zip: Email:

Parent’s names: Relationship to child:

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

Full name: Blood type: Medications:

Nick name: Allergies/conditions:

Date of birth:

Phone (cell): Emergency Contact

Phone (home): Name:

Street address: Phone:

City, State/Province, Zip: Email:

Parent’s names: Relationship to child:

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

Full name: Blood type: Medications:

Nick name: Allergies/conditions:

Date of birth:

Phone (cell): Emergency Contact

Phone (home): Name:

Street address: Phone:

City, State/Province, Zip: Email:

Parent’s names: Relationship to child:

Family Emergency Contact CardsIn case of emergency, Family Emergency Contact Cards help first responders contact your family. These first responders could be paramedics, fire-fighters, police officers, or hospital personnel. Fill out an Emergency Contact Card for each of your family members. Then cut the card out and fold it in half. Encourage family members to carry this with them

all the time. You can put the card in your wallet or a child’s backpack or diaper bag. It is helpful to also keep one in your car. Check your emergency contact information to keep it updated.

Attach a photo

Attach a photo

Attach a photo

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Special Needs to ConsiderIdentify any special needs your family has. What will you need in an emergency to meet those needs? Think about medications, wheelchair assistance, oxygen, allergy considerations, and so on. Consider the unique needs of children and the elderly. Do any family members have limited mobility or spe-

cial food and supply needs? Do any family members have a limited ability to speak and identify themselves or others if separated? Use this worksheet to identify the needs and then plan who will take care of those needs.

MEDICAL AND SPECIAL NEEDS

Take ActionAs you complete your emergency plan, you may find that there are areas in which you do not have the information or resources you need. Use this Action Items section to identify next steps to complete your plan.

ACTION ITEMS

Date of last update: OtherA: OtherB: OtherC: emergency 1: food: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

safety: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

shelter: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

communication: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

emotional: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

power: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

heating: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

medical: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

sewer: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

transportation: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

otherA: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

otherB: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

otherC: 1: Off2: Off3: Off4: Off5: Off6: Off7: Off8: Off9: Off10: Off11: Off12: Off13: Off14: Off

emergency 2: emergency 3: emergency 4: emergency 5: emergency 6: emergency 7: emergency 8: emergency 9: emergency 10: emergency 11: emergency 12: emergency 13: emergency 14: food total: 0safety total: 0shelter total: 0communication total: 0emotional total: 0power total: 0heating total: 0medical total: 0sewer total: 0transportation total: 0otherA total: 0otherB total: 0otherC total: 0Btn: ResetPage:

Short term 1: midterm 1: long term 1: Short term 2: midterm 2: long term 2: Short term 3: midterm 3: long term 3: Short term 4: midterm 4: long term 4: Short term 5: midterm 5: long term 5: Short term 6: midterm 6: long term 6: Short term 7: midterm 7: long term 7: Short term 8: midterm 8: long term 8: Short term 9: midterm 9: long term 9: Short term 10: midterm 10: long term 10: Short term 11: midterm 11: long term 11: Disruption 2: Short term 12: midterm 12: long term 12: Disruption 3: Short term 13: midterm 13: long term 13: Disruption 4: Short term 14: midterm 14: long term 14: Communication_1: Communication_2: Communication_3: Communication_4: Communication_5: Communication_6: Communication_7: Communication_8: Communication_9: Communication_10: Communication_11: Communication_12: Communication_13: Communication_14: Communication_15: Communication_16: Communication_17: Communication_18: Communication_19: Communication_20: Communication_21: Reunification_1: Reunification_2: Reunification_3: Reunification_4: Full name_1: Nick name_1: Date of birth_1: cell phone_1: home phone_1: street address_1: City_1: Parents names_1: Blood type_1: Medications_1: AllergiesA_1: AllergiesB_1: EC Name_1: EC Phone_1: EC Email_1: EC Relationship_1: Full name_2: Nick name_2: Date of birth_2: cell phone_2: home phone_2: street address_2: City_2: Parents names_2: Blood type_2: Medications_2: AllergiesA_2: AllergiesB_2: EC Name_2: EC Phone_2: EC Email_2: EC Relationship_2: Full name_3: Nick name_3: Date of birth_3: cell phone_3: home phone_3: street address_3: City_3: Parents names_3: Blood type_3: Medications_3: AllergiesA_3: AllergiesB_3: EC Name_3: EC Phone_3: EC Email_3: EC Relationship_3: Special need 1: Special need 2: Special need 3: Special need 4: Special need 5: Special need 6: Special need 7: Special need 8: Special need 9: Special need 10: Special need 11: Special need 12: Special need 13: Special need 14: Special need 15: ACTION 1: ACTION 2: ACTION 3: ACTION 4: ACTION 5: ACTION 6: ACTION 7: ACTION 8: ACTION 9: ACTION 10: ACTION 11: ACTION 12: ACTION 13: