While many people are prepared for adverse events with goods, survival foods, weaponry and tactical gear, most individuals don’t really put in their brains to develop a local emergency preparedness plan. The emergency preparedness plan includes the actions which the family will take in case of any natural disaster; whether it’s better to hunk down or evacuate where extraction points are, if roadways cannot be accessed.

Local Emergency Preparedness Plan

A local emergency preparedness plan includes researching about surrounding areas of your living place to determine how your family will evacuate in case of natural disaster or extreme protest. It also involves scouting wildlife, vegetation and natural resources during camping and hiking trips to ensure that you don’t run out of food in calamity. This can all be done with the help of family members by reviewing planning techniques and establishing command posts.

Natural Disasters

Those who live in areas prone to natural disasters like hurricanes, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are mostly already prepared for these events and they’re already included in their emergency plan. Nevertheless, it’s still necessary to monitor extreme weather conditions continuously and remain prepared for the worse as natural disasters can sometimes reach to such intensities that even the most prepared ones are not able to withstand the damage.

Volcanic Eruptions And Earthquakes

Always keep a map of your location and surrounding areas with you and use resources that point the unstable points in your area during a catastrophic event, like volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. For example, some places in Southern California are always susceptible to earthquakes of high magnitude because of the San Andreas Fault while parts of Seattle, Washington are susceptible to flooding.

Highlights of different colors can point out these zones so that you can easily differentiate them from safe locations. This strategy should be used as it can save you and your family when you need to evacuate to safe zones in case of volcanic eruptions or earthquake. U.S Geological survey and Quakes are some useful websites you can use to track earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and hazardous zones.

If your area is prone to landslides or sinkholes, evacuation is a must during severe natural disasters even if it doesn’t affect your house. The reason is that the movement of huge landmasses like the event of Oso Landslide in Washington exposes septic systems and sewerage. This can lead to severe sickness and even cause death because of chemical and biological agents.

Highways, Freeways, Exit Routes

Civil unrest can occur during an emergency evacuation. Those who aren’t interested in freebies from looting the stores and shops have only one goal and that’s evacuation. This creates gridlock, roadblocks and traffic at major intersections, freeways and highways.

Use a local map to trace out major routes and develop an exit strategy. Look for uncommon roads through neighborhoods that’ll allow you to navigate away from large traffic and evacuate without compromising your family’s safety. A GPS live map can be used to trace these roadways.

Natural Resources, Surrounding Terrain And Safe AO’s

Before you pack survival foods and evacuate from the town, scout your surrounding areas for extraction points. Take a trip and hike these places to search for wildlife and vegetation. Familiarize the terrain to avoid any unfortunate situation like falling into a deep hole in a hurry. Look for natural resources like running water or a river. The more you travel and familiarize yourself with these areas the more safe extraction point will be for you and your family.

Determine a safe AO (Area of Operation) if you wish to ensure the survival of your family. Survival goods and foods create the hype, but they won’t last years. The things that will get you through are your knowledge and know-how about building shelters, filtering water, foraging and hunting.

Planning Techniques

You should keep your planning techniques to yourself and not showboat them to others. If you tell people about your plans, it will make those lazy ones who don’t have a local emergency preparedness plan depend upon you. Keep all the important details to your family.

Don’t just map out one extraction points, rather outline several ones in case one of them becomes exposed or disrupted. Make sure that there is a sentry point in each AO to guard or set up a barrier and also to keep an eye out for intruders or wild animals.

That’s all for a local emergency preparedness plan! Now, the next time you’re hit by a natural disaster or angry rioters, you’ll know what to do to save your family and ensure their long-term survival.