Monday, January 4, 2010

January- Assess Your Risk

Do 1 Thing…Assess Your Risk

The mission of www.do1thing.us is to move individuals, families, organizations, businesses, and communities to prepare for all hazards and become disaster resilient.

THE GOAL: Understand what puts you at risk from disasters and take steps to lower your risk.

Do One Thing (choose one thing to do this month):

0 Perform a family risk assessment.
0 Determine what your insurance needs are by consulting an insurance agent.
0 Buy flood insurance.


Assess Your Risk
Who you are, where you live, and how well you are able to understand and follow emergency instructions, are all things that make up your risk in a disaster. Take a moment to think about how your household would be affected by a disaster.

Which of the following might affect your families risk?


0 Children
0 Someone with a mental or physical disability
0 Someone who doesn’t speak English well
0 Someone without a car or drivers license
0 A home business
0 Kids at college
0 Seniors
0 Someone who needs medication regularly
0 Pets

0 Someone who uses home oxygen or medical equipment that needs electricity
0 A caregiver for someone outside the household, or an emergency responder

Caregivers
If you provide care for another person, in or out of your home, either as part of your job or in your personal life, you are a caregiver. Will that person be able to do without your help if you are not able to get to them for several days? How will you communicate with them? If your children stay home alone for part of the day, do they know what to do if an emergency occurs? What would they do if they were told to evacuate?

What can you do? Develop a plan to communicate with people who depend on you, and plan for what they would do if you couldn’t reach them. Include them in making the plan, as much as possible, and go over it with them to make sure they are familiar with it.

Physical challenges
Health, medication and durable medical equipment needs, along with physical limitations are all things to think about when preparing for disasters. How long will medicine or wheel chair batteries last? Can everyone in your home receive, understand, and act on emergency instructions given over radio or television? Public transportation may not be available in a disaster, and personal assistants and caregivers may not be able to get to you.
What can you do? Develop a personal support network of people who can check in with you when weather watches or warnings are issued, or emergency events occur in your community. Talk to service providers, including home health companies, pharmacists, doctors, and caregivers. Find out what they will be able to provide in (or before) a disaster, and what they will expect you to do for yourself.

Living Alone
Living alone has its own set of challenges in a disaster. When a disaster happens, who will know if you are missing or safe? People who live alone are more likely to be targeted by fraud or other crimes following a disaster.

What can you do? Make sure that you are plugged in somewhere, whether it is with family, friends or coworkers. Meet your neighbors or volunteer in the community. Have a whistle as part of your emergency kit, in case you are trapped in your home or apartment after a disaster.

Pet Owners
Would you be able to easily evacuate your pet if you had to leave your home? Where would you go? American Red Cross shelters do not allow pets (they do allow service animals) and hotels that take pets will fill up very quickly if many people have to evacuate. What if you are away from home when a disaster occurs and you are not allowed to go back? What if your pet is injured and you can’t get to a vet?

What can you do? Create a go kit for your pet. Take a pet first aid class. Make sure you have a carrier or leash in case you have to evacuate with your pet. Make a plan for a neighbor to help care for a pet if you can’t get home.

Everybody
Disasters change things. ATM machines and gas pumps may not be working. Stores may be closed. Public transportation, phones and cell phones, and the internet may not be available for several days. Do you have what you need to take care of yourself for at least three days? If you work at home how will you protect or replace important business records or inventory? Do you have enough insurance for both business and personal property?

There are answers to all of these questions and understanding your risk can help you design an emergency plan that fits your household’s needs.

Insurance
Bad things happen. They can happen anywhere and to anyone. Do you have enough insurance to get your life back to normal if it happens to you? Meet with your insurance agent to review your policies. If you rent, make sure you have renter’s insurance. Financial assistance may not be available from FEMA after a disaster. Even if you are given assistance from FEMA, it will probably not be enough to make things like they were before.

Whether you rent or own your home, it is up to you to protect your possessions. Having the right insurance before the disaster is the safest course back to normal after a disaster.

When shopping for insurance, talk to more than one agent to find out what’s best for you.