After living with a full house for many years, transitioning to an empty nest includes a couple of lifestyle changes. One of the differences people often forget about is preparing for and enduring emergencies. With kids, prepping and maneuvering around disasters comes with extra hands to help pack items, double down on checklists, and administer aid. Tackling an emergency with less help or on your own looks daunting after having a full team. Here are some essential steps and top tips for an emergency to give you a refresher. You can keep these on hand when preparing for disasters.
Means of Communication
If you are on your own, means of communication play an important role in numerous ways. The current day and age provides various communication forms, like cell phones and special buttons. Emergency clickers or setting up easy-to-click dialing establishes a way to contact help when you’re impaired. Keeping your cell signal boosted in a disaster further ensures your phone has enough signal quality and strength to reach out to professional services for aid or contact your kids to check in and update them. Contacting emergency services or emotional support saves lives and makes a huge difference in your experience.
Escape Plan
Escape plans range from setting up transportation methods to quick exit routes and must-do checklists. During emergencies, panic sets in fast, and it can be hard to orient your thoughts and decision-making process. Creating an escape plan maps out what you need to do and how to do it during or before the climax of disasters. Some of the emergency must-do checklists commonly included in an escape plan include turning off your house’s power and gas before leaving, placing items in high-reach zones during flood warnings, placing sandbags, and filling up your car’s petrol.
Safety Kits
A safety kit provides you with basic necessities in a single, portable, and weatherproof carrier, no matter the disaster. Like first-aid kits, they include means of first-aid response like bandages and medicine, but they also consist of food, water, spare clothing, fire starters, torchlights, and blankets. One of the benefits of setting up a safety kit for a single-occupied household versus a full one is that you don’t have to pack or carry as many items. Make sure to keep your safety kit in an accessible location. It should be manageable to carry on your own without slowing or weighing you down.
Emergency Alerts
Encountering a disaster when you least expect it creates nonidyllic situations. Although you can’t predict all emergencies, some are easier to look out for than others. Thanks to advanced technology, it’s easy to track and warn people about upcoming natural disasters. Setting up emergency alerts on your phone, computer, tablet, or TV allows you to receive public alerts from and in your local area. Plus, most emergency alerts provide you with extra details like the locations of local relief centers and your nearest evacuation routes. Another way to know about upcoming emergencies is by watching the news frequently and subscribing to reliable sources.
With these essential steps and top tips for an emergency, returning to dealing with disasters on your own becomes less nerve-racking. If your kids live on their own as well, sharing tips and tricks with them helps keep them safe and gives you an excuse to contact them.
