Last summer, due to a nearby fire, my husband and I were mandated to quickly evacuate our house. Although the fire was nothing comparable to what happened in January in southern California, it was quickly moving and burned several houses in our community.
What I clearly remember is what I felt when I gathered objects to evacuate. The experience was surreal.
I went from room to space to have the impression that most of our goods could be replaced and would not miss. With the help of family members, I gathered some inheritances, photos, legal documents and other necessities.
Without the help of others reminding me of entering certain articles, I would have left many crucial articles.
Fortunately, we haven’t lost anything; The firefighters worked feverishly and the wind models changed when the flames approached our house. All the houses on our street have been saved.
After going home and unpacking our personal effects, I realized that I needed a better plan. I forgot to take many crucial objects to evacuation to evacuate. Some of these things were clearly in sight when I gathered articles, but I always neglected them.
To plan the next disaster, I prepared a control list that met the specific needs of our households and attached the list to my bag of essential documents. If I am in a similar position, I can enter the articles our family will need.
Many people in recent fires will not have a second chance to rewrite their control list because they have lost everything and do not return home. Those of us who have not been directly affected can learn from tragedy and plan accordingly, so we are better prepared for the next time.
Prepare and implement a plan
Talk to everyone with whom you live and adapt a specific strategy to your household. Would anyone need additional evacuating assistance? Plan to meet these needs. Then practice. When my daughter was young and not extremely neat, part of our plan was that she should always have a clear path from her bed to the door. No exceptions.
Establish routines and prepare a disaster.
– The same month each year, replace the batteries of your smoke detectors, pocket lamps and any other tool or device that you may need in case of emergency. Also check the expiration dates on your stored water and non -perishable foods during this same period.
– Identify your risks and take the appropriate measures to manage and prepare the inside and outside of your home for a natural disaster. Do you need to maintain the clearance of the brushes or cut your trees away from the outside of your home? Should the furniture in your house be bolted on the wall because it could fall into an earthquake?
– Call your insurance company and check that your coverage is appropriate for the value of your home and adequate for risks in your region. Ask your agent on adding your confidence as an additional assured to your policy. If you rent, buy insurance tenants for an amount that will replace your goods if you submit a complaint.
– If you need to file an insurance complaint, it is almost impossible to remember all your goods. Record or photograph each piece every year, including the garage and the courtyard. Open the cupboard cabinets and doors to document all your properties.
—Walk around your house and as you do, ask yourself if the power had come out, can you open the garage door manually or the electric door at the entrance to the aisle? Do you know how to turn off the gas to your home?
—Alysive buying a generator. Even if you are not directly affected by the natural disaster, your power could be absent for an extended period while your region is recovered.
Save your important documents on a secure cloud location and protected by password, including inheritance planning documents, income declarations, insurance policies, registration and title for your vehicles, your wedding certificate, Death certificates, divorce and adoption documents, as well as on jewelry and artistic assessments.
Do not forget passports, social security cards, green cards, military cards and any other form of legal identification.
Confirm that all of your family contacts and any other relevant information is recorded on your phone. Under each contact is a section of notes. Add information relevant to your family contacts to these notes. Confirm that your insurance information and police numbers are registered, that the prescriptions is noted and that other vital information is stored in notes for quick access.
Teach all family members to send SMS. In an emergency, mobile networks can be overloaded and texts require less bandwidth. Designate a text group specifically for this purpose. In addition, Facebook has a security functionality that allows users to easily publish state updates for a disaster period.
Keep an emergency bag in your car filled with essentials. Keep your vehicle loaded or powered. If your house is damaged by a natural disaster, suppose that the surrounding companies are also. Plan the worst and assume that your local gas and load stations will be closed.
The Red Cross offers a variety of emergency bags and backpacks available for purchase as well as a useful survivor kit control available on: redcross.org/get-help/how-de-prepare -for-Emercesngs/Survival-Kit-Supplies.
Natural disasters vary depending on where you live, from earthquakes to tornadoes. During planning, identify your local risks, then do the work necessary to implement the plan.
Dwight D. Eisenhower said one day: “The plans are nothing; Planning is everything.
Do the job to make sure your plan is something, not just an idea. One day, the planning value could be invaluable.
Teri Parker is certified financial planner and vice-president of the Office of the River of Captrust Financial Advisers. She has been practicing financial planning and investment management since 2000. Contact her by e-mail at Teri.parker@captrust.com.
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