Emergency Communications Plan
 

The American Red Cross urges all Americans
to plan ahead for the possibility of becoming separated from family and friends during times
of crisis.

Disasters can strike quickly and without warning.
It can force you to evacuate your neighborhood
or confine you to your home.

Knowing what to do in case household members are separated in a disaster can prevent some of the confusion and stress you, your family members, and close friends will experience if they know you are safe.

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Emergency Communications Plan 

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Keep It Simple:

The best plan is one that everyone can understand and follow.

Pick Two Places to Meet:

1. A place outside your home in case of sudden emergency, like a fire.

2. A place outside your neighborhood in case you cannot return home or are asked to leave your neighborhood.

Families are strongly encouraged to develop different methods of communicating during emergency situations and share plans beforehand with all those who would be worried about their welfare. Options for remaining in contact with family and friends if a disaster strikes include the following:
 

Pick Two Out-of-Town Emergency Contacts:

1. A designated primary friend or family member who is unlikely to be affected by the same disaster event.

2. A designated alternate friend or family member who is unlikely to be affected by the same disaster event.

Emergency Contact Card

Both adults and children should know the primary and alternate contacts’ names, addresses, and home and cell telephone numbers. This information should be carried with them. Make copies for each member of the family.

Be sure to include an out-of-town contact. It may be easier to call out of the area if local phone lines are overloaded or out of service.

Tell your children how and when to call 911 or your local Emergency Medical Services number for help. Post emergency telephone numbers by phones.

Complete the information on the American Red Cross Emergency Contact Card (PDF) and make copies for each member of your family to carry with them.

Make sure that adults and children know how to tell the contact where they are, how to reach them, and what happened or to leave this information as a brief message on an answering machine.

Keep your Emergency Contact Cards and Communication Plan readable and updated by checking them at least once a year. A good tip is to review your Emergency Contact Cards and Communication Plan when you change your clock and smoke detector batteries to daylight

savings time during Fall and Spring.

Use of the Red Cross Safe and Well Website

The Red Cross Safe and Well website (Domestics Disasters in US only) should become
an integral part of a Family Communication Plan. The Safe and Well website is an internet based tool that allows those directly affected by a disaster to let their loved ones know of their well-being.

The website is accessible at all times on our local Red Cross chapter’s homepage at
www.rainier-redcross.org and www.redcross.org.

How does the Safe and Well website work? Via the internet, people within the disaster affected area are able to post standard “safe and well” messages. Concerned family members who know the person’s phone number or a complete home address can search for the messages posted by those who self register.

The website complies with all privacy and child protection laws. Because of these concerns, no location information will be publicly displayed on this website. For more information, visit the Safe and Well website.

Other Methods Of Communicating To Friends And Family Members

E-mail notification via a family distribution list and utilizing social media or simple tests via cellphone.