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Be Ready SSL
Whether it's a natural disaster, a health crisis, or a man-made incident, it's always smart to have a plan in place. A well-thought-out emergency plan can significantly reduce the risk of injuries, save lives, and protect property.
By being prepared we build resilience in our community. Follow the Five Step Preparedness Plan to help you and your household recover from any and all adverse situations.
What Should I Do?
- BE INFORMED
- GET INVOLVED
- MAKE A PLAN (see below)
- BUILD A KIT (see below)
Five Step Preparedness Plan
Although we can prepare for disasters, South Salt Lake will not have the resources to support all residents during a catastrophe. We will have to work together to support one another. Being prepared and having a plan can be the difference between life or death, and allows you to minimize the impact of a disaster to you, your family, your home, or your neighbors.
Making sure you're prepared for emergencies can be overwhelming, but we're here to help. Below is a preparedness plan from Be Ready Utah with five action steps for you to follow. It can take time to gather, purchase, and store everything you need, so don't feel rushed. Pace yourself and walk through the process at your own speed. But remember, the quicker you're prepared for the next disaster, the better off you and your family will be.
The first step of preparedness is to know what you're preparing for. We can’t plan for everything but we can plan for our known risks.
- Do you know the natural and man-made dangers in your area?
- Have you thought about how these dangers could affect you and your family ln terms of power outages, sheltering in place, and access to running water?
In much of South Salt Lake, some of these include earthquakes, severe weather, house fires, possible flooding, ice storms, and wind storms. Are there other risks in your specific area that should be taken into consideration?
Take Action
Download the 5-Step Preparedness Plan from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, and start walking through the steps.
- Find the risks in your area by exploring the the sites below.
- Under Action Step 1: Know Your Risks, check the all the risk boxes that apply to your area. Click on the link to sign up for emergency alerts. We also suggest you sign up for a Notify Me account with South Salt Lake so that we may text emergency alert notifications to you.
In our area, it is recommended that individuals have enough food and water to last 96 hours, or 4 days. In the event of a major earthquake, it will likely take state and federal resources a minimum of 96 hours to get to our community members. Having a supply of food and water during this time will ensure many lives are saved.
Water
What does food and water storage look like? Well, it is estimated that 3 gallons of water are needed per person per day. Water can take up a lot of room. Think about how best to store it in your home. One thought on how to store your water is in 5-gallon containers. The CDC has great information on how to create and store an emergency water supply.
Food
For food storage, focus on shelf stable products that can be accessed easily, such as canned goods, freeze dried foods, peanut butter, dried fruits, and nuts. There may not be an option to warm up foods, so it's important to ensure your food can be eaten as is. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has some tips and tricks on keeping food safe during an emergency
Take Action
Download the 5-Step Preparedness Plan from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, and start walking through the steps. Make sure you first complete Action Step 1.
- Calculate how much water you and your household will need for a minimum of 4 days. Think about additional gallons for hygiene and pets
- List out the emergency food you have and what you might need to start collecting over the next few weeks to build up your supply for roughly 4 days of food.
- Set a goal so that at date you select you have enough water and food stored in an easily accessible place in your house or other safe location. Think about picking up an extra can of soup or tuna whenever you go to the store, and same for water.
Shelter In Place
Now that you know your risks and you have your water and food on hand, start to think about how to protect yourself and your family.
What does shelter in place mean? This is typically an order from your local city, county, or state government to stay inside your home and wait for an “all clear” statement from authorities. This order may be called into effect in the event of an active shooter in your area, a tornado or other severe weather event, or a chemical spill or radiological release.
If you are required to shelter in place there are a few supplies that are helpful to have on hand.
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Take Action
Download the 5-Step Preparedness Plan from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, and start walking through the steps. Make sure you first complete Action Step 1-2.
- Review the Essential Supplies list and start collecting the supplies. Store them in an easily accessible spot. This may be near your food and water storage.
- Check off which supplies you collected and write any notes about things you want to keep in mind during a “shelter in place” order.
- Ensure that you have a box of supplies at your workplace in case you are ordered to shelter in place there for a longer period of time.
Educate Yourself
Watch: Sheltering in Place.
Evacuation
If you are ordered or advised to evacuate, do you know where to go or how you would get there? We often know our neighborhood streets and closest highway entrances, but what if those are closed. Have you thought about other routes you can take if your usual road is blocked? What if you don’t own a car. What do you do?
In an evacuation order you will want to bring many of the same supplies you would need to shelter in place--food, water, copies of essential documents, cash, medicine, power cords, etc. Additionally, you will need to pack weather appropriate clothing and possibly some comfort items such as books or toys for kids.
Take Action
Download the 5-Step Preparedness Plan from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, and start walking through the steps. Make sure you complete Action Step 1 and Step 2 first.
- Review the “Go-Kit” supplies list. Think about if there are any other supplies you may want to bring with you, depending on approximately how long you will be gone for. Have you taken special considerations for those in your household including children, the elderly, disabled, and/or pets?
- Ensure all your supplies will fit in a travel bag or in your vehicle.
- Look at a map of your area and plan 2-3 routes you can take to get out of the city safely. Remember, if there is an earthquake it's possible that highways and bridges may have collapsed.
- If you do not have your own transportation listen on the radio to find out public transportation information or find out where shelters are located using this link.
- Print out or write out your evacuation route and plan and attach it to your 5-step Preparedness Plan.
Educate Yourself
Disaster can strike at any time and without warning. This means household members could be spread out across town. Having a communications plan and predetermined meeting locations is crucial.
Communication
How will we communicate during a disaster? If phones and computers aren’t charged or available, do you have a place where you can access household phone numbers? Does your kid's school have the best phone numbers to reach you? In a major disaster, it is likely that phone lines will be down or extremely busy. It is more likely you will be able to call a friend or family member living out of town than it will be to call those in the affected area. A great tip is to have someone out of town be your go-to communicator. Call them and let them know your plan so if another member of your household calls they are able to pass on the information you shared with them.
Meeting Location
If disaster strikes when you are not home or cannot get home, what are alternative meeting locations? Is it the local library, a school, or a nearby park that everyone knows to go to if they can’t get home? Creating a meeting location that isn’t home ensures that you and your family have another option to meet.
Take Action
Download the 5-Step Preparedness Plan from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, and start walking through the steps. Make sure you first complete Action Steps 1-3.
- Have a family/household meeting and talk about your alternative meeting locations and who your out of town contact is. Encourage everyone to write down their phone number and, if possible, memorize it.
- Fill out the Family Emergency Plan cards. Cut out the emergency contact and child information cards and keep a copy on you and each household member at all times. This may also include the Emergency Information Form for Children with Special Needs.
- Make a repeating calendar reminder to review all your plans on a regular basis (bi-monthly, quarterly, or bi-yearly). This includes how to shelter in place tips and tricks, evacuation plans, reviewing meeting locations, and updating any new phone numbers.
Remember, you are not alone. Use your local network and make a plan together. Getting to know your neighbors and local hotspots, like your community center or library, are a great way to help build community support. Spreading the word to your neighbors about building an emergency kit, creating evacuation plans, and setting meeting locations can remind us that we may have to depend on one another in times of crisis.
Additionally, getting involved with your local community through volunteer organizations can not only benefit the skills you learn, but allow you to learn about the plans your community has in case of disaster. Building your first aid, leadership, and emergency skills will help you both in and outside of an emergency.
Take Action
Download the 5-Step Preparedness Plan from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, and start walking through the steps. Make sure you first complete Action Steps 1-4.
- Knock on your neighbors door (if you feel safe) and ask them if you can work together during an emergency. Share contact information and other important details to aid in case of an emergency.
- Consider joining the SSL’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) or reaching out to the local chapter of the American Red Cross. South Salt Lake provides preparedness trainings that we post on our website. Sing up for them to broaden your emergency preparedness skills.
Educate Yourself
Getting involved with your community is a great way to understand your shared risks, learn about local plans, and build your preparedness skills. We have to work together in order to get through a disaster.
- Take the online CERT training course and join SSL for two in-person training days on June 1 and 8. Learn about disaster preparedness, hazard response skills like fire safety, light search and rescue, and basic first aid.
- Volunteer with the American Red Cross. Volunteers learn how to respond to disasters, help with emergency sheltering, and/or become a Blood Donor Ambassador.