Get Ready - Get Thru

What You Can Do

You can do these four simple things:

• Find out what to do in an emergency.
• Formulate a plan for yourself and your family.
• Make up a survival kit - keep it ready and complete and make sure everyone knows where the survival kit is kept.
• Learn first aid.

Family Survival Plan

You may wish to make up a family survival plan. Have a meeting with everyone in your home and discuss the threats that could happen.

The most probable threats to the Southland District area are earthquake, flood or technical hazard eg LPG or hazardous substance spill or accident.

As part of your family survival plan:

• Select a place to meet outside in case a sudden emergency forces you out of the house.
• In each of your rooms imagine what would happen to furniture and appliances in a disaster.
• Identify “safe” areas in each room such as in doorways or under a sturdy table in an earthquake.
• Identify safe shelter areas near your home.
• Identify your nearest Civil Defence centre:  where is your nearest Civil Defence centre?
• Know how to turn off water, gas and electricity.
• Decide on an alternate location to meet if an emergency happens while you or your family are away from home and cannot return.
• Ensure that everyone knows what items are required for your survival kit, and where those items are.
• Know where to find drinking water if the main water supply to the house is damaged.
• Have your survival plan in writing, make sure that everyone has a copy and understands the plan.

Family Survival Kit

An emergency could isolate you and your family for several days. Are you prepared in case you have to evacuate your home in a hurry?

Have these items stored in a safe place or readily available to place in easy to carry containers in case you have to evacuate your home:

• A supply of food and water with the food being non-perishable items such as canned foods or sealed packages of high energy foods such as raisins or barley sugars.
• A can opener to open the canned items.
• Medicines or special foods needed by members of your household such as prescription medicines, baby food or food required for special or limited diets.
• A battery or solar powered radio.
• A torch.
• Spare batteries.
• First Aid kit.
• Candles and matches or a lighter.

Important Records and Irreplaceable Items

Important records such as mortgage papers, medical records, insurance policies, birth certificates, wills, tax records and items that you can’t replace such as photographs should be kept in a central location where they can be quickly gathered up if you have to leave quickly.

Have available a waterproof container for transporting these items.

A list of your family members’ prescribed medications giving generic names and prescribed dosage should be kept.  This list should show the name and telephone number of your doctor.