Five Disaster Prep Hacks You Need to Know

CHICAGO –Disasters can happen with little or no warning, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be ready for them. Use these five life hacks to help you better prepare for whatever the unexpected may be:

1. Take small steps toward building your emergency supply kit. Pick up a couple of extra bottles of water and cans of non-perishable food the next time you’re at the grocery store. When you buy replacement batteries for the remote control, set aside a few extras along with a flashlight. Small purchases such as these will eventually help you create a robust emergency supply kit that could be vital to survive on your own after an emergency. If you’re wondering what supplies you might need to stock up on, reference Ready.gov’s Recommended Supply List.

2. Get and stay connected with the ones you love. If your family members aren’t together in an emergency and telephone circuits are jammed, does everyone know what to do? If the answer is no, go to Ready.gov’s Family Communications Plan to help you get started collecting and sharing the important information your family may need in the event of an emergency. Make sure everyone knows where to go and who to contact so you never have to worry about your family’s safety after a disaster.

3. Make your smartphone a lifesaving tool. FEMA’s App can be downloaded to keep you aware of impending severe weather for up to five locations across the U.S., along with customized information to stay safe and other readiness resources to help you prepare for potential disasters.

4. Get smart… Everyone lives in a flood zone – but do you know whether your home is located in a high- or low- to moderate-flood risk area? If not, FEMA’s FloodSmart page has a One-Step Flood Risk Profile tool where you can enter your address and find out. Learn about all of the disaster risks unique to your community—and any location you may visit or spend time—so you’re not caught unaware if something were to occur. Visit America’s PrepareAthon! page and get educated about the specific hazards in any area you choose.

5. Then act the part! Once you know the type of disasters most common to your community, take steps to reduce your risk. Talk to your insurance agent and verify you’re fully covered – did you know homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover flood damage? What about the fact that sewer backup damage is typically covered by a rider added to your homeowner’s coverage? You can also mitigate disaster risks by taking other simple steps like storing important papers in a safe place, elevating mechanicals off the floor of your basement to avoid potential flood damage and caulking exterior openings where electrical wires and cables enter your home to keep water from getting inside. Learn more about risk reduction techniques by visiting FEMA’s Protecting Homes webpage.

For even more readiness information follow FEMA Region V at twitter.com/femaregion5 and http://www.facebook.com/fema. Individuals can always find valuable preparedness information at http://www.Ready.gov.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Follow FEMA online at twitter.com/femaregion5, http://www.facebook.com/fema, and http://www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate's activities at twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.