Designating an emergency contact is a very important part in the plan to disaster proof your home and your family. This step can take as little as five minutes, although it is easy to overlook, and most people ignore it. Here is what you need to know in order to pick an emergency contact. Get this step done, if you want to be really prepared for potential emergencies and disaster.
What will you do if an emergency strikes and you can’t get any information about what is happening? What will you do if your family members are in different locations, but you can’t get a hold of them because phones are down? The answer is to have an emergency contact who lives in another part of the country, one unlikely to be affected by the same conditions as they one that you are in.
Even if local numbers and cell phone numbers fail, you can often get through to someone who is considered long distance when you use a land line or a pay phone. Your emergency contact may be able to update you on what is happening in your area, as well as serve as a point of contact for all of your family members. If any instructions need to be relayed, they can be given through your emergency contact.
Instruct all of your family members to memorize the emergency contact’s phone number and information, and give this information to caregivers as well. You might want to consider writing it down and including it pinned into a young child’s jacket, just in case.
In the event of an emergency, family members should call the emergency contact and let him or her know where they are, as well as collect any information that is needed. Having an emergency contact will save everyone from frantically trying to reach each other in a desperate situation.
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