Welcome to Hopland Band of Pomo Indians

Disaster Plan Policy

Home Disaster Plan
Creating a home disaster plan is crucial for ensuring the safety and preparedness of all household members in the event of an emergency. The following guide outlines the essential steps to develop a comprehensive home disaster plan tailored to various potential emergencies such as fires, floods, earthquakes, and severe weather events.

Step 1: Assess Your Risks
Identify Hazards: Determine which disasters are most likely to occur in your area. For instance, if you live near a fault line, an earthquake plan is essential; similarly, proximity to water bodies might require a flood plan.
Home Inspection: Check your home for potential risks and vulnerabilities. Ensure that your house is as secure as possible against the identified hazards.
Step 2: Create a Communication Plan
Emergency Contacts: Compile a list of emergency contact numbers including family, friends, neighbors, and local emergency services (police, fire department, and medical facilities).
Family Communication: Designate a family member outside your immediate area to act as a central contact point for everyone to relay their safety status.
Information Access: Keep a list of important personal information and share it with all household members, including social security numbers, medical information, and insurance policies.
Step 3: Establish Evacuation and Meeting Plans
Evacuation Routes: Identify safe evacuation routes from your home and practice them with all household members. Have alternative routes in case the primary route is blocked.
Meeting Points: Establish specific meeting points outside your home, in your neighborhood, and outside your neighborhood if you are unable to return home or need to evacuate the area.
Step 4: Assemble Disaster Supplies Kits
Basic Supplies: Include water (one gallon per person per day for at least three days), non-perishable food (for at least three days), flashlight, batteries, first aid kit, medications, multi-tool, personal hygiene items, copies of important documents, and cash.
Special Needs: Consider the needs of all family members, including pets, infants, and elderly or disabled individuals. Include supplies like baby formula, diapers, pet food, and any special medications.
Accessibility: Store the emergency kit in a place known to all family members and ensure it is easily accessible in case of a sudden disaster.
Step 5: Plan for Specific Needs
Children: Educate and involve children in disaster preparedness activities. Make sure they understand the plan and feel comfortable executing it.
Pets: Prepare for the care of pets including a carrier, leash, food, and vaccination records.
Power Needs: If anyone in your home depends on electric-powered, life-sustaining equipment, have a backup power source available.
Step 6: Maintain Your Plan
Review and Update: Regularly review and update your emergency plan. Ensure new family members are briefed, contact information is current, and new risks are considered.
Practice: Conduct drills annually to ensure everyone knows what to do in different disaster scenarios.
Step 7: Educate Yourself and Family
First Aid and CPR: Encourage family members to learn basic first aid and CPR. This knowledge is crucial in an emergency.
Community Resources: Understand the disaster response plans of your community, schools, workplaces, and other places where family members spend time.
Step 8: Secure Your Home
Reinforcements: Consider reinforcing structures to make your home more resistant to specific disasters, such as installing storm shutters or securing heavy furniture to walls.
Important Documents: Store important documents like birth certificates, property deeds, and insurance policies in a safe, accessible place, ideally in a fire and water-proof container.
Step 9: Stay Informed
Emergency Alerts: Subscribe to local emergency alerts and notifications to receive real-time information about potential threats.
By following these steps, you can significantly improve your household's readiness in facing various disasters, ensuring the safety and security of all family members during critical times.

US Patent Numbers 7,720,998 B2, 7,836,207