Family Emergency Plan Wallet Cards: Fill & Download for Free

Prepping tends to be a long term 'way of life' that one lives by. Making choices and actions that take future events into account, and a healthy but not overly burdensome concern for being prepared.Now as far as children and teens are concerned, hopefully you have a responsible adult guardian whose primary concern in life is teaching and taking care of you and making sure you can handle life as it unfolds. Your parent or guardian will be making the big choices concerning how your family will prepare for problematic life events. ( fire, storm, flood, any generic emergency ).The best thing a young person can do is get involved with the family prep plan. Know where you are meeting in case you get separated, know alternate safe places you can go or safe trusted people that could help you if you are unable to immediately rejoin your family ( trusted relative, family friend, school teacher, public emergency official such as a police officer or fire/ems person, etc. Be aware of 'stranger danger'. Be careful around people you don't know if you are alone especially. Know contact information. Having information and numbers and addresses stored on your phone is good, but a laminated card to tuck in your wallet or purse is needed as backup in case of power outages and loss of phone service.Lastly, the best way to mesh with your parents emergency plan is to have your own bug in/bug out bag packed I your closet and ready to go. Plan for 72 hours of emergency survival. That means 3 liters bottled water at a minimum, and some sort of ready to eat non perishable food that is easy to store. ( meal, nutrition or protien bars, etc ) you dont need a 4 course meal during an emergency, you just need some calories to lee you upright for 3 days, which is most critical part of a disaster, especially if you need to move out of harms way. Your bag should have some basic first aid, 1 change of clothes specific to your weather and temperature, an extra pair of socks, a phone charger, solar if you have one ( 5$ ones on amazon sometimes..slow but work ). If you have a few single dollar bills or coins to stick in a zip lock bag, do so, banks may not be open, but a few dollars may make a difference. If you have a passport, a photocopy of it in that zip lock would be a good idea. A rain poncho and a plastic garbage bag. Those items should fit in a small to medium backpack. If you have extra room, toss in a trace toothbrush and toothpaste and a bar of soap wrapped in a washcloth in a zip lock bag. If you wear glasses and still have an old pair, toss them in. If you take any special medication, always have it ready to toss in your bag. If you have a hand held signal mirror,brake it, as well as a roll of string, twine or paracord. If there us something else you need, grab it but don't overload, bulk and weight might slow you down. Have that bag ready to go, trade the water and snacks out to keep them fresh, change the clothes out to match the season. Now, go about your life not worrying about tomorrow, but confident that you are probably more prepared than 80% of the people around you.

You can’t prepare for all possible emergencies, but there’s quite a lot you can do to keep yourself out of trouble later. At little or no cost you can certainly do any of the following:Plan or review evacuation routes from your home and workplace. Think through evacuation of children, the elderly, anyone who may need assistance, and (time permitting) pets. Pay a little attention to the emergency exits and to any announcements when you’re out and about, too.Assemble items you will take if you receive notice to evacuate in advance of an event, as sometimes happens if a storm, fire, or flood is threatening an area.Keep emergency contact information handy. Put medical, ID, and insurance information where you will be able to find it rapidly, in hard copy and online. (I use the “secure notes” function in Lastpass.)Create and carry an “in case of emergency” card of your own, showing how to contact you in case your purse or wallet is found, and whom to contact if you need help. Review and update if it’s been awhile.Get medical alert bracelets or wallet cards for anyone with known allergies or medical conditions requiring special attention.Get your children fingerprinted. Sometimes police departments or service clubs have booths or events offering fingerprinting for free or for a modest fee.Agree with family members on meeting places and how you will communicate that everyone is safe if you can’t get back together after an emergency.Establish a code word with children. When they’re young, it might be your way of letting them know it’s safe to go home with somebody. When they’re older, it might be their way of letting you know they want to bail out of an uncomfortable situation.Inspect your fire extinguishers and replace smoke alarm batteries regularly. Install carbon monoxide detectors if you haven’t yet.Refresh and restock any emergency kit you already have. You may need fresh batteries, fresh food and water, and replacements for any medical supplies which may have expired or been consumed. You can use batteries that are a year or two old for any other day-to-day use, and either eat or donate food while it’s still good.Learn What To Do If You Smell Gas and look up how to contact your local utility about a suspected leak. Know how and under what circumstances to shut off the gas to your home. Get the correct shut-off tool for your gas, and keep it on or near the valve, especially if you live where earthquakes are likely.Learn and practice how to change a tire on your car, and how to jump start it. Carry a spare tire and jumper cables.Keep your vehicle in good repair, and keep some fuel in it.Drive defensively, and never drive drunk, medicated, tired, or distracted.Wear your seat belt, and make sure all your passengers do the same.Own a current child seat appropriate for the size and weight of any children. Install it correctly, and get help if you need to.Secure loose objects in your vehicle. Remove items you don’t need.Carry your phone, and keep it charged. Enter contact information for emergencies, as well as poison control, insurance, doctor/hospital, emergency contacts for gas, water, and electrical utilities, roadside assistance, the non-emergency police number, and so on.Learn or brush up on your CPR, first aid, etc.Learn basic self-defense.Find out if your local police or fire department offers any citizen preparedness workshops, and participate.Set aside money for emergencies, and start to build a savings or cash cushion.Periodically review your insurance coverage and deductibles.Create a power of attorney for both financial and medical decisions. (In most cases, you can download, fill in, and sign a form. Search according to where you live.) Let the person know that you are giving them the authority to act in case you are incapacitated, and advise them of your wishes.Review and update the beneficiaries on your financial accounts, and any life insurance you may have, including through your employment. Add a trusted person, such as a spouse, to your regular accounts, if it is appropriate to do so.Back up your data securely online.Another relatively affordable step I’ve heard of is to create and maintain a “go bag,” variously known as a get-home bag or a bug-out bag.Rather than aim for comprehensive emergency preparedness, such a bag is instead a portable collection of basic survival gear and materials, enough to keep you safe for awhile if you need to stay put somewhere, or to get you to home or safety if you need to move. It could live in your locker or under your desk, or perhaps in the trunk of your car.There is no shortage of articles and Youtube videos (relatively brief, random one below) about what all to put in them. Some do veer towards the “prepper” (i.e. obsessive) end of things, but you can disregard the zombie apocalypse stuff and still use the practical parts for inspiration or a starting point—or choose different resources.This particular video starts with a purchased backpack, but you could start with any intact backpack you have around. This bag needs to hold together, not look beautiful. Flashlights and multi-tools could double as stocking stuffers on the next gift-giving occasion, if you or your family members don’t already own some.If you tend toward less-than-sensible shoes, I’d also suggest keeping an accompanying pair of shoes or boots, at least sturdy enough to walk in, and to protect against debris, broken glass, mud, etc. Again, these need not be brand new. You could simply upgrade your hiking boots while they still have life in them, and keep the older pair with the bag.Also, while most of your “cash cushion” should stay in a savings account (a separate one, if it helps), it’s probably a good idea to keep at least a little money on hand. It doesn’t need to live in your “go bag,” but could be tucked away in a separate pocket in your wallet or purse. Aim to have enough to get a tow truck or a taxi home for yourself or someone in a bind.

Here are some dangers based on a lifetime of experience:That the cab drivers never seem to have change for a larger (500 pesos) bill.That sometimes internet can be spotty in rural areas and that can make Uber difficult to reach.That you need car insurance if you drive in Mexico. The rental cars provide this insurance, and if you drive your own, there are places you can buy it.That it is recommended to have some kind of travel medical insurance in case of emergencies, unless you go often enough that you want to sign for the Mexican health services which are affordable, but it’s recommended to sign up first and to be aware of which hospitals are private and which are public in Mexico’s mixed healthcare system.That if you use a data plan from your own country it can get super expensive, and that if your phone is blocked you won’t be able to use a local SIM card of the type you can buy at Sanborns’ or Oxxo or the local mall or many such stores (these are great, because you can prepurchase the data and then reload it with your credit card right on your phone when it runs out - I carry three MicroSims in my wallet to have for my own and to give around to the family).That you have to practice the basic same situational awareness you’d practice in Chicago or New York.That if you travel to Mexico a lot or come from Mexico and you live in the US (or use the Internet) you’re constantly asked about “Danger” by bigots or people who have swallowed Black Legend narrative and have never traveled nor will they ever travel to Mexico in the first place even though it attracts 40 million tourists per year who report having had the time of their lives, 35 million of them Americans, to the point that the Mexican tourism office makes videos to counter this type of paranoia, like this lovely “Dear United States” video letter.