How to Prepare Your Neighborhood for a Major Emergency

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By eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating: (2 Ratings)

Community support will be very important if a major emergency disrupts basic services.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Your community may already have an existing organization, such as a neighborhood watch or a homeowners' association. Check to see if it has made any preparations.
Step 2

Organize a meeting with the other households in your neighborhood.
Step 3

You may want to have a speaker give a presentation on emergency topics to get everyone familiar with the the potential situations that may arise.
Step 4

Discuss possible scenarios and ways the community can prepare. Topics may include food and water storage, first aid, household preparedness and fire safety.
Step 5

Conduct a resource and skills inventory. Is anyone medically trained? Is anyone a contractor or engineer?
Step 6

Check if there are any members of your community who have special needs or would be especially harmed by a power failure. Establish plans to help them if needed.

Step 1

It is important to help people within their households before they become involved in the community effort. Encourage and assist people in preparing their households.
Step 2

Buy supplies in bulk and share the goods and expenses with a large group.
Step 3

Buy a large item with several people that would be beneficial to the neighborhood, such as a generator.
Step 4

Make plans on how to deal with waste if sewage and water are disrupted - especially a latrine.
Step 5

You may want to consider shared or community gardens, weather permitting.
Step 6

Several members of the group may want to invest in a communications system that is an alternative to the telephone. The system can be as simple as a bulletin board or more sophisticated with walkie-talkies or ham radios.

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