September is National Preparedness Month. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) encourages everyone to take steps to prepare against disasters or disruptions of any kind. This year FEMA is encouraging our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities to prepare for disasters and build resilience before disaster strikes. Consider ways to engage these important friends in preparedness. Be Ready Utah invites everyone to take time this month to Be Informed, Make a Plan, Get a Kit, and Get Involved. You can do this. Be Ready Utah is here to help.
In addition to National Preparedness Month, Be Ready Utah’s topic for the month of September is on “Important Documents and Money”.
We all have different important documents we are hanging on to. Insurance policies, house appraisals, rent or mortgage and other loan documentation, not to mention licenses, certificates, account information, and various forms of identification. It is best to store hard copies of essential documents somewhere they can be protected like a waterproof/fireproof safe. These are the documents and information you will need to put your life back together after a disaster or an emergency situation.
Disasters are by nature unpredictable. What if you had to evacuate from your home? Would you have time to grab your original documents before you had to leave? Can you carry all of those files with you? Will the information be safe and secure?
In an emergency, you will be focusing on the immediate safety and wellbeing of yourself and those you care about. Don’t try to wrangle all of your original documents in that chaos. Only carry smaller, printed copies of vital identification that may be needed during the emergency. This may include copies of identification, emergency contact lists, individual and family photos including pets, photos of you with your personal vehicles and your home, and anything else you think you may need while the incident is in progress. One option is to digitally shrink your documents to fit in a pocket sized 4×6 photo album found in any discount store. Store these document copies in a zip-style waterproof bag in your disaster supply kit.
Everything else you will need for recovery afterward can be in a digital copy on a small, lightweight, flash drive and/or uploaded to a secure cloud service. This may include information like insurance policies, financial statements and bill information, property lists, personal records, family history, and appraisals.
Do you have backups of your important information stored in emergency kits and/or uploaded to secure cloud storage? Take time this month to organize and make copies of documents you will need during and after an emergency, then put them in your emergency kits as you see fit. You can go to BeReady.Utah.gov for more information on documents in emergency kits.
Do This: Put COPIES of important documents in disaster supply kits.
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Printable brochures:
For the Workplace: Consider the place you work and see how you can support your workplace in securing important documents and ensuring they are accessible in times of crisis. Your business needs important documents for filing a claim and for continuing operations. Use this Checklist of Important Documents for Your Continuity Vault to help identify important documents to consider. Learn more through the free online Business Continuity Training unit on “Financial Resilience and Insurance Coverage”, as well as the unit on “Vital Records Protection”.
For the School: If you have children in school you can make sure your child has an Emergency Contact Information card in their backpack. Teach your child what this card is for and where it is, and let their teacher know as well.
For the Community: If you are involved in your neighborhood or community preparedness or response efforts, consider any important documents that may be needed. This could include important contacts and emergency plans. Contact your local Emergency Manager for any additional important document considerations for your part of the community.
Current Be Ready Utah Events: Discover upcoming preparedness events and attend Be Ready Utah presentations throughout Utah. Learn where and when on the Be Ready Utah Calendar.
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Prepare and share what you learned with someone you care about.
- Individuals can use this for family activities and learning.
- Church preparedness specialists can forward this to their congregation.
- Workplaces can share this with employees.
- Community and social groups can share this with their contacts.
- And much more…