Virginia Department of Health Reminds You to Remember these Four Groups When Planning for Emergencies
When preparing for emergencies or disasters, it’s important to be all inclusive. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reminds you to consider certain groups when you start to prepare: children, older adults, people with disabilities, and pets.
Talk to your children now about what to do before, during and after a disaster. Young children and teens alike need to be part of the process – for their own safety and sense of empowerment. You can include them by:
- Working together to build an emergency kit.
- Sitting down as a family to talk about your communications plan.
- Role-playing what you would do during a disaster.
- Holding drills in your house.
- Including your child’s favorite stuffed animals, board games, books or music in their emergency kit.
- Creating a backpack emergency card that your child can keep with them.
Prepare with Pedro is a free youth preparedness program. It’s designed to teach young children and their families how to stay safe during disasters and emergencies. It has fun activities such as crosswords, coloring pages, matching games, and more.
It’s important to remember that children do not deal with crisis the same way. For tips to help children cope during an emergency, see the ready.gov webpage.
Older adults also have specific needs during emergencies. They might need extra assistance after an emergency when resources are scarce. Help them prepare with these three steps:
- Understand what kinds of risks of emergency could affect your area.
- Identify specific needs before, during and after an emergency. This can include things such as medical treatment, medications, and physical needs.
- Create emergency plan and kit that meet those specific needs.
- Build a strong support network to assist you during an emergency. This includes:
- Family
- Friends
- Caregivers
- Neighbors
- Fellow congregants from your place of worship
The Disaster Preparedness Guide for Older Adults provides easy-to-read, user-friendly worksheets. These worksheets will help identify specific needs to create a personalized plan.
Disability intersects every demographic group – all ages, races, sex or national origin. Disabilities can impact a person in both visible and invisible ways.
If you have a disability, you should:
- Consider your individual circumstances and needs when preparing for emergencies and disasters.
- The Virginia Department of Emergency Management has a list of suggested items to add to your emergency kit based on your unique needs.
- Contact your local emergency management office to be added to a voluntary registry for people with disabilities. These registries can help you receive targeted assistance during emergencies and disasters. Contact your local emergency management office to find out more.
- Talk to your health care provider if you use medical equipment or medications that require electricity or refrigeration.
- They can advise how to handle your medications or to keep equipment running during a power outage.
- Contact your power provider to put you on a list for priority power restoration.
Your pets are part of your family. Include your pets in your emergency plans to keep them safe. When preparing:
- Find out what type of shelters and assistance are available in your area to accommodate pets if you need to evacuate and can’t take them with you.
- Never leave your pets behind at home.
- Create a pet emergency kit. It should include:
- Pet food and water
- Favorite toy, treats or bedding
- Pooper scooper, cat litter, and/or plastic bags
- Vet’s name and vaccination records
For more information on all-inclusive planning, visit ready.gov.