Imagine losing everything you own and everything you would need to know to start over from scratch; that is the information you will need to gather to begin your emergency preparedness plan.

Also imagine you or a family member ending up in an unknown emergency room in an unknown condition, and with the limited information they can obtain, emergency workers are not sure they are giving the appropriate care. This is additional vital information you need to gather for your disaster records.

There are myriad scenarios for many types of disasters, and overall emergency preparedness, or preparing for the worst, will help ensure the health, safety, and support of all your family members during any sudden disaster. By planning and preparing, you will be ready for disasters ranging from the need for sudden evacuation to events that may cause your family to be cut off from the outside world.

Gathering Information

Gathering information is an important and vital part of disaster preparedness. You will need to get together originals or copies of family records (birth, marriage, and death certificates); an inventory of valuable household goods; important telephone numbers; and copies of medical information, bank account numbers, and homeowner's and insurance policies.

Start by creating a form for each family member that is small enough and convenient enough to carry on their person. The form should contain the following information for each person:

• Name

• Age

• Address

• Home and cell numbers

• Name of primary physician

• Allergies

• Prescription drugs and doses

• Past medical history

• Chronic conditions

• Emergency contacts, including nearby relatives or friends and an out-of-town and out-of-state relative or friend (during regional emergencies, you may not be able to call locally, but you may often call long distance).

Once you fill out an emergency-contact form for each member of your immediate family, you need to decide the best place to put the information so that it remains safe until you need it.

To begin, print out or make a few copies of each list, have them laminated to protect them from water damage, and pick a central place to keep one copy and other locations in the house to store remaining copies.

Emergency responders usually look for information in the kitchen, and since in a natural disaster the refrigerator is usually left standing, keeping a sealed plastic container or a plastic zipper bag in the freezer might be the best place. Include information that emergency personnel may need to know for your children's health and safety in their school records, with caregivers, and at day care. Copies of all medical information should also be given to nearby relatives or close friends who may be called when you can't be found.

Other places to record information are on your computer, PDA, or other hand-held device. Make sure to also email the information to yourself so that you can recover it from any computer should you be unable to access your own computer.