Communications and disaster planning are some of the most important aspects of preparedness. What would you do if you were on your way to work and all the sudden the power in the city goes out? The more important question is what would your family and loved ones do?

We know that a power outage could be caused by several things ranging from a blown transformer, to a full blown EMP, but does your family know how to tell the difference?

The sad truth is that most people are extremely unprepared

to handle any sort of disaster scenario, and while we can’t help everyone, we

can make sure our family understands the basics at the very least.

SPP286 Communications and Disaster Planning for Preppers

This week Lisa and I went over some of the challenges we may face in a disaster scenario, and how to overcome those road blocks. Some of these are easier said than done, but important none the less.

In a disaster scenario time will be of the essence. If we

are spending that time getting everyone on the same page, we are not spending

it on the important matters. 

Family Planning & Preparedness

To begin we need to think about getting family on board with our preparedness plan, or at least understand where they stand. Are they on-board with you? Are they completely apprehensive? Do they show some interest?

The ideal scenario would be to have both husband and wife of the same page with preparedness, but that is not always the case. Being the lone prepper in the family is often the case.

Decide on the best approach to get their buy-in without overwhelming them. This means don’t start with Nuclear bombs and WW3, start with disaster scenarios closer to home.

Contrary to what the main stream media would have you believe, preppers come in different shapes and sizes. Figure out where you might get the most buy-in based on their personality, and go from there.

In some cases you just won’t be able to reach them. In this case you may have no other choice than to plan for them. When disaster strikes they will be all ears, but unfortunately it may take that to get their attention…as it does for most of us.

What to Include in Your Disaster Plan…

Your disaster preparedness plan is only going to work if everyone in the family knows what and where everything is. Decide on the best approach, and make sure everyone understands the following.

Phone Numbers Not Contacts: These days we may have a hundred phone numbers stored in our phone, but we know what a few of those actual phone numbers are.

Make a handwritten list of emergency contacts and important phone numbers. Make a few copies and make sure everyone has one.

Emergency Contact List: Along with the important phone numbers of family and friends, make sure and include any emergency numbers they will need.

Everyone knows 911, but do they know an alternative when the phone lines are overloaded and calls to 911 can’t get through.