When an emergency doesn’t follow the plan

Emergencies happen—that’s why we prepare for them. But what if a situation like an earthquake occurs while your employees are at work or on the road—away from their family and their home emergency supplies and plans?  

September is National Emergency Preparedness Month. If an emergency happens, there are things you can do to help your employees at work: 

• Know your Red Cross and emergency contacts in case employees need to use their resources. 
• Make your Intranet available to help employees connect and share information and resources. 
• Encourage your employees to sign up for emergency alerts such as OR-Alert and Watch Duty for wildfire information. 
• Be aware if any of your employees are affected by evacuation orders. 

Make sure your employees know how to care for themselves and reunite with their family after an emergency. Here are some tips: 

Keep a back-up emergency kit in your car 

• 72 hours of non-perishable food and water 
• A basic first aid kit 
• A back-up battery or way to charge your cell phone 
• Printed local maps 
• Sturdy shoes  
• Warm gloves and a blanket
• Flashlight 
• Wet wipes and sanitizing wipes 

Have a reunification plan for your family 

• Decide on a location where you’ll meet up after an emergency separates you. 
• Have an out-of-state contact with whom everyone can keep in touch and relay information (while local phone lines are often knocked out during an emergency, you can often get through to an out-of-state phone number). 

Have important information in writing, saved to the cloud, and on your phone 

• A list of emergency contacts such as family and friends  
• Medical conditions and details of prescriptions 
• Family members’ names, dates of birth, email addresses, phone numbers, and social media handles 
• Medical, home, and car insurance details 
• Bank account details 

Resources 

• www.saif.com/prepare 
• Emergency essentials lists pdf (SAIF) 
• Watch this recorded SAIF webinar on preparing for emergencies at home, at work, and in your community.  
• Oregon Department of Emergency Management emergency pocket plan