Emergency Preparedness
If the first 72 is on you, are you prepared?
After a major disaster, it is unlikely that emergency response services will be able to immediately respond to everyone’s needs, so it’s important to be prepared to take care of yourself and your family for at least the first 72 hours. In addition, basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days, or even longer.
The role of public health in an emergency event may be medication dispensing. What would Emergency Medication Dispensing look like?
Review the suggestions and samples below to plan for your family. Content below adapted from www.72hours.org.
Make a Plan
Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to plan in advance: how you will contact one another; how you will get back together; and what you will do in different situations.
Build a Kit
You may need to survive on your own after an emergency. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days.
Stay Informed
In addition, learn about the emergency plans that have been established in your area before an emergency strikes, and know how to access information during an emergency.
Head of Household –Medical Countermeasurer Data Collection Form
Emergency Preparedness Links
- Prepare. Plan. Stay Informed – Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Prepare Your Home & Family – American Red Cross
- Ready Illinois – State of Illinois