Why You Need an Emergency Plan (and how to make one)

Remember the chaos of the first few days of COVID? Emergency rooms were ransacked, grocery stores were packed with people, and toilet paper aisles were emptied. Many people had never seriously considered the possibility of a major international emergency in their lifetime, and they panicked. The result was an inefficient response with massive levels of wasted money and manpower, both on a societal and individual level. Goods that had been plentiful and cheap became nearly impossible to find overnight.

The time to prepare for an emergency isn’t 20 minutes into it. The time to prepare for the next emergency is right now, when supplies are relatively cheap, time is plentiful, and you aren’t panicking. But where do you start? Should you go out and buy a one-year supply of toilet paper? Should you double down on Mountain House meals? Get a gas mask? Stock up on .338 Lapua magnum?

The very first step you should take is to put the credit card away. You are not going to start by making any purchases. You are going to make a plan.

Step 1: List Your Emergencies

Start by making a list of the threats you are most likely to face. We’re not talking about Russian paratroopers dropping into your local football field à la Red Dawn here. We’re talking about the emergencies you are statistically most likely to encounter. There are over 340,000 house fires, and over 155,000,000 emergency room visits each year, so house fires and medical emergencies should be at the top of the list.

Where you live will also impact your list. Do you live in MN? A blizzard should probably be on that list. In a flood plain? Then you should have a plan for flooding. But if you live in the Midwest, you can probably skip planning for a tsunami.

Do you have a spouse and kids? Unfortunately, there’s a good chance that at some point, you or your spouse will pass away (thus far, the fatality rate for humanity has been 100%). It’s a grim reality that the logistics of life – account access, taxes, bills- don’t halt if this unthinkable event were to occur.

Once you’ve listed the most common, you can start to add the less common, but still plausible events you may be concerned about. Pandemics happen regularly throughout human history. There’s absolutely no reason to think that COVID will be the only one that occurs during your lifetime. Extended power outages due to natural disasters or wars are not unprecedented. Cyber warfare and cyber terrorism could threaten your supply of food, water, and electricity in a future conflict.

Don’t get too derailed by trying to wrap your head around a massive disaster. Two weeks of supplies buys you a lot of time and options. Consider COVID – when everyone freaked out during the first two weeks as they tried to wrap their heads around things, having two weeks of supplies on hand would have bought you a lot of time to react at your own pace rather than standing in line to buy toilet paper.

There is no right or wrong list. Everyone’s may look a little different due to their financial or family situation and geographic location. Here’s one to consider to get you started.

-          Housefire

-          Medical emergency

-          Death of a spouse

-          Burglary

-          Tornado

-          Extended power outage (48 hours, 72 hours, and 2 weeks)

o   This could result from several causes, including blizzards, cyber-attacks, and grid failures

Step 2: Outline the plans

Once we have our list of potential emergencies, we’re going to make a brief outline for how we are going to respond to each scenario using the resources you currently have or can have this week. The plan for each should fit on 1 - 2 pages at the most. For each scenario, we’re going to outline three stages: preparedness, response, and recovery.

Preparedness

Preparedness is where you will consider what conditions you need to ensure that you are prepared to prevent, detect, and respond to each scenario. For a fire, this could be as simple as checking the condition of the smoke detectors and fire extinguishers each year. For a burglary, it could be ensuring that your doors are locked when you leave and that your house alarm (if you have one) is in working order. Don’t make this step too complicated.

Don’t limit yourself to thinking only about physical gear for each scenario. COVID resulted in many people being laid-off or furloughed temporarily from their jobs. Those that had an emergency fund of savings had time to adapt and react. Regular contributions to an emergency fund can make you more financially secure.

Make a note to periodically inspect any equipment you’d use to respond to this situation (smoke detectors, first aid supplies, flashlight, etc). You’ll make an annual checklist with this information later.

Response

The response portion of the plan is where you’ll outline your basic plan of action if the incident occurs. The plan should be simple, easy to execute, and include all members of your household. Ensure everyone knows where to go and what to do.

Keep this clear, simple, and flexible. Include points where you will meet up and communicate if the situation calls for it. As much as possible, designate roles beforehand, but be willing and able to adapt as needed. (For example: if there’s a fire, we all go to the mailbox. Mom will call 911. Dad will let the dog out if safely feasible.)

Recovery

Recovery is what happens after the danger is passed. Who do you need to communicate with to start this process? What information do you need to give them? Again, keep this simple. For a fire, you probably need to let your boss know you won’t be in tomorrow. You definitely need to call the insurance company. Do you know what information they will need? If so, put it down in the document so you don’t have to compile it while you’re coming to grips with what just happened.

Here's an example of what this could look like for a power outage:

Power outage – up to two weeks long

Preparedness

Annually

·       Ensure the following are charged

o   Generator

o   Flashlights

o   Rechargeable batteries

o   Radios

·       Keep two bags of charcoal in reserve (cooking)

·       Keep freezer stocked (full freezers are efficient)

·       Ensure two weeks of food and water are stocked

Response 

1.      Immediate

a.      Unplug computers to prevent brownout damage

b.      Retrieve flashlights/headlamps (rechargeable, long term ones)

2.      After 3 hours

a.      Prepare a room for warmth if needed (winter only)

b.      Call power company/ investigate the situation

3.      After 6 hours

a.      Plug freezer into generator

b.      (winter only) move food from fridge/to outside

4.      After 24 hours

a.      Put solar panel on southside roof to begin recharge of generator

b.      Begin generator rotation of charging and use

c.      Fill water bob

5.      Eat food from fridge first (fridge food is the sacrificial food)

a.      Attempt to preserve freezer cold as long as possible

Recovery 

1.      Plug electronics back in

2.      Restock fridge as needed

a.      Toss old food – if in doubt throw it out

3.      Recharge batteries, battery banks, and generator

Tip 1: Don’t get carried away buying stuff

Before you get your credit card back out and start shopping for hazmat suits, let’s set some ground rules for gear. Don’t let “stuff” hold you back – a good plan that you can execute today is infinitely better than a great plan that will take 2 years to put into place.  If, when thinking through each scenario, you think of a piece of equipment that would be good to have, make a note of it. If it’s affordable (like a fire extinguisher), order it this week and incorporate it into the plan. If it’s outside your current budget (like a home security system or generator), make a note for next year, and make the current plan without it.

Tip 2: Look for easy wins

Two weeks of food and water go a long way. Natural disasters, cyber-attacks, pandemics, power outages – having two weeks (or even one week) of food and water on hand makes you significantly more prepared to handle a range of serious emergencies. When you are thinking through your plans and preparations, look for easy wins and overlap – things that you can do to prepare for multiple emergencies with one effort (like making sure your flashlights have good batteries in them).

Step 3: Compile Critical Info

You’ll probably notice that in several scenarios, you’ll need some key information. Copies of social security cards, birth certificates, important account ID’s and passwords, contact info, firearms serial numbers, a copy of your will – all these (or information on how to find them) should go into your emergency document. It may also be wise to include a few pages with blank lines so you can add information as needed during the annual review.

Be smart about how you handle this data. Do not put account information, passwords, Social Security cards, or other sensitive information in a Word document. Print the pages off before inputting any sensitive information.

Step 4: Compile Annual Checklists

Emergency preparation requires consistent maintenance. In this step, you’re going to refer to your notes from the preparedness section of each emergency to compile one master annual checklist. This is where you check smoke detectors, confirm the fire extinguisher is where it should be, make sure the meds in the first aid kits are up to date, etc.

In addition to these gear checks, you should also review and update the plans on an annual basis. Did you have a kid? How does that work into the plan? Did you move in the past year? How does your new location affect your plans? It’s good to consider these elements during the yearly review.

Finally, pick an emergency and walk it through with the members of your household. In emergency management, this is what is referred to as a “tabletop exercise.” You don’t need to be super formal with this, just talk through a scenario, and make sure everyone knows the general idea and is comfortable with the plan. Engage all the members of your household with this – kids especially will probably enjoy it.

An example of an annual checklist could be:

• Review plans for

  • Fire

  • Tornado

  • Burglary

  • Power outage

  • Medical emergency

  • In-public emergency

• Discuss any changes/improvements

• Replace optic batteries

• Inspect:

  • Smoke detectors

  • Fire extinquisher

  • Security system

  • Generator power

  • Fuel (cooking and vehicles)

  • Alarm system functioning

  • Charcoal/stove fuel

  • Food

  • Water

  • Flashlights

  • Batteries

  • EDC readiness

  • Radio condition

Step 5: Secure the Document

The final step is to put all your information together in a folder and put it in a secure location. I use a $10 amazon three-ring binder, which I have in a fireproof safe that my wife and I both have the combination for. You can make yours as fancy or as simple as you’d like, but your final document should include:

1.      Table of contents with your list of plans

2.      1-2 page plans for each emergency that include

a.      Preparation

b.      Response

c.      Recovery

3.      Critical information

4.      Annual checklists

That’s it! The whole process should take no longer than an afternoon. Keep it simple the first time, you can always refine and improve your readiness during the annual review when you go through your checklist.

General Eisenhower once said, ‘Plans are worthless, but planning is indispensable.’” If an emergency does kick off, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to execute your plans exactly as you lay out in your document. But the process of thinking through your response in advance, regularly inspecting your gear, and making sure everyone in your household knows their roles will make you significantly more prepared should the need arise.

If you have any questions, tips, or feedback, drop a comment below or on any of our social media channels. See you at the range!