Disasters like fires, floods, earthquakes, and other natural phenomena may be rare, but failing to prepare for them can be disastrous for both your safety and the condition of your home and belongings. These risks can be even greater for seniors, with serious injuries and death becoming more likely during disasters.
In this article, we’ll provide some tips to help you or your senior family members be better prepared for potential disasters.
Have a plan in place
If a disaster occurs, you should already know what you are going to do and where you should go. It can be difficult to make rational decisions in an emergency, so having a plan in place will eliminate this need. It helps to coordinate this with a neighbor or family member so that you can check on each other to make sure no one is injured.
Pack an emergency kit
When a disaster occurs, you may need to either stay in your home until the danger passes or evacuate your home. Either way, you need to make sure that you have everything you need to survive in an emergency, such as any medications you need, first aid kit, and emergency food and fresh water. Pack an emergency bag like this that you can grab if you need to evacuate, and consider keeping a stock of non-perishable food and fresh water in the house in case you have to stay inside for a few days.
Reinforce your home
Even small home improvements can help to prepare your home to be more resilient in the event of a disaster. Different types of disasters will require different preparations, of course, but some measures are good sense all around. If you live in an area where a certain kind of disaster is common, it’s also a good idea to take additional measures against this. Aging.com has advice for specific types of disasters.
Emergency contacts
You should have a list of local emergency contacts, either saved in your phone or another device, or written down as a list stuck to the fridge or kept in a safe place. As well as the local authorities and specific disaster helplines, this should include the numbers of friends or family members who can help you during a disaster. You may need a place to stay or shelter and, if you don’t drive or have your own car, you should be able to call someone for emergency transport in this situation.
In our independent and assisted living community, we make sure that the proper precautions and plans are in place in case of a disaster. If you need any support caring for a senior loved one, then contact Bermuda Village to find out how we can support or advise you.
