MAKE A PLAN You should plan in advance what you will do in an emergency. Be prepared to assess the situaƟon, use common sense and whatever you have on hand to take care of yourself and your loved ones. Think about the places where your family spends Ɵme: school, work, and other places you frequent. Ask about their emergency plans. Find out how they will communicate with families during an emergency. If they do not have an emergency plan, consider helping develop one. CREATING A FAMILY PLAN A plan should have three important things: A meeƟng place An out-of-area contact An emergency supply kit 1. A MeĞƟng Place – Pick a locaƟon within walking distance of your home where your family members can meet in case you get separated or have to evacuate. For example, select a local park or playground. 2. An Out-of-Area Contact – Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so plan how you will contact one another and review what you will do in dŝīerent situaƟons. Pick a family member or friend to serve as your family’s out-of-area contact. In an emergency, you can call your out-of-area contact and tell them you are safe and where you are going. 3. An Emergency Supply Kit – It is recommended to have supplies for a minimum of three days, but having enough supplies to maintain a kit for a longer period of Ɵme is beƩĞr.
EMERGENCY INFORMATION Find out what types of disasters, both natural and man-made, are most likely to occur in your area and how you will be noƟĮed. Methods of geƫng your aƩenƟon vary from community to community. Common methods include emergency broadcast via radio, NOAA weather radio, TV (McAllen Cable Network or local news), siren, or emergency workers may go door-to-door. The City of McAllen will uƟlize its CodeRED Emergency NoƟĮcaƟon System, a high speed telephone communicaƟon service for emergency alerts. The system allows the City to telephone targeted areas of the City in the event an emergency requires immediate acƟon. The system is capable of dialing 60,000 phone numbers per hour and delivers a recorded message from City stĂī to a live person, answering machine, or message prompt, making three aƩempts to connect to a number. The CodeRED system will only be used for emergency purposes and incidents where rapid and accurate noƟĮcaƟon is essenƟal for life safety or preservaƟon of property. Registered recipients of text messages may incur a cost based on their carrier agreement. If you have not registered your home or mobile number, please do so at www.mcallen.net/emergency. EXAMPLES OF SITUATIONS WHEN THE CODERED SYSTEM IS ACTIVATED: x Drinking water contaminaƟon x UƟlity outage x EvacuaƟon noƟce and route x Missing person x Fires and Ňoods x Hazardous material incident x Natural disasters x Other emergencies
EMERGENCY PLANS You may also want to inquire about an emergency plan at places where your family spends Ɵme: work, daycare, and school. If no plan exists, consider volunteering to help create one. Talk to your neighbors about how you can work together in the event of an emergency. You will be bĞƩer prepared to safely reunite your family and loved ones during an emergency if you think ahead and communicate with others in advance.
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MAKE A PLAN AND EMERGENCY INFORMATION