Emergency Plan

I know I've posted about this before, but do you have an Emergency Plan prepared, should a disaster strike?

The town of Goderich, which is just a couple of hours drive North of where I am, was devastated by a F3 tornado on Sunday. There was an earthquake in Virginia the other day, whose tremors were felt in this area as well (maybe it was after shocks, I'm not really sure). Most of today, we were under a tornado watch or warning system in our entire region. The thunderstorms were nothing short of terrific, and we did lose power briefly this evening. The weather over the last week has got me thinking about our plan and emergency supplies.

We have a couple of wind up flashlights (no batteries required), and lots of candles in this house. We do have some bottled water, and non-perishables which are always in the pantry. What we haven't talked about is where and how to contact our loved ones in the case of a disaster. What if we have to leave our homes due to evacuation? What would happen if we lost cellular service? One thing I know for certain, I would have to get my family together in a secure location before I would have to leave them.

My profession requires that I am available at all times, and in a natural disaster situation, I would most likely be needed to help out. It worries me that I would have to leave my family in such a situation. Knock wood, it hasn't happened yet, but I should really be talking to my kids and other relatives about who would be required to fill in certain duties in my absence.

I leave you with a question; How prepared are you for a natural disaster?