October’s preparedness focus is power. Preparing in advance is vital to ensuring you will be able to safely meet your facility’s basic needs during an electrical outage. Consider the following :
- Does your facility have a generator(s) onsite to run vital life support systems, prevent food spoilage, provide necessary climate control, etc.?
- Has this generator been tested under heavy load?
- How long can the generator run with the fuel you have available on-site?
- Have you established how you will communicate with relevant staff and volunteers during an outage?
- Do you have back up batteries and/or other means to recharge radios and other communications equipment readily available?
- Is important contact information easily accessible in a hard copy on site?
- Do you have a plan in place to assess facility safety during and immediately following an outage?
- Are there any gates or other heavy equipment that may not be usable in an outage?
- Do you have an established system to check for downed lines and other potential hazards on grounds?
- Is back up lighting available for pathways and/or do you have enough flashlights and batteries available to allow staff, volunteers, and the public to move around safely?
If you are just getting started with planning, consider looking to our Contingency Planning Modules for more industry specific information. Additional information on crisis communication plans for businesses is available on ready.gov.
Do 1 Thing, a non-profit organization that aims to build more disaster resilient communities, asks the community to do one “thing” to enhance preparedness each month