Disaster Planning and What You Should Know

By its nature, a disaster is unexpected. When a tornado is bearing down on your home, you don’t have time to come up with a disaster management plan. Planning ensures that everyone in the family knows what they must do. 

Why You Should Have A Plan

A robust emergency plan makes it simpler when the time comes. Everyone has an assigned role and can play their part. You’ll know that you must grab the financial file, pick up the emergency supplies case, and head to the safest place—the whole process is already planned.

For example, if your kids are at the mall, and a flash flood washes away half the town. Cell phones are down. What do you do? How do you contact them?

Without proper disaster planning, you wouldn’t have any idea of where you could meet up with your kids again.

Disaster preparedness is contingent on dealing with situations that are out of the ordinary. It’s about knowing what steps to take, who to contact, and keeping your family safe. You need to know what the potential disasters are and how best to react.

You may need to have a stash of emergency supplies, torches, power generation equipment, and more. Keep in mind that when disaster strikes, supplies may be difficult to acquire. Stores might not open, and people may stockpile supplies, leaving the shelves empty.

Let’s assess the details of different disasters and disaster planning tips.

Types of Disasters and How You Should Plan

The current COVID-19 crisis is something that we couldn’t have foreseen. It’s an anomaly, though.

You can apply the disaster planning process for most disasters, following simple tips that work for all emergencies. 

Your best bet is to have an emergency fund in place. You should save three to six months of the salary of all the income earners in the home. If you don’t have savings, start now.

Cut back on unnecessary expenses and save money. Remember to make sure that you’ve secured the most competitive Pennsylvania electric rates, insurance rates, and other expenses beforehand.

You must be insured. You need sufficient life cover, medical insurance, homeowners, and household insurance. Ask yourself how you’ll cope if your whole house washed away. The answer is through being adequately insured.

Finally, get your financial affairs in order. Update your will and nominate guardians for your children. Get a file together of:

• Certified copies of official identity documents for the whole family
• A copy of your will and notes as to where you’ve lodged the original
• Any insurance contracts or contact details, along with policy numbers and details of the cover
• Names and contact numbers of your closest relatives
• Details of bank accounts and any investments

Keep the originals in a safe deposit box at the bank or a secure, fireproof safe. It’s prudent to scan these documents and store them securely online, too.

The type of disaster will determine the next phase in your plan. With flooding and tornados, it’s essential to designate a safe zone where everyone can ride out the storm. Also, set up a place to meet afterward.

With earthquakes, the same applies, but you must ensure that everyone is aware of how to deal with the shaking buildings.

Disasters And Finances

Your finances are likely to take the strain when disaster strikes. Following these tips will help you weather the storm better.

Track your spending and cut unnecessary extras. If you’re expecting a nice big check from your insurer, it’s easy to overspend. A good rule of thumb is to wait for them to pay your claim and not to spend on credit in anticipation of the payout.

Try to avoid any spending on credit here if you can. Panic-buying and stockpiling could land you in dire financial straits. You might end up with a roomful of on-credit toilet paper that’ll take you ten years to repay.

Fund only what’s necessary, like food and accommodation.

Get in touch with the insurance company as soon as you can—the earlier you get your claim in, the sooner you’ll receive your money.

Speak to your creditors. If the emergency has made earning an income difficult, call each creditor and explain the situation. If your accounts are up to date, they’ll be willing to arrange some assistance.

Unfortunately, paying late or less than the full installment will impact your credit. If you can afford to pay the full installment, do it.

As part of your planning process, you may have researched some emergency relief programs. Now’s the time to apply for their assistance.

View accessing your long-term investments as a last resort. It’s easy to justify pulling money out of your 401K during an emergency. Funding your retirement after doing so, however, will prove difficult.