One of the best ways to be prepared for any emergency is to plan how you are going to stay in touch with your family and loved ones if disaster strikes when you are not together.

• First, meet with your household and create a communication plan.  Make it simple enough for all of the members of your household to remember.
• Choose an out-of-town contact that household members may reach to check on each other. This contact should have everyone's numbers and live far enough away that it would be unlikely that they would be affect by the same event.
• Make sure all household members have this contact information, plus number for each other. This includes home, work, page, cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
• Identify two neighbors and agree to watch out for each other.
• Remember, during a disaster telephones may not work, or may become jammed with many calls. Be patient and retry. Try e-mail.

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