Simplifying the Message: Easing Citizens’ Process for Creating Preparedness Plans

There are 27 items on Ready.gov’s list of supplies to incorporate into an emergency kit, divided by recommended supplies (12) and additional items to consider (15). At the All-Hazards, All-Stakeholders Summit on March 25 in Seattle, former FEMA Region VIII Administrator Garry Briese said the cost of these items can exceed $375 and many require replenishment, like water and food. He said although many emergency managers take comfort in telling the public to purchase these items, a community’s economic realities need to be considered when emergency supply lists are developed.

“I think we need to continue personal preparedness, absolutely, but I want people to work on the top 10 things we want them to have,” Briese said. “I don’t care if they have plastic wrap and duct tape. How do we simplify our message? We’re asking too much and sending mixed messages to the public.”

Some emergency management departments are simplifying the process of creating preparedness plans for citizens. The Florida Division of Emergency Management’s Web site, www.floridadisaster.org, has an online tool that lays out simple steps to create a family preparedness plan. It prompts residents to enter information about their family, home and pets to create a personalized plan, and then calculates the amount of food and water needed based on the number of household members. The Web site also has a user name and password setup so families can return and update their information as needed. This is one way of making the task of creating a preparedness plan simple and interactive.

The state also has a business disaster planning tool, which after 10 to 15 minutes of entering information, provides steps business owners can take to save time and money on disaster preparedness.

Florida isn’t the only government that’s providing citizens with online, interactive disaster planning tools. Boston launched its Family Preparedness Planner online application in 2009, which was built in-house by IT staff. Residents add to the planner information like important locations, such as schools and workplaces, and contact information, and they upload pictures of household members and pets.

“We really wanted to create something that would be easy to use, interactive and quick for average citizens to be able to go and develop their own emergency preparedness plan for their family,” said Donald McGough, director of the Boston Mayor’s Office of Emergency Preparedness, after the tool went live.

Residents can download the planner and save it on their personal computers or USB thumb drives, which keeps their information private and easily accessible.

These user-friendly online tools make the process of creating disaster preparedness plans straightforward and streamlined — therefore simplifying the message.

[Photo courtesy of the Red Cross.]