We hope it will not happen, but emegencies do occur. It could be a medical emergency where calling 911 is in order. It could be needing help from a friend or neighbor. Or it could be something much more significant that requires an evacuation. Yes, outside Cedar Rapids in our neigbhoring town of Palo we have a nuclear power plant. Most of us fail to think twice about the large plume of smoke over the northern horizon, but if things go wrong, it could be the root of an emergency.
The local Yellowbook telephone directory is currently being delivered to area residents. Inside it you will find a postage paid form to complete and return to the Linn County Emergency Management Agency if you have a disability or other accesss and/or functional need that might keep you from hearing and/or seeing announcements, or traveling to a safe place in an emergency.
The most common type of emergency announcements routinely sent by the Emergency Management Agency are weather sirens for potential severe weather and/or tornados in the area. In fact on the first Wednesday of every month, these sirens are tested.
No matter what type of emergency, there is never a bad time of year to plan for the unexpected. Have a family plan and clear directions for what should be done when the storm siren goes off. Authorities tell us going to the basement or an interior room if no basement is the best plan. But what do you do if the metro area is evacuated for some reason or another? This could happen when your family is scattered all over the area at work and/or school. In this day and age, you might think that is easy, we just call or text each other on our cell phone. But depending upon the emergency, cell service might be down. Then how will you connect?
Plan ahead and share the plan with your family. Choose a meeting place outside of the area and also choose a family or friend outside of the area to use as a message point.
No matter what the plan is, just be sure to plan and communicate it with your family.
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