Assessment of Your Needs & Environment
How do you get started to prepare you and your family for the next crisis?
The very first step of emergency preparedness is to make an assessment of your needs and to consider your environment specificities. It is important to know which type of disaster could affect the area where you live and work and, most of all, the potential impacts they can have on your daily life.
To do so, you need to answer some basic questions in order to build your personalized emergency plan.
PART 1
Your Household
How many members are there within your household?
How old are they?
What language do they speak?
What are their specific dietary needs?
What are their specific medical needs?
Do any of them has a specific disability?
Some of these questions might sound obvious, but it is important to have a clear vision of your situation and to be able to share it with first responders in case of an emergency.
You should also discuss your needs and responsibilities and how people can assist each other with your neighbors.
Pets
How many are there?
What type of pet?
What are their specific dietary needs?
What are their specific medical needs?
PART 2
Housing
Where do you live: house, apartment (what floor)?
What are the safety equipment in your living space?
• Smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, extinguisher
• Where are the emergency exits
• Make sure you know where your electricity breakers, gas, and water valves are located and how to operate them (if you turn off the gas, only a qualified professional is able to turn it back on. Never attempt to do it by yourself).
Environment
What is your living/working environment (Urban/rural/coastline/mountain/forest)?
What are the potential risks associated with these environments?
What are the transportation facilities (roads, public transportation)?
Where are the closest safety & security resources (fire station, police station, hospital, publics facilities, mass care shelters …)?
What is the weather like through the year and what are the impacts on your daily life?
Doing this assessment will help you to tailor your emergency plan to your daily living needs and responsibilities.
To make it easier, you can email us at hello@projectspe.com and we will send you a template for an assessment of needs and environment.