TOM RASTA Tips To Make Being Prepared Easier For Families (NAPSA)—Disaster can strike quickly and without warning. It can force you to evacuate your neighborhoodor confine you to your home. What would you doif basic services such as water, gas, electric- ity or telephones werecutoff? As the 2005 recipient of the American Red Cross National Good Neighbor Award and corporate friend for more than a decade, Tar- get and the American Red Cross join together to help prepare families across the country for life’s emergencies. According to a recent survey, only 16 percent of Americansfeel they are “very prepared” should a natural disaster or emergency strike. Yet 67 percent of Americans acknowledge the importance of being prepared. To help make being prepared easier for families, the American Red Cross has developed a list of tips for families to review before a disaster strikes: Talk—Sit down with your family or household to talk about disasters that can happen where you live. Establish responsibilities for each memberof the household and work together as a team. Plan—Determine how you will contact each other if something occurs and you are not together. Choose two places to meet after a disaster, including one right outside your home and one outside your neighborhood in the event that you can not return home. Learn—Each adult in your household should learn how and when to turn off utilities such as electricity, water and gas. Ask someone at the fire department to show you howto usethefire extinguisher you store in your home. Gather Supplies—Assemble all the supplies that you will need im an emergency preparednesskit. a} First Aid and Emergency =m: Preparedness Starter Kit A newFirst Aid and Emergency Preparedness Starter Kit created by the American Red Cross and Target has what you may need should disaster strike. These family-friendly kits cost only $29.99— of which Targetwill donate $10 to the American Red Cross. Review your kit every six months. If you don’t have one, you can go to Target stores or online at Target.com to buy a new First Aid and Emergency Preparedness Starter Kit. Created by Target and the American Red Cross, these kits include flashlights, batteries, blankets, a radio, a children’s activity book and a manual from the American Red Cross, among other necessities. Tell—Tell everyone in your household where emergency contact information is kept and make copies for each family member. Be sure to identify an out-of-town contact for everyone to call to let that person know where they are and how they can be reached. Practice—Practice your plan twice a year. Drive your planned evacuation route. Plan alternative routes on a mapin case main roads are impassable or gridlocked. A family’s first step towards safety is being prepared.
