Protect Your People

Making a plan is the easiest way to protect your family when an emergency or disaster strikes. All it takes is sitting down with your loved ones and learning about the types of threats and hazards that may occur in your area and knowing what to do before, during, and after they occur. Emergency planning is knowing where the people you love are going to be, how you expect to get to them, and how you can be in contact with them.

Create a Contact List

Will you be able to reach the people you care about in an emergency or disaster?  Do you have their contact information, such as phone numbers and email addresses, written on paper? Do you have a way to contact them at work or school?

Persons on your contact lists are critical information providers. In an emergency or disaster, regular communication channels may become impacted and may affect local phone services.  Keep a paper contact list in your emergency supply kits and include an out-of-the-area contact person to help keep track of your family’s safety status in case you become separated and help provide updates on the emergency or disaster. Make sure your out-of-the-area contact knows about being part of your communication plan. Be sure to discuss your emergency communications plan with everyone on your contacts list and share a copy of your contact list with everyone who is on it.

Who to Rely On

Information you receive should come from a credible source. Make sure you are signed up to receive emergency alerts from the Eau Claire County through RAVE. When conditions are changing fast, you need the latest information, which may come from the County, fire department, law enforcement, and emergency medical services, so you can make informed decisions and take action to save your life.

How to Evacuate

When you are required to evacuate, remaining calm will help you get your family to safety. Prepare by keeping a paper map in your Go Bag in case local internet and cell services become impacted or disrupted.

Mark multiple evacuation routes on your map in case you cannot use major roads or highways. Practice these routes using the transportation you would take in a disaster, involve the people you would leave with, and practice evacuating with pets. If you don’t have a car, check in with your local transit agency. Ask for the best ways to reach safety when many other people might be leaving at the same time.

Every minute you spend practicing now will reward you in a real emergency. When you are prepared, you’re better positioned to help those around you.

Choose Emergency Meeting Places

When mapping your evacuation plan, you’ll also need to choose emergency meeting places in case your family or group becomes separated. Plan where you will meet and how everyone will get there. Provide your meetup plan with everyone on your local contact list about where to meet up.

Choose familiar places. Pick a meeting place in your neighborhood, one outside of your neighborhood, and one outside of your town. Your meeting places could be the home of a relative or friend or a store, library, or park. If you have pets or service animals, consider animal-friendly places to meet.

Practice is key! Make sure everyone knows where your meeting places are, and practice getting to them.

Finding Shelter

If you cannot reach the home of a friend or family member, dial 2-1-1 and find a free public shelter. You can ask the operator which public shelters are best for people with disabilities and which shelters accept pets that are not service animals. Everyone is welcome at emergency shelters.

Planning Resources

• Make a Plan (ReadyWisconsin)
• Disaster Preparedness Templates (Red Cross)
• Planning Guides (FEMA)

After a major disaster, it is unlikely that emergency response services will be immediately available to respond to everyone's needs. It's important to not only be able to take care of yourself and your family, but to also work together with your neighbors to help save lives and property.

If you are comfortable, meet with your neighbors before disaster strikes to discuss and plan how the neighborhood could work together after a disaster until help arrives. Some ideas to discuss include:

• Identify neighbors with special skills (e.g., doctors, nurses, amateur radio).
• Consider neighbors with special needs, such as disabled and elderly persons.
• Make plans for temporary child care in case parents can't get home.
• List specialized equipment (generators, power saws, etc.) and other resources that might help in a crisis.
• Share information (battery-operated radios) and communications capabilities (walkie-talkies, etc.).
• Develop an inventory of first aid equipment/supplies.
• Identify potential cooking alternatives (outdoor grills, propane tank supplies, etc.).
• Make arrangements to check on pets in the neighborhood.
• Discuss potential security and safety issues (downed power lines, collapsed structures, gas leaks, etc.).

Working together as a team after disaster strikes can significantly improve your ability to survive and help you recover more quickly.

Reaching Our Access and Functional Needs Community

Your needs matter. YOU matter! Our office continues making necessary improvements to include Eau Claire County Community members with Access and Functional Needs (AFN). We also continue incorporating alt text into our graphics, making our messages readable by readers. Please continue to check back regularly for updates.

For the 57 million Americans with disabilities, medical emergencies and natural disasters present real challenges. This page contains resources for people with disabilities, their families, and first responders so they can plan ahead for a disaster. Please take a moment and look at the valuable links provided below, they can help you take the necessary steps needed to be prepared before disaster strikes!

Defining Access and Functional Needs (AFN)

FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination defines the term “others with Access and Functional Needs” (AFN) as individuals who may have additional needs before, during and after an incident in functional areas, including but not limited to maintaining independence, communication, transportation, supervision, and maintain health (C-MIST). Individuals needing additional response assistance may include those with disabilities; live in institutionalized settings, are seniors; are children; are from diverse cultures; have limited English proficiency or non-English speaking, or are transportation disadvantaged.”

Communications

Often individuals will require auxiliary aids and services or language access services to initiate effective communication and to receive and respond to information utilizing methods that facilitate effective communication. Individuals may not be able to hear verbal announcements or alerts, see directional signs, communicate their circumstances to emergency responders, or understand how to get assistance due to hearing, vision, cognitive, behavioral, mental health, or intellectual disabilities, and/or limited English proficiency. In addition to auxiliary aids and services, the use of plain language benefits most people.

• Visual Communications Tool (ReadyWisconsin)

Maintaining Health

Individuals may require specific medications, supplies, services, durable medical equipment (DME), electricity for life-maintaining equipment, breastfeeding and infant/childcare, or nutrition in order to reduce negative impacts of a disaster or public health emergency on individuals’ health.

[List resources]

Independence

For individuals with access and functional needs, providing physical/architectural, programmatic, or communications access will allow them to maintain independence in an environment outside their home. For individuals requiring assistance to maintain independence in their daily activities, this assistance may be unavailable during an emergency or a disaster. Such assistance may include durable medical equipment or other assistive devices (wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, communication devices, transfer equipment, etc.), service animals, and/or personal assistance service providers or caregivers. Supplying needed support to these individuals will enable them to maintain or quickly restore their pre-disaster level of independence.

[List resources]

Support, Safety, and Self-Determination

Before, during, and after an emergency, individuals may lose the support of personal assistant services, family, or friends; may find it difficult to cope in a new environment (particularly if they have autism, dementia, Alzheimer’s, behavioral, or mental health conditions such as schizophrenia or intense anxiety) or may have challenges accessing programs and services. If separated from their caregivers, young children may be unable to identify themselves; and when in danger, they may lack the cognitive ability to assess the situation and react appropriately. All adults, including adults with access and functional needs, have the right to self-determine the amount, kind, and duration of assistance they require.

[List resources]

Transportation

Individuals may lack access to personal transportation, be unable to drive due to decreased or impaired mobility that may come with age and/or disability, temporary conditions, injury, or legal restriction. Disasters and public health emergencies can significantly reduce transportation options in some communities, inhibiting individuals from accessing services and staying connected. Disaster planning requires coordination with mass transit and accessible transportation services providers.

[List resources]