Disaster Preparedness: Terrorism

Disaster preparedness means being prepared for any kind of emergency—natural or man-made, and being prepared means having emergency kits on hand, ready to use when they're needed. It's important to prepare in advance for threats to homeland security and bioterrorism.

Most Americans are confident their food supply is safe from natural contaminants. Even though the federal Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that about one person in four contracts a food-borne illness each year, and that 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths occur annually due to consumption of inadvertently contaminated food, the public generally believes the food they purchase will not make them sick.

However, Al Qaeda's September 11 attacks and the subsequent anthrax incidents raise an additional concern for America's food supply. Deliberate contamination of the nation's food supply is a real possibility and the economic and psychological implications of an attack on the food supply are sobering. Some foods are more susceptible to deliberate contamination than others, but there is no practical way one can eliminate the possibility of being affected. Emergency kits from FoodInsurance.com are an important part of disaster preparedness for emergencies resulting from threats to homeland security and bioterrorism.

protect you and your family with emergency kits from FoodInsurance.com

Although the U.S. homeland security commission is doing what it can to protect the food supply, there is a high likelihood that terrorists will at some point use a bioterrorism attack on our food supply avenue. This could mean local grocery stores won't have food for several weeks while the government sorts out a problem. An emergency kit from FoodInsurance.com will provide food for you and your family until the nation's food supply is back to normal. That's a sound disaster preparedness plan!

Follow these basic steps to develop your family disaster preparedness plan:

1. Gather information about hazards in your area. Find out what types of disasters could occur and how you should respond. Be sure to consider threats to homeland security and bioterrorism. Learn your community's warning signals and evacuation plans.
2. Meet with your family to create a disaster preparedness plan and make sure it includes emergency kits for the whole family. Discuss the information you've gathered. Choose a place outside your home to meet in the event of an emergency, such as a fire, and a place away from your neighborhood in case you can't return home. Choose a friend or relative who lives out-of-state as your "family check-in contact"
3. Implement your disaster preparedness plan:
   • Post emergency telephone numbers by phones.
   • Inspect your home for potential hazards such as items that can move, fall break or catch fire, and correct them.
   • Install safety features such as smoke alarms and fire extinguishers and instruct others how to use them properly.
   • Teach children how and when to call 911 or your local emergency medical services number.
   • Keep emergency kits such as FoodInsurance.com's The Essentials kit in your home with enough supplies for each member of your family for two weeks.
   • Keep a disaster preparedness response kit with items you may need in case of evacuation. Store these supplies in sturdy, easy-to-carry containers, such as backpacks or duffle bags. FoodInsurance.com makes it easy with the Emergency Plus kit!
   • Keep important family documents in a waterproof container.
   • Keep a smaller disaster preparedness emergency kit in the trunk of your car.
4. Practice and maintain your plan:
   • Ask questions to make sure your family remembers meeting places, phone numbers, and safety rules.
   • Make sure everyone knows where to find your family's emergency kits.
   • Test your smoke detectors monthly.
   • Test and recharge your fire extinguisher(s) according to manufacturer's recommendations.
   • Replace spare batteries as required.
   • Conduct periodic drills to make sure you are prepared in case of an actual emergency.

We hope it never happens, but with a planning and instruction, you can ensure your family's homeland security preparedness plan will get you through the disaster if it does. Emergency kits from FoodInsurance.com are an important part of your bioterrorism preparedness plan. Don't wait—put your disaster preparedness plan into effect before disaster strikes.