At Huff Insurance, we take the safety of our clients and community very seriously. We understand the impact and devastation that natural disasters can cause.
Two of the most important tools you can have during a natural disaster are an Emergency Kit and a Family Communication Plan. An Emergency Kit is a collection of essential items your household may need to stay safe and prepared in an emergency.
Make sure you’re ready for the unexpected—your safety is our priority.
our emergency kit should be prepared well in advance of any potential disaster. In an emergency, you may need to evacuate at a moment’s notice, leaving no time to gather supplies or go shopping.
Disasters strike without warning—we can’t predict when or where they will occur. The best way to protect yourself and your family is to be ready at all times.
An incomplete or malfunctioning emergency kit won’t help when you need it most. Worse yet, a fully stocked kit is useless if you don’t know where it is when it’s time to grab it and go. Stay prepared and keep your kit accessible to ensure you’re ready for anything.
In an emergency, you may need to survive on your own for an extended period. Make sure your emergency kit includes enough food, water, and other supplies to last at least 72 hours.
Relief efforts and local officials will respond, but help may take hours or even days to reach everyone. Basic services like electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and phone lines could be unavailable. Your kit should include items to help you manage during these outages and stay safe until assistance arrives.
Basic Emergency Supply Kit:
- Water: One gallon of water per person per day for three days (both drinking and sanitation)
- Food: Three-day supply, non-perishable
- Battery or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries
- Flashlights and extra batteries
- First aid kit
- Whistle
- Dust mask, plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags, plastic ties (personal sanitation)
- Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
- Manual can opener for food
- Local paper maps
- Cell phone with chargers, inverter, or solar charger
Other useful links:
Download & Print the FEMA Emergency Supply List
Family Communication Plan:
- Your family may not be together, plan how you will contact one another.
- Create a contact card for all family members and keep them in a wallet, purse, backpack, briefcase, etc.
- Check emergency plans with your children’s day care or school.
- Identify a non-local friend or relative household members can notify when they are safe, they may be in a better position to communicate between separated families.
- If you have a cell phone, program that person(s) as “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) in your phone. If you are in an accident, emergency personnel will often check your ICE listings in order to get a hold of someone you know.
- Text messages can often get around network disruptions when a phone call might not be able to get through.
Other useful links:
Many communities now have systems that will send instant text alerts or e-mails to let you know about bad weather, road closings, local emergencies, etc. Sign up by visiting your local Office of Emergency Management web site.
Many people view insurance companies as these big greedy business people who only care about how much money their making, and don’t care about their clients. At Huff Insurance, we’re not like that. We have provided insurance in Maryland since 1960 and throughout all of the natural disasters our neighborhood has seen throughout the year’s we are constantly looking out for our clients and making sure they are safe before and after a natural disaster. We’re here, we’re local, and we’re looking out for you today, for tomorrow.