Disaster preparedness is something that many of us don’t think about until it’s too late.
In light of the devastating natural disasters we experienced last year, however, we think it’s time that we all got ourselves and our pets a little more prepared.
Even if you manage to get yourself and your family out, you wouldn't want to have your dog left behind in a forest fire.
What Does Disaster Preparedness Mean?
Disaster preparedness refers to any measures that you take to:
- Help you avoid an approaching disaster.
- Lessen the impact of a disaster when it does hit.
- Mitigate the effects of a disaster after it has passed.
What qualifies as a disaster
A disaster is any sudden and catastrophic event that disrupts the “normal” functioning of a community and causes “human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s ability to cope using its own resources,” according to official IFRC classification.
(VULNERABILITY + HAZARD) / CAPACITY = DISASTER
Although we often categorize disasters as being “acts of God” or “natural events”, they can be the result of human actions as we recently saw in some of the California wildfires that were sparked by negligence.
Examples of disasters include:
- Avalanches
- Blizzards
- Droughts
- Earthquakes
- Fires
- Floods
- Heatwaves
- Ice storms
- Landslides
- Tornadoes
- Tropical cyclones
- Tsunamis
- Volcanic eruptions
ALSO READ: 17 Essential Items to Have in Your First Aid Kit for Dogs
Disaster Preparedness for Pet Owners
Creating a Disaster Preparedness Plan
The most important step in preparing yourself and your dogs or cats for any disaster is to have a plan in place. This helps everyone understand what to do to evacuate safely or get through the disaster.
You can find a disaster preparedness plan outline on the government’s “Ready” website to help you create a customized plan that considers your family’s specific needs, according to FEMA recommendations.
Categorizing Preparedness
When preparing for any one of these disasters, there are multiple categories of preparations to be made, including:
- Gathering basic supplies.
- Compiling contact information.
- Compiling important records and documents.
- Preparing your home for the approaching disaster.
Basic Supplies and Disaster Preparedness Kit
As a pet owner, gathering basic supplies to create your disaster preparedness kit means doing so for you, your family, and your dog or cat.
That means that in addition to including the items listed on the government’s Ready.gov disaster preparedness kit checklist, you also need to gather supplies for your pet, including:
- At least three days’ worth of your pet’s food, stored in an airtight, waterproof container.
- At least three days’ worth of water for your pet’s needs.
- All medications your pet needs to take (don’t forget to refill these ahead of time!)
- A crate or travel carrier.
- Waste bags, paper towels, and a bleach-based cleaner. (Some families keep these items in a litter box that can be used as a designated potty area if they are trapped in a confined space.)
- A pet first aid kit with items specific to your dog or cat (for example, nail clippers, vet wrap bandage, first aid glue, a snake bite kit if pertinent, etc.)
- A spare collar, harness (a harness with a handle along the back is best), and leash complete with an identification tag.
- A clear photograph of your pet as well as a photograph of you and your pet together.
- Treats you can use to lure your dog, if needed.
- Bedding for your dog.
- A favorite comfort toy that can be used as a lure if needed.
- A pet first aid reference guide.
Compiling Contact Information
When preparing for a disaster with your pet, make sure you have all your contact information in one place.
Most of us rely on our phones to store this information, but if your phone battery dies or your phone is lost or damaged, you need to access emergency contact information another way.
We recommend keeping a traditional phone/address book, as well as digital copies of this information on a small flash drive, and storing both in a safe, airtight, waterproof container.
Some of the contacts that you should include in your address book as well as your flash drive include:
- Your spouse/child/parent’s contact information, if you don’t already know it!
- Your doctor
- The three nearest hospitals
- The three nearest urgent care facilities
- Your veterinarian
- The three nearest veterinary hospitals
- The three nearest emergency veterinary hospitals
- Your local police station
- Your local fire station
- Designated emergency shelters in your area
- Contact information for someone who can care for your pet if something happens to you.
- The Red Cross
- The American Humane Society
- Your primary emergency contact
- Three other emergency contacts
- The Pet Poison Helpline
- Numbers for family and friends whom you may need to contact either for help or to notify them that you are safe
- Contact information for local utility companies
- Contact information for other monthly bills
Compiling Important Records and Documents
In addition to compiling your emergency contact information, pull together any important records or documents related to you, your family, and your pets.
You will need to protect them from being destroyed in the disaster. Such records include:
- Pets' veterinary records and vaccination records, including a current medications list, any allergies, and a copy of your veterinarian’s contact information (if you didn’t already include them in your pet’s disaster kit)
- Personal medical records including a current medications list, any allergies, and a copy of your doctor’s contact information.
- Birth certificates
- Passports
- Driving licenses
- Marriage licenses
- Social security cards
- Deeds to any property you own
- Medical identification cards
- Any visa, naturalization, or citizenship papers
- Prescription cards
- Adoption certificates
- Titles to vehicles or other property
- Microchip registration paperwork or, at the very least, a copy of your pet’s microchip ID number
- A photograph of everyone in your family, including your pets
- Financial account information
- Income verification
- Proof of certification for any training completed by your dog
- Any paperwork issued in support of an emotional support animal
- Insurance paperwork including pet insurance, homeowner’s insurance, vehicle insurance, life insurance, and health insurance.)
- Any legal documents, including your will, trust account information, power of attorney, living will, etc.
Preparing Your Home for the Approach of the Disaster
If you have enough warning, you'll also want to prepare your home for an approaching disaster. If you plan to evacuate, you will want to:
- Bring inside any items outside the home that could be blown around, damaged, or dangerous to others.
- Board up windows and reinforce doors.
- Turn off water, gas, and electricity if local officials instruct you to.
- Reinforce garage doors.
- Set out sandbags around your home.
- Set your fridge and freezer to the coldest settings in case the power does go out.
- Unplug electrical appliances.
- Move important items to a safer area of the home where they are less likely to be damaged.
- Elevate furniture that may be affected by floodwaters.
If you have no choice but to stay in your home during a disaster (please heed all evacuation advice and don’t “ride it out at home” unless this is the only solution), you will want to take the precautions above, as well as:
- Have a generator on hand in a safe area of your home (don’t forget the gas for the generator!)
- Create a safe space within your home (for example, in the event of a tornado, choose a closet without any windows in the interior of your home and store your emergency supplies there along with any bedding for comfort, your pet’s crate, and any other items you may need.
- An emergency escape plan if you need to evacuate your home during the disaster (consider whether you may need a fire ladder, emergency tools, etc. to escape your home if you become trapped)
- Keep flashlights in every room in areas that will remain safe or dry (don’t forget the extra batteries!)
- Have an emergency radio on each floor of your home.
- Fill bathtubs and sinks with clean water.
It is also important that someone knows you are staying in your home if you can't evacuate in time, or if you have pets left behind. This person may be your only option to rescue yourself or your pets after a disaster has passed.
Evacuation
If you can evacuate your home before a disaster, always do so. Evacuating with your pets is much easier than being rescued after a disaster or leaving your pets behind.
Listen to local news announcements so you hear evacuation orders as soon as they come. You may even choose to evacuate before those orders if you feel that you are at risk of being hit by an oncoming disaster – this can help you to avoid some of the heavy evacuation traffic that may occur once evacuation orders have been given.
If you will be evacuating to another city or state with your pet, be sure to take all of your emergency contact information, medical information, and supplies with you. Start as early as you can, and plan your route, accounting for potential delays.
The last thing you want is to evacuate your home at the last minute and end up stuck on the highway when the disaster strikes. Plan ahead, know how far you can be from “ground zero” when a disaster is predicted to strike, and know whether the roads are already too dangerous to risk evacuation because of precursor weather conditions.
Know that evacuation doesn’t have to mean leaving the state or even your local community; it can also mean going to your local emergency shelter, where you will be safer in the event of a disaster.
The PETS Act
If you plan to evacuate to a local shelter but hesitate because you don’t want to leave your pets behind, don’t. In 2006, Congress passed the PETS Act to protect companion animals affected by natural disasters.
Passed shortly after Hurricane Katrina, the PETS Act states that for “states, cities, and counties to receive federal funding for their disaster relief plans, those plans must account for the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals before, during, and following a major disaster or emergency.”
Since the act was passed, FEMA has been permitted to reimburse states for creating and maintaining pet-friendly emergency evacuation shelters and for other evacuation preparedness measures needed to account for companion animals in an emergency. This has led more states to ensure pet-friendly shelters are set up for evacuees with their pets in tow.
Research your state’s emergency shelters and know where pet-friendly shelters are in your area, because not all shelters are required to allow pets. Also, research what you and your pet will need when you arrive at the emergency shelter. Each shelter has its own guidelines, but almost all require a crate and accessible veterinary records.
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