Running head: Family Disaster Plan Summative 1

Family Disaster Plan Summative

Briana Borden

West Coast University, Ontario

Family Disaster Plan Summative 2

Family Disaster Plan

Scenario

“At this moment, you are sitting at home working on your WCU class. Suddenly, the

National Weather Bureau sends an alert across your cell phone—a tornado is headed your way.

You have 15 minutes before touchdown in your neighborhood. What is your plan?”

California isn’t known for having tornados, and after doing some research, I could not

find nearby storm cellars to go to if a tornado were to hit us. With that being said, the first thing I

would do is alert everyone in my household, so everyone is aware of the impending tornado and

does their part in preparing for impact. Someone will need to turn off the utilities to prevent gas

leaks, fires, and flooding that could result from damage. Someone will need to grab the radio, so

we can listen to updates on the weather. The emergency bag will need to be retrieved as well and

brought to our area of refuge.

It is important to get to a sturdy building like a safe room, basement or storm cellar right

away. According to Ready.gov, if the building does not have a basement a small interior room on

the lowest level is the next best option (Ready, n/a). My house does not have a safe room,

basement or storm cellar, so finding a room safest to get to is the priority. During a tornado, the

best option would be a windowless location (OSHA, n/a). It is important to stay away from

windows, because of glass and outside debris getting into the house. The only area in my house

that is windowless is the hallway. To protect ourselves from flying debris we would use

mattresses, thick comforters, and helmets to protect ourselves. It is important to stay low while a

tornado is active. Once we are settled into a low-lying area with protection, I will contact other
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members of my family that aren’t home and make sure they’ve found a safe location to take

cover in.

Preparedness

I am more prepared for an earthquake than any other type of disaster. Since I was young,

we have had earthquake drills in school. My knowledge on what to do when an earthquake hits is

limited to where to go and how to protect myself. During an earthquake, it is important to find

cover and avoid windows and anything that could fall. Since we are usually in class during the

drill, I know what to do when inside a building but not when I am outside or driving. I also have

no plans set or a disaster kit ready in case of natural disasters. Other than earthquakes Southern

California is known to have fires, flash floods, landslides, storms, and tsunamis. None of which I

am prepared for. If any disaster were to happen, I would hope that the cable and my phone

service still worked so that I can listen for updates on what to do. During the fires that were

going on in Southern California, certain areas did not have cell phone towers. Knowing that I can

not rely on mobile service or cable a satellite radio is very important.

Reflection

Prior to this class, I was not prepared for a disaster. I have never experienced a big

natural disaster, so it was not something I worried about or cared to prepare for. Even though I

would hear about disasters happening around the world and even several miles from where I

lived, I would just hope it would never happen to me. I’ve realized how uneducated and

unprepared I am for disasters. After this class and specifically this assignment, I feel much more

educated on how to become prepared. I’ve taken it upon myself to prepare my family in case of

an emergency. I have started to make a disaster bag and have begun developing plans in case of a
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disaster. I’ve scheduled a meeting for my family to go over what to do in cases of emergency as

well. It will be comforting to know that we have a plan on what to do in cases of disasters.
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Reference

OSHA (n/a). Tornado Preparedness and Response. OSHA. Retrieved from

https://www.osha.gov/dts/weather/tornado/preparedness.html

Ready (n/a). Tornadoes. Ready.gov. Retrieved from https://www.ready.gov/tornadoes