Personal Preparedness
There are three basic steps to personal preparedness. First, make an emergency kit. Second, make a plan. Third, stay informed.
Make an emergency kit:
Collect these supplies and put them in a place you can access easily.
- Water for drinking and sanitation (one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days)
- Food (three days, non-perishable, including a can opener if food is canned)
- AM/FM Radio (with extra batteries)
- Flashlight (with extra batteries)
- First aid kit
- Whistle
- Prescription medications and glasses
- Copies of important documents (e.g., birth certificate, passport, drivers licence, social security card)
- Complete change of clothing, including shoes
- Personal hygiene supplies
- Books and/or playing cards
- Prepaid long distance telephone card
- Cell phone charger and extra charged battery
Be sure to replace medications and food to keep your supply within any expiration dates. Consider creating kits capable of supporting you during longer emergency events. Many disaster preparedness planners use 3-day/3-week/3-month planning horizons. The list above imagines a 3-day planning horizon.
Find more emergency kit ideas at www.ready.gov.
Make a plan:
- Identify several reliable people around you and plan to account for each other during a local emergency.
- Keep emergency information for out-of-town and local contacts handy. Current students should give this contact information to the Registrar's Office, because Colorado College will use that contact information for emergency notification. Contacts should include next of kin, immediate family members, extended family members, and any agents for those who have granted a power-of-attorney.
- Understand how you will communicate with your local and family contacts during an emergency, whether the emergency is where you are or where they are.
- Think about how you will get out of town during an emergency, if necessary. The more independently you can evacuate, the better.
- Keep contact lists up to date.
Stay informed:
- Learn the emergency plan for any building in which you spend a lot of time (residence hall, classroom, student center, library, place of work, etc.).
- Learn where to get urgent information about the emergency, wherever you are.
- Watch for emergency alerts, alarms, and notifications. Local radio and TV stations often interrupt broadcasts in case of emergency.
- Learn to watch for changes to emergency procedures.