The best way to be prepared for surprise weather occurrences is to create a family emergency plan.

If you have taken this step and your family does have an emergency plan in place, be sure to discuss and review it, as well as practice it, as the various weather seasons change so everyone knows exactly what to do.

Here are some things to consider when creating a family emergency plan if you’ve not yet created one:

1. How will emergency alerts and warnings be received?

Smartphones allow us to receive emergency alerts and warnings rapidly thanks to today’s technologies. If you have a weather app or Google on your smartphone, you will quickly receive emergency alerts, which provides you with valuable time in severe weather situations. But remember, you can still receive warnings and alerts through radio and television broadcasts.

2. What type of storm shelter do you have?

In areas where tornadoes are common, you’ll want to be in the lowest part of your home, preferably a basement if you have one. If that is not an available option for you, find an interior room on the lowest level of your home that is away from corners, windows, doors and outside walls.

There are other situations that require a form of storm shelter, and you can learn more about those situations that call for them by visiting ready.gov.

3. What are your evacuation routes?

Hurricanes, floods and fires can force you to leave your home in a hurry, so you should always have routes mapped out that can serve as an evacuation route. It’s wise to have several routes mapped out in the event one becomes impassable, and it’s also important to find places where you can stay with your pets along the way if you have furry family members evacuating with you.

4. How will you communicate?

Communication with family during an emergency is key. It’s easy to rely on cell phones to keep in touch with your family, but in some circumstances, that just will not be possible. Cell phone towers can be taken out in storms, phones could be lost or left behind, and if there is not power, you will not be able to recharge your phone batteries.

Be sure that your family has an emergency communication plan in place as well as a pre-determined and safe meeting place so that you can all meet there if separated.

If a storm does cause damage to your home or business, don’t hesitate to call your friends at SERVPRO® of Pueblo to get the cleanup and restoration process started.