One of the many important steps families and businesses can take to protect themselves during a disaster, is to have a pre-established communications plan. For families, this plan will lay out who members are to contact to check in if they become separated from the family. This is often a friend or family member who lives out of the area, as local phone lines may be experiencing issues after a disaster. For businesses, this communications plan addresses how the employer will keep in touch with the employee and the customer. Relaying important information like relocation, change of hours and operating status are important before, during and after a disaster is important. The communications plans should also address how employees will report their status and condition after a disaster to the employer as well.
While communications plans of old often revolved around phone numbers, today they should include social media. The emergency management world is seeing a drastic increase in the use of sites such as Facebook and Twitter as a means to report disaster conditions to family members and friends. People can instantly post or Tweet that they are safe, their location and inquire about friends or family. Just as easily businesses can utilize these sites to communicate! So when you sit down with your family or co-workers, don’t forget to add a social media section to that communications plan!
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