Family Disaster Plan
Introduction
Tornados are vertical funnels of rapidly spinning air (National Geographic, 2019). The wind speed of a tornado may top 250 miles an hour and can clear a pathway of a mile wide and 50 miles long (National Geographic, 2019). Tornados are formed from a thunderstorm and contain baseball-sized hail (National Geographic, 2019). When a tornado hits the ground, it may last from a few seconds to three hours long (National Geographic, 2019). Tornados are measured by their intensity using the unit of the Fujita scale, F0 to F5 (National Geographic, 2019). The extreme winds of a tornado can tear homes apart, destroy bridges, flip trains, send trucks flying, and even suck all the water from a riverbed (National Geographic, 2019).
How would you prepare for the following situation?
(Scenario) At this moment, you are sitting at home working on your WCU class. Suddenly, the National Weather Bureau sends an alert to your cell phone—a tornado is headed your way. You have 15 minutes before touchdown in your neighborhood. What is your plan?
In this scenario, I will be discussing how I will stay safe during a tornado at my home. According to the CDC, you should go to the basement or an inside room without windows on the lowest floor (CDC, 2019). Windows should be avoided, and for added protection, you should get under something sturdy like a heavy table (CDC, 2019). A blanket, sleeping bag, or mattress should be used, as well as anything that may protect your head from any flying objects (CDC, 2019).
Keeping the CDC’s advice, I would seek shelter in a closet that is located under a staircase in my home. This closet is located in the middle of my home and does not have any windows. The doors to this closet are heavy and made out of thick wood. For added protection, I will grab a twin-size mattress that will fit in this area and place it over my family. I will also grab a 72 hr to-go bag for me and my family. The to-go bag will include items that the Red Cross suggests, such as one gallon per person per day, non-perishable food, a flashlight, a battery-powered radio, extra batteries, deluxe family first aid kit, medications, multi-purpose tool, sanitation and personal hygiene items, copies of personal documents, cell phones with chargers, extra cash, emergency blanket, maps of the area, and clothes (Red Cross, 2020).
How prepared are you in the event of a disaster?
In the event of a tornado, I am not prepared. I do have a plan of where I would seek shelter in my home, but I would not have time to gather my supplies or important documents. I am more prepared for a hurricane than a tornado; with a hurricane, we have more time to prepare for the event, unlike the tornado, when you have maybe 15 min before the tornado lands. I do have some of the items the Red Cross suggests for this type of disaster, but I would have to search around the house for them and may not have enough time to do so, especially in a state of panic.
Reflection/Conclusion
Before this class, I was unprepared for any disaster that I could experience. All I have ever known about disasters is hurricanes, and I have experienced many hurricanes in my life. I know exactly what I need and how to prepare for it. As far as any other disaster, I was completely uneducated about what to do or what happened during the disaster. I now know how to prepare for each disaster and what my role as a nurse would be. I have heard of tornados forming in Florida, but never anything too serious. I know now that they can happen during any thunderstorm, and I need to take what I have learned in this class and apply it to my household. It is always better to be extra prepared than to leave things to chance. I have shared everything I have learned with my family and we plan on being prepared for any kind of disaster. As far as the missing items, we plan on working together to gather everything we will need, according to the Red Cross.
References
CDC. (2019, April 1). Staying Safe in a Tornado. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/features/tornadosafety/index.html.
National Geographic. (2019, August 28). Tornadoes explained. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/tornadoes/#close.
Red Cross. (2020, January). Survival Kit Supplies. Retrieved from https://www.redcross.org/get- help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/survival-kit-supplies.html.
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Question 
Introduction – Family Disaster Plan Scenario
You must include research on the dangers and explain the recommended safety measures in a tornado emergency.
Family Disaster Plan
How would you prepare for the following situation?
(Scenario) At this moment, you are sitting at home working on your WCU class. Suddenly, the National Weather Bureau sends an alert to your cell phone—a tornado is headed your way. You have 15 minutes before touchdown in your neighborhood.
What is your plan? This is a ‘shelter in place’ scenario; you cannot outrun the tornado. Identify a safe place in your home (residence) to take shelter.
Provide realistic examples and explain how you would apply the safety and survival measures you learned in your research of a tornado emergency to your specific living arrangements.
Example: “I will turn off my utilities before I shelter in place to mitigate damage to my residence.”
Example: “I will take my “go-bags” with me to my shelter in place.
How prepared are you in the event of a disaster?
Describe your level of disaster preparedness using specific examples and references to:
Potential disasters in your area.
Your 72-hour “go-bag” assignment.
Family Disaster Plan Checklist.
Example: “I am more prepared for a water-related disaster than a fire-related disaster even though I live in a highly secluded, forested area. I have a boat as transportation in the event of flooding, but I do not have rain barrels or fire barrier supplies on hand.”
Example: “There were many missing items on my preparedness checklist. I realized that I do not own a flashlight. If I had to use my phone as a light, it would drain the battery very quickly.
Reflection/Conclusion
Reflect on how prepared you were before this class and compare it with how prepared you are now.
Have you acquired any new emergency items?
Do you plan to take any additional training or certification courses?
Have you shared your knowledge with friends and family?
How does what you have learned in this course impact you as a future nurse?