Running Family Drills

We recently had a situation where a tornado was in our little town, and we had no visuals as to where the specific tornado was, but we knew that circular cloud movement had been spotted and warnings were sounding off on our phones and weather band radio. Surprisingly, my two youngest children were able to effectively but my oldest misunderstood what was going on and as I tried to get him out our home, it forced my husband to return because he wasn’t going to leave us behind. Thankfully, we were able to get into the car and get to a safe location and return once we got the all clear.

No matter what happened during this specific event, it provided an eye opener that we absolutely must get some family emergency drills. Please do not tell yourself that you can’t run drill because you have young children. If anything, this should further push the mentality that you need to not only run drills, but you need B.O.B.’s in your vehicles including some emergency vehicle supplies as well.

The purpose of the drill isn’t to scare anyone but rather to see where your skills or supplies are lacking as well as how long it actually takes your family to get out the home. You can even turn it into a fun challenge to see who is the fastest to end up at the emergency meeting place. You may want to offer up a treat of popcorn and movie night after you finish your drill.

You need to get in the habit of running drills at least once a month and I would recommend that you get some large sheets of paper and make a blueprint of your property so you and your children can visually see the exit locations during emergencies and where to meet up. You can purchase a dry erase white board and markers as an additional visual aid.

Potential Drills

• Home Defense
• Electricity & Water Shut Off
• Nearby Fire Threat
• Flooding
• Impending Hurricane
• Tornado Watch
• Internet Blackout
• Person Following Your Home
• Snow Storm (for those of you non-FL folks)
• 72 Hrs. Off Grid
• Local Hazardous Waste Spill
• Contaminated City Water

The reality is that you need to be drilling with your family because any of the above scenarios could happen and you want to already know what is expected, especially if you have extended family members who will be dropping in unexpectedly.