Credit: NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
How do you prepare for severe weather with pets?
People First
If the people in your home aren’t safe, they will be unable to ensure the safety of the pets in the home. Ensure all people in the home are weather-aware and know the emergency action plan for a severe weather event. Knowing where to go and what to bring could be the difference between safety and tragedy. Read on to see how to prepare for severe weather with pets.
Prepare before an emergency weather event
Make sure your pet is microchipped and you have the number readily available in the event of an escape during or after an emergency weather event!
Consider your sheltering location when making your Emergency Action Plan. If your pets’ kennel(s) will fit in the sheltering location, consider setting them up. Kennels may provide a safe place to keep your pet(s) during or after the weather event.
Check and secure all fences, gates, latches, and locks around your sheltering location. Place as many barriers between your pet(s) and escape as possible. Close all doors and gates between your sheltering location and the “outside world.” The weather event may damage one or more of the barriers in place so the more there are, the better chance you have of preventing escape.
Where to go?
According to the National Weather Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you should shelter in a basement or inside room on the lowest floor such as a bathroom, closet, or central hallway. When possible, you should avoid sheltering in any room with windows. If you have any sturdy objects available such as a heavy-duty table or workbench, shelter beneath it. Cover yourself with blankets, sleeping bags, or a mattress when possible and protect your head with anything available.
Do not shelter in a mobile home. Find the nearest building with a foundation (and preferably a basement).
What to bring?
Below is a list of supplies and materials to have prepared and in your sheltering location prior to an emergency weather event:
- Emergency Action Plan including:
- Escape Routes once the weather has passed
- Emergency Contact names and phone numbers
- A list of all people and pets in the structure
- A list of all medications and conditions for people and pets
- Fresh batteries for any battery-operated devices
- A weather-radio or other device for monitoring weather reports
- Cellphone chargers
- Back-up battery packs
- Flashlights/whistles for each human
- Food (several days worth of non-perishable items)
- Water (at least 1 gallon per person per day)
- All medications
- First-Aid Kit
- Identification Card
- Cash and credit/debit cards
- Water (at least 1 gallon per pet per day)
- Food (several days worth of dry and canned food)
- Collapsible travel bowls
- All medications
- Pet First-Aid Kit
- Extra collar(s)/harness(es) for each pet
- Extra leashes for each pet
- A recent photo and microchip number
For a more comprehensive list of Emergency Supplies check out the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency’s site.
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