Maintain, in an easy-to-carry container, a disaster supply kit that includes essential supplies, such as:
- Collect contact information on everyone
- Address
- Phone
- Pager
- Cell Phone
- Email
- Radio
During a disaster not all communication systems may work. In Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina, land-lines and cell phones did not work, but email did.
- Create a system to communicate with staff. This can be as low-tech as a phone card that people carry in their wallets listing names and phone numbers. Or, it can be as high-tech as a push-to-talk system available on Nextel phones.
- Create a phone chain (or phone tree) that defines who calls whom. You don’t want the work of contacting every employee falling on one person. Contact information should include every known way of getting in touch with people. Get another family member’s contact information for each person as a backup. Unannounced, test the phone tree on a Sunday evening to see if it’s possible to get in touch with everyone.
- A back-up plan would be to have a specific phone number for staff to call for information. Designate an out-of-town phone number where employees can leave an "I’M OK" message and how to contact them. Set up a password-protected page on the company website where emergency numbers can be read. Arrange with your state association to be a contact point. AMOA can be the contact point: Call 1-800-YES-AMOA (937-2662) or email to: amoa@amoa.com - fax: 847-428-7719.
- Have contact information for all locations and distributors. Let them know you are temporarily down. Assign this list for contacting.
- Have address of local radio station to notify of company status if phones are down.
