Planning for emergencies is one of those things we all know we should do but we often put off for later. However as the recent disasters in Japan and New Zealand have shown, we need to be prepared now. To that end, we have some great tips and resources on getting all your emergency ducks in a row. But first, back to Japan. Our thoughts are with those who are demonstrating such courage amid the devastation, which will likely get worse before it gets better, so if you’re looking for ways to help those in crisis then please check out the Humanitarian Coalition’s appeal for Japan or the Red Cross’s relief efforts.

We turned to Lena Jerabek, a Vancouver-based mother of two who specializes in practical safety solutions for families for her top tips on getting prepared. She equates being prepared for emergencies to having life insurance, get it all organized and then go on with your life and hope you never need it.

Lena suggests starting with a plan for your family. It should include escape routes from your home, meeting places near your home and outside your immediate neighbourhood in case you need to evacuate, a plan for your pets, your emergency contact information and more. But have you thought beyond your home to your children’s schools or daycares? Talk to them about their emergency policies and how they’ll communicate with you during an emergency.

Once your plan’s in place it’s time to get your emergency preparedness kit. It needs to be ready to grab and go – and don’t forget a smaller one for your car – and make sure it includes some cash in case you need to use pay phones or can’t access your bank.

But emergency preparedness is not just about earthquakes and natural disasters. It’s about being prepared for everyday emergencies. Are you prepared for storms, power outages, flooding and wild fires? Do your smoke detectors works? Daylight savings is a handy reminder to check all your smoke alarms/CO2 detectors and replace any food/water/batteries in your emergency kit that might have expired.

And as we said, fingers crossed you’ll get all organized and then never need your supplies, but as parents we feel getting prepared can’t be put off any longer. So we’re off to create our ICE list on our cell phone.

For more resources and info visit beesafe.ca as we’ve only just scratched the surface here.