Create a Family Emergency Preparedness Plan Before Disaster Strikes

Why Utah Families Need a Plan

Utah is one of the most seismically active states in the American West. The Wasatch Fault - running along the base of the Wasatch Mountains from Brigham City through Salt Lake City and Provo down to Nephi - is capable of producing a major earthquake. Geologists estimate the probability of a magnitude 6.75 or greater earthquake in the Wasatch Front region over the next 50 years is approximately 43%. That's not a remote risk. That's planning territory.

Beyond earthquakes, Utah families face fire risk from dry conditions and wind, flooding from spring snowmelt and summer thunderstorms, and the occasional extended power outage. A family emergency plan addresses all of these scenarios and costs nothing but time to create.

Build Your Evacuation Plan First

An evacuation plan answers two questions: how do we get out of the house, and where do we go?

Fire escape routes: Every room in your home should have two potential exit routes - typically a door and a window. Walk through each room with your family and identify both. In bedrooms with windows above ground level, make sure everyone knows how to use a window escape ladder if you don't already own one.

Designate a meeting spot outside your home - far enough from the building to be safe from a structure fire, but close enough that everyone knows where to go. A specific tree, mailbox, or neighbor's driveway works well.

Neighborhood evacuation: Decide on a neighborhood meeting point and a rally point outside your immediate area in case communications go down or your neighborhood is inaccessible. If you can't reach each other by phone, where does everyone go? A relative's house, a specific community building, or a pre-designated street corner - the exact location matters less than having an agreement your whole family knows.

What Goes In a 72-Hour Emergency Kit

Emergency management agencies recommend every household have supplies to sustain itself for at least 72 hours - three full days - without outside assistance. Here's what that kit should include:

• Water: One gallon per person per day. For a family of four, that's 12 gallons minimum. Store in food-grade containers away from direct sunlight. Rotate every six months.
• Non-perishable food: Canned goods, dried fruit, nuts, crackers, granola bars. Focus on things your family will actually eat. A manual can opener is not optional.
• First aid kit: Bandages, antiseptic, pain reliever, any prescription medications (rotate to keep current), and a first aid manual.
• Flashlights and extra batteries: One per person, plus extras. LED flashlights with long battery life are preferred. Consider a hand-crank or solar option as backup.
• Medications: At minimum a 7-day supply of critical prescriptions. Talk to your doctor about emergency supplies.
• Copies of important documents: ID, insurance cards, birth certificates, mortgage documents, medical records. Store in a waterproof bag or container.
• Cash: ATMs and card readers don't work during power outages. Small bills are more useful than large.
• Phone charger: A battery bank (power bank) with a full charge, plus the appropriate cables for every phone in the household.
• Warm clothing and emergency blankets: Especially important in Utah where temperatures can drop quickly at night year-round.
• Basic tools: Utility knife, work gloves, dust masks (useful after earthquakes or structural damage), duct tape, wrench to shut off gas.

A Kit for Your Car Too

Many emergency situations happen when family members are separated - at work, at school, in traffic. Keep a smaller emergency kit in each vehicle with water, snacks, a first aid kit, a blanket, jumper cables, and a flashlight. In Utah winters, add hand warmers and a small shovel.

Earthquake-Specific Preparation

Because Utah's earthquake risk is real, a few specific preparations are worth adding:

• Know where your gas shutoff valve is and keep a wrench nearby to turn it off after a quake
• Secure heavy furniture - bookshelves, water heaters, large cabinets - to wall studs
• Move heavy items to lower shelves
• Keep shoes near your bed (broken glass is a hazard after a quake)
• Practice "drop, cover, hold on" with your family

Communicate the Plan to Everyone

A plan that only one person knows isn't a plan. Sit down with every member of your household - including children - and go through the plan together. Practice the fire escape routes. Drive the evacuation routes. Make sure everyone can answer: where do I go, and who do I call?

Keep a printed copy of your emergency contact list somewhere accessible - not just stored in a smartphone that might be dead.

When Disaster Hits, Five Point Is Ready

Preparation gets you through the first 72 hours. When the disaster involves damage to your home - water, fire, wind, or structural - Five Point Restoration is the restoration call you make. We respond 24/7, work directly with your insurance carrier, and handle everything from extraction and drying to full structural repairs.

Call 801-566-1577 - we're ready when you need us.