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Preparing for Emergencies

Preparing for Emergencies

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youth preparing emergency kits

Purpose

“If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” (D&C 38:30). As you prepare now for possible emergencies, you will have peace of mind and be better able to help others during an emergency.

Description

Invite a qualified person to explain and demonstrate how to prepare for the types of emergencies that may happen where you live (such as earthquakes or tornadoes). Discuss what to do when the emergency happens. Talk about ways to communicate during an emergency if phones are not working. Then hold a drill to practice what you have learned.

As you plan this activity, please follow the counsel given in chapter 13 of Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010) and review “Safety Recommendations for Church Activities.”

More Ideas

  • Know the plan—If there is an emergency plan for your family, neighborhood, branch, or ward, review the plan to make sure everyone is familiar with it. If a plan has not been created, work together to make one. The plan should cover communication plans, evacuation routes, where to meet, and so forth. Make sure everyone has a copy of the finished plan and keeps it in a safe place. If you’d like, divide into teams and race through your evacuation route!

  • Kits—Assemble emergency preparedness kits, including first-aid supplies, flashlights, water bottles, and whatever else might be helpful in an emergency in your area. Remember to include an index card with emergency contacts on one side and your name, home number, and health care provider on the other side.

  • Race to safety—Divide into teams and give each team an emergency scenario such as a fire, earthquake, flood, and so on. Create a series of tasks that each team must complete in order to win. The tasks could represent steps they would take in the case of their assigned disaster scenario.

  • Preparedness fair—Hold a fair where your group can teach their families and other members of the community what they have learned about emergency preparedness. Consider having booths on various topics, such as food storage or water purification. You could also have areas where participants could make emergency preparedness kits, emergency plans, and so forth.

Discussion

Encourage participants to talk about what they are learning. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity. You could ask questions like the following:

  • Why is it important to prepare for possible emergencies?

  • When have you been blessed by being prepared for an emergency?

  • What feelings or impressions do you have about preparing for emergencies?

  • How can you apply what you are learning in your life?

Related Resources

Sabbath Day Lessons

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