Disaster can strike quickly and without warning. It can force you to evacuate your neighborhood or confine you to your home. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone right away. Families can, and do, cope with disaster by preparing in advance and working together as a team. Create a disaster plan for your family. Knowing what to do is your best protection and your responsibility.

CITY ASSISTED EVACUATION PLAN

If a Category 3 or greater hurricane could hit the City of New Orleans, the Mayor may call for the City Assisted Evacuation Plan (CAEP). The CAEP is designed to help people who have no means of evacuating on their own, due to financial need, unreliable or no transportation, or homelessness. If you feel you may be eligible for the CAEP, call the City’s 311 hotline or 1 (877) 286-6431. You will be notified of your registration via postcard and your information will be kept in a database for registration during evacuation. If you or someone in your family has a medical condition that may prevent you from evacuating, that information will be sent to the New Orleans Health Department. You will be contacted and your condition will be assessed. You may be eligible for special transportation. When the CAEP is announced over television and radio, please arrive at one of the 17 pickup points listed here. Four of the locations are senior citizens’ centers, where those with special needs or who are 65 years or older can wait. If you are eligible for special transport, you will be contacted by the Health Department or New Orleans EMS when the evacuation begins. From one of the 17 pickup points, you and your fellow citizens will be taken to the Union Passenger Terminal to depart the city. You will be taken to a state-sponsored shelter out of the hurricane’s strike zone. When it is safe to come back to the City of New Orleans, everyone will be brought back to the UPT to return home.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CAEP USERS

• If any information changes after you have registered, please call 311 to update your record.
• Bring identification with you when you evacuate, including a State-issued license or ID card. If you do not have any documentation you will NOT be turned away.
• Bring ONLY ONE small carryon bag per person (no more than 45” total dimensions). Pet carriers, purses, and diaper bags will not count as your one bag.
• Bring your medicines and prescriptions (must be in their original bottles or packages).
• Bring important papers for safekeeping.
• Bring cash with you. Banks at evacuation locations may be unable to process debit or credit cards. Bring a book of checks to use.
• Those with special medical, physical, or psychological needs should consult physicians, counselors, home health care agencies, and service providers to arrange care where they are going.
• The elderly, mobility-impaired and those that need medical resources should go to a CAEP senior center for evacuation pickup. These have mobility access and are staffed to assist people with non-routine concerns. All others should report to a general pickup point listed inside.
• Those transported to special needs shelters will only be allowed to bring on caretaker with them.
• If you bring a pet during the CAEP, it must have ID, collar, leash, be up-to-date on vaccines, and have any needed medications.

FOUR STEPS TO SAFETY IN ANY DISASTER

1. Find Out What Could Happen to You:

• Contact your local Office of Emergency Preparedness and American Red Cross chapter. Be prepared to take notes:
• Ask what types of disaster are most likely to happen. Request information on how to prepare for each.
• Ask about animal care after disaster. Animals may not be allowed inside emergency shelters due to health regulations.
• Find out how to help elderly or disabled persons, if needed.
• Next, find out about the disaster plans at your workplace, your children's school or daycare center, and other places where your family spends time.

2. Create a Disaster Plan:

• Meet with your family and discuss why you need to prepare for disaster. Explain the dangers of fire, severe weather, and earthquakes to children. Plan to share responsibilities and work together as a team.
• Discuss the types of disasters that are most likely to happen. Explain what to do in each case.
• Pick two places to meet: right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, like a fire and outside your neighborhood in case you can't return home. Everyone must know that location (the address and phone number.)
• Ask an out-of-state friend to be your "family contact". After a disaster, it's often easier to call long distance. Other family members should call this person and tell them where they are. Everyone must know your contact person's phone number.
• Discuss what do in an evacuation. Plan how to take care of your pets.

3. Complete This Checklist

• Call our Emergency Preparedness Office
• Post emergency telephone numbers near phones (fire, police, ambulance, etc.)
• Teach children how and when to call 911 or your local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) number for emergency help.
• Find out which disasters could occur in your area.
• Ask how to prepare for each disaster.
• Ask how you would be warned of an emergency.
• Learn your community evacuation routes.
• Ask about special assistance for elderly or disabled persons.
• Determine the best escape routes from your home. Find two ways out of each room.
• Find the safe spots in your home for each type of disaster.
• Ask your workplace about emergency plans.
• Learn about emergency plans for your children's school or day care center.

4. Practice and Maintain Your Plan

• Quiz your kids every six months so they remember what to do.
• Conduct fire and emergency evacuation drills.
• Replace stored water every three months and stored food every six months.
• Test and recharge your fire extinguisher or extinguishers according to manufacturer's instructions.
• Test your smoke detectors monthly and change the batteries at least once a year.

DISASTER SUPPLY KIT

Assemble the supplies you might need. Store them in an easy-to-carry container.

Include:

• A supply of water for drinking and cooking (one gallon per person per day). Stored in sealed, unbreakable containers.
• A supply of non-perishable packaged or canned food, and a non-electric can opener.
• A change of clothing, rain gear and sturdy shoes.
• Blankets or sleeping bags (1 per person).
• A first aid kit and prescription medications.
• An extra pair of eyeglasses, contact lens supplies.
• A battery-powered radio, flashlight and plenty of extra batteries.
• Credit cards and cash in a water proof container.
• An extra set of car keys.
• A list of important family information; the style and serial number of medical devices such as pacemakers.
• Special items for infants, elderly or disabled family members, such as extra diapers, hearing aids, and medical certification.
• Books, magazines, cards, toys and games.
• Important documents in water-proof containers, such as insurance policies.
• Photographs or videotapes of personal property as well as an up-to-dateinventory of items (include serial numbers).
• Hygiene supplies.
• Shovel, axe and other useful tools.
• Fire extinguisher.

FIRST AID KIT

You should have two first aid kits; one for your home, the other for your car, if you have one. An emergency first aid kit should include:

• Sterile adhesive bandages in assorted sizes
• 2-inch & 3-inch sterile gauze pads
• Hypoallergenic adhesive tape
• Triangular bandages
• 2-inch & 3-inch sterile roll bandages
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Needle
• Safety razor blade
• Bar of soap
• Moistened towelettes
• Antiseptic spray
• Thermometer
• Tongue blades and wooden applicator sticks
• Tube petroleum jelly or other lubricant
• Safety pins in assorted sizes
• Cleansing agent/soap
• Latex gloves
• Non-Prescription Drugs such as aspirin or non-aspirin pain reliever, anti-diarrhea medication, antacid (for stomach upset), emetic (use to induce vomiting if advised by Poison Control Center), laxative, eye wash, rubbing alcohol, antiseptic or hydrogen peroxide, activated charcoal (use if advised by the Poison Control Center)

SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT

Keep the following items in one place, so you can get to them easily:

• A battery-operated radio (with extra batteries)
• Blankets or sleeping bags
• A flashlight (with extra batteries)
• Paper plates and utensils, including a bottle and can opener
• Candles and matches (in a water proof container) or an oil or kerosene lantern
• Toilet articles and sanitary needs.

WHAT TO DO IF THE ELECTRICITY GOES OUT

• First, use perishable food and foods from the refrigerator.
• Then use foods from the freezer.
• To minimize the number of times you open the freezer door, post a list of the freezer contents on the door.
• In a well-filled, well-insulated freezer, foods will usually still have ice crystals in their center, (meaning the foods are safe to eat) for at least three days.
• Finally, begin to use nonperishable foods and staples.