Gathering Up Loved Ones
Wellcome, NC, September 22, 1999 -- The message board becomes the only means of reaching friends or family for nearly 270 people in this shelter, who have become displaced from their homes and are without phones. (FEMA/Gatley)
Your family may not be in one location. If your children are in school, check the local media for announcements about changes in school openings and closings. Know your schools' policy about sheltering in place; you may not be able to access your children. For older children who walk, drive, or take the bus, ask them to follow the instructions of authorities.
Listen to local authorities to determine safe routes to travel to get home or to a shelter.
If you are trying to locate friends and family and you live outside the disaster area, these links may help:
Finding Lost Family and Friends
- Providing Safe and Well Information from the American Red Cross. If you have been affected by a disaster, this Web site provides a way for you to register yourself as "safe and well." Concerned family and friends can search the list of those who have registered themselves as "safe and well."
- Next Of Kin Registry (NOKR). NOKR is a free emergency contact system to help if you or your family member is missing, injured, or deceased.
- Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN). SATERN can collect information via their online information form and send it to the disaster area, where SATERN personnel will attempt to locate the person or persons you wish to contact.
Finding and Managing Pets
- Helping Pets. Advice from FEMA about how to care for your pet after a disaster.
- Pet Plan - After the Disaster. Tips from the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center about having a plan to handle your pet after a disaster.
- Missing Pet Network. The Missing Pet Network is a group of volunteers sponsored by the USDA Animal Care Office, who help people find missing pet animals.