How to prepare for an emergency - Virtual training now being offered

Before the pandemic, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) worked with departments to develop workplace emergency plans. The plan included what the department needed to do if a winter storm, tornado, or power outage occurred. Now that many in the Yale community are working from home offices, OEM is offering, for the first time, a virtual class on creating a personal preparedness plan.

During this hour-long Zoom presentation, attendees learn:
•    How to create a personal or family emergency response plan for use at work and home.
•    What to consider during an evacuation, including communication tips.
•    The importance of preparing a “go/evacuation bag” and what to include in the bag.
•    How to prepare for inclement weather.

“Now that many of us are working from home offices, we want to virtually connect with people more in-depth about personal preparedness and developing a plan,” said Jennifer Nolan, Associate Director of Emergency Management. When developing the class, the OEM Team got positive feedback from the community. “Members of the EOT were impressed and messaged me later that they hadn’t thought of doing that and how important it is to have a plan.” said Jennifer.

Yale has an Emergency Operations Team (EOT) made up of 75 Yale staff from different departments across campus. They convene virtually or in-person when there is an emergency that effects the campus community. Since the beginning of COVID earlier this year, they’ve met weekly via Zoom conference calls. During a recent meeting, Jennifer presented her family preparedness plan to the group. It included among other things: 1) a designated meeting location (the local fire department) in the case of phone and electricity outages or if the roads were obstructed, and family members and children couldn’t get home,  and 2) what to have in a “go/evacuation bag” if you have kids and pets.

“Due to recent storms, we realized the need from those in our Yale community to learn more about personal preparedness. Therefore, one of our department goals for this year is to focus on personal preparedness training for our community members,” said George Hines, Director of Emergency Management.

“Many people, even first responders, are busy going on calls and don’t have a personal plan. This presentation will give individuals easy step-by-step guidance on what to think about and how to write a plan,” said Jennifer.

These new classes will be offered now through February. Attendees can register on-line, and the first 300 to attend will receive a special preparedness item for their Go-Bag after the presentation.

Visit the Emergency Management website to find out more.