Preparing Your Farm and Animals for Disasters

Are you ready for:
Blackouts, Chemical Emergencies, Drought, Earthquakes, Fires, Floods, Heat Waves, Hurricanes, Mudslides, Terrorism, Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Tsunami, Volcanoes, Wildfires, Winter Storms….
“It is vital that animal facilities prepare for disasters, not only for the animals housed inside, but so that the facility will be viable in the aftermath. These facilities will include animal shelters, kennels, veterinary clinics and hospitals, pet shops, horse stables and other facilities where animals are routinely housed. The following guidelines are appropriate for all and will help determine which disasters and dangers a facility may be vulnerable to, and what plans they can make now to mitigate damage and downtime.” taken from the Information Resources for Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees 1985-1999 report.

This article was buried deep in the national UDSA government website. It is an excellent report that includes the following topics of interest, tips and resources on proactive disaster planning for all types of farms:
• Evaluate your Animal Facility
• Insurance
• Set Priorities
• Create a Pyramid of Employee Release
• Specific Preparations
---1. Evacuation
---2. Sheltering
---3. Human Evacuation
---4. Special Considerations
• Final Securing of Premises
• Returning after the Disaster
• On-Going Planning

Link to the whole articlehttp://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/IACUC/dis.htm

Link to the American Red Cross(information on each type of disaster, what to expect and how to plan and prepare for each type of emergency.)http://www.redcross.org/services/prepare/0,1082,0_253_,00.html

Link to your printable copy of the “Farm Disaster Plan Quick Check List”
1.Pdf format…http://georgiaboer.com/DisasterPlanQuickCheckList.pdf
2.Microsoft Word format…http://georgiaboer.com/DisasterPlanQuickCheckList.doc