Admin unicorns, are you and your company prepared for a disaster? Does your staff know what to do in case of an earthquake, fire, flood, bomb threat, or active shooter? Often we don’t think about these things until they are actually happening – and then it is too late.

On October 18, my company took part in the Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill. During the process of preparing for this drill I was surprised to realize that our Emergency Response Plan needed to be updated and our emergency supplies were out of date. I know that it is not at all uncommon for emergency planning to fall through the cracks, but never fear, your favorite admin unicorn is here to share some great disaster planning resources with you!

If you don’t have one already, I suggest forming an Emergency Response Team; this team will be responsible for keeping your disaster preparedness plans up-to-date, making sure your emergency supplies are in good condition and replacing items when they expire, running periodic disaster drills, and taking an active role in the immediate response to community disasters.

If you haven’t been thinking about your emergency plan at work (or at home!), now is the best time to start. Here are a few starting points:

Ready.gov has excellent resources on Preparedness Planning for Your Business. There is also a section on disaster preparedness for folks with disabilities.

Redcross.org is a great resource for CPR/First aid training, as well as emergency preparedness and first aid supplies.

EmergencyKits.com sells disaster kits for your office and home. They also have a library of free Emergency Preparedness documents for businesses and for individuals and families (including pets).

Don’t forget to consider your pets when making a disaster plan.

Shakeout.org has a great list of earthquake preparedness resources. There is also important info for those of us with disabilities.

There is a lot of information on disaster planning out there, and the focus of your particular plan will depend on what hazards are most common to your geographic area. Hopefully the resources I’ve provided will help you to start thinking about what you, your colleagues, and families will do in an emergency, so that you will be able to act swiftly and effectively in the moment.

As a great philosopher once said, if you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready.