MyDisasterPlan.com Helps Gulf Coast Residents Prepare for Gustav

Gulf Coast residents anxiously tracking the intensification of tropical storm Gustav and fearing a possible repeat of the devastation wreaked by Katrina have a new resource that combines modern technology and time-tested methods to maximize disaster preparedness and reduce the challenges of recovering. This secure Web-based service can be accessed at MyDisasterPlan.com.

Recent hurricanes have exacted over a hundred billion dollars in damages, left tens of thousands of people without homes and schools, and seen families separated and lacking items as simple as proof of identification, access to money, and phone numbers to let loved ones know that they were alive.  The public attention focused on the challenging human experiences of Katrina survivors has highlighted the almost universally low level of personal disaster preparedness.

MyDisasterPlan.com’s online planning service addresses this problem. By giving people a user-friendly way to securely store electronic copies of driver’s licenses, birth certificates, credit card and banking data, emergency contacts, and inventories of valuable possessions, the service alleviates much of the stress of disaster recovery and can significantly shorten the time it takes to pull one’s life back together.

Incorporating best practices from FEMA and the American Red Cross, and founder Patrick Krupka’s years working as a firefighter, paramedic and rescue specialist, MyDisasterPlan.com employs an easy-to-follow guided process for collecting and entering data and using it to build a customized family disaster plan, printable reports, and wallet cards for each family member with emergency personal information on the front and family disaster plan on the back.  Storage on a secure remote server enables access to data and reports after a disaster from any Internet connection. Password-protected versions of people’s information can be stored on a flash drive to be kept in a family’s disaster kit as well.

Having a family disaster plan that codifies where important items are, where family members should meet or who they should call if separated, and includes key identification and financial information can reduce fear and stress leading up to and immediately following a disaster.  Having details about valuable possessions facilitates the process of filing insurance claims and helps people work with their insurance agents to ensure they have appropriate coverage for their assets.  MyDisasterPlan.com also offers tip sheets with steps that people can take now to help ready their homes and families for disaster.

MyDisasterPlan.com puts Web technology and the best of disaster-preparedness knowledge to work to overcome gaps in readiness that can save millions of people time, stress and money.