Chapter 5, The Planning Pack

Hunker Down or Run for It?

In the event of an emergency, you and every family member must understand when they should remain where they are (shelter in place) and when they should attempt to return home or to some other prearranged location or rendezvous.

Maturity Levels

Take the time to speak at length with your children about such matters. They are aware of many dangers. There "little minds" pick up far more than you are aware of. Indeed, the books they read and the TV shows they watch lead them to believe that it is a very dangerous world. Assess their temperament and maturity. Ask them their opinions on how they might react in different situations, then offer your own suggestions. It is no secret that most children and teenagers love action adventures. Teach your children to think. Sure, when you are with them, you can dictate. But you need to make them independent thinkers so that they can make vital decisions when you are not able to be with them.

Restricted Movement

In the case of adults, only police, the National Guard, and emergency workers have any right to restrict your movement. Keep in mind, however, that school authorities have legal obligations and rights to protect your children. They are acting in loco parentis (in the place of the parent), and may therefore be reluctant to let your children leave the facility. If you are relying upon an older, more mature student to help the younger reach a rendezvous, they may have to defy authority in order to carry out your instructions. Your child may or may not have up-to-date and accurate information about the situation.

If your children have a radio, they may actually be able to help the school authorities better understand what is happening. Having shared that information, however, you should be reluctant to encourage your teenager to defy the authority of school officials who should have far more mature judgment. Obviously, if they are safer at school than en route home, they should remain there. If the character of the emergency is such that school authorities are incapacitated or no longer able or willing to provide leadership, they must decide whether it's safer to remain under their own supervision at the school or to head home. It's clear from the debacle at the 2004 Chechnyan school massacre that the adults and teachers were of little help in preserving life.

Communications Failures

It is in the midst of an actual attack that the cellular phone becomes important in making such decisions. You will need and want to speak with family members. But, if cellular systems are down or are swamped with calls, you won't get through. Walkie-talkies, with a range of several miles, are one alternative. A rigid set of written guidelines describing where your children are to attempt to go under various circumstances is an excellent fallback if communications fail.

Worst Case Scenario

These are frightening deliberations. Do not allow yourself to be paralyzed by doubt or fear. You may find yourself in a situation where you cannot get to your children to assist them. You may feel that they cannot make decisions or that they lack the capacity to succeed. This notwithstanding, you must have a rendezvous to which they can make their way, or you must find a way to get to them. Perhaps your child's pre- school building is where you should have your family meet if they cannot get home. But, if the unspeakable occurs, and the attack centers near their pre-school, you may not be able to reach them.

This may sound cold blooded, but, in the event of a general attack, you must make up your mind to attend to the needs of the majority of your family. Then, and only then, dare you risk taking steps to locate the missing. For as long as you are able, try to treat it as though it is all "make believe," a sort of game. Your kids probably play some pretty violent video computer games, yet they seem able to separate the fantasy from the real world. Finally, demonstrate your leadership and confidence by always remaining calm and by teaching your children to pray to and rely upon God.

Map One

Acquire a detailed map of the area covering your home, places of work, schools, etc. This map might show your city, your entire county, or just your neighborhood. With your home as the center of interest, use a compass to draw a circle that includes, if possible, your children's schools, their friend's homes, shopping malls, and any nearby work places. Cut away the part of the map out that shows these places and discard the remainder. Take it to a copy center and reduce or enlarge it to the size of a sheet of paper, 8 1/2" X 11". Make a copy for each member of your family.

Now, using colored high liters to designate roads and pathways, mark up each map so that it is custom-designed for a particular member of your family. For example, if it's for your 16-year old, and she ordinarily walks to school, trace the route from home to school with a yellow high liter. Now, if there is an alternative route, mark it in another color. You might use yellow for the preferred route, red for an alternate route, etc. Do the same to show how she can get home from a friend's, from the store, from a part-time job, etc. Do not assume that, because a person is an adult, they do not need the map. If they should be injured or suffer shock, someone else may use the map to help them find their way.

Create a custom map for each member of your family. Print their name at the top in bold letters, along with your home address and home and cell phone numbers.

Realize, however, that family members may not be able to get home because their movements are restricted. Establish alternative points of rendezvous and prioritize them by putting letters or numbers on the map, so that each one knows that, if they can't get home, they are to go to point A, and if they can't go to point A, they are to go to point B.

Point A and point B may represent the home of a friend or relative, or even the parking lot of a shopping mall. Whenever you establish these points, try to avoid places where crowds may gather. And keep in mind that you may not be able to remain uncovered or out of doors because of dangers from WMDs.

Sound scary? It should. During time of war, families are often divided. Lives are changed. We cannot sugar coat the possibilities. The better prepared you are, the more likely you are to be quickly reunited with your loved ones. There is one other thing that you can and should do. You should pray that the Lord keeps you and your loved ones safe, that he gives you wisdom and strength and brings you together again.

Map Two

Map two is on a larger scale map, covering a radius of fifty or one hundred miles, and perhaps even more.

Again, with your home at the center, use a compass to draw a circle whose radius takes in the homes of trusted friends and family members, even if they live over the line in neighboring states.

Again, using a color marker, highlight the high-speed routes to each home. You should also mark an alternative route because the main highways will very likely become congested or blocked. Incidentally, your teen children may actually reach their destination faster riding a bicycle than you can in a car because of highway congestion.

Where possible, everyone should plan to travel as part of the group to avoid predators. Along each route, mark several landmarks that are familiar to all but the youngest family members, including restaurants, service stations, shopping malls, campgrounds, and other potential shelters and sources of food.

On the periphery of the map, print the names, addresses and phone numbers of the places marked as destinations. Draw a straight line from each destination to that information.

Now, square off the corners of the portion of the map you've market up, take it to a local copy center, and reduce it to 8 1/2" x 11". Again, make a copy for each member of your family, a copy for each vehicle, and copies for each trusted friend and family member to whose house you might travel in the event of an emergency.

Combined and Laminated Maps

Take one copy of the customized local map that indicates routes from work or school to your home, and place it back-to-back with one of second large-scale evacuation maps. Have the local copy center laminate them together. Follow this procedure, again making a set of maps for each family member, one for each vehicle, and one for each of the trusted friends and family whom you might visit. This way, you have a record of what route each person is to attempt under varying conditions.

Put a copy of each map in the emergency pack of the family member for whom you designed it, put copies in each auto glove compartment, and send the rest on to the trusted friends whom you might visit.

You may in turn receive copies of similar maps made by friends and loved ones who might come your way if the emergency is in their location rather than yours. Put these maps in a safe place in car or home.