The family emergency plan – meeting point, agreements, cash
A supply at home is half the job. The other half is a plan: what do we do if power and the mobile network fail and we are not together? It is best to talk about it calmly – for example over dinner.
Five questions for your plan
- Where do we meet if we cannot reach each other? A fixed place everyone knows.
- Who picks up whom? Who collects the children from school or nursery?
- Who looks after people who need help – grandparents, people in need of care, neighbours?
- Which routes do we take if public transport is not running?
- Who can help us – and whom can we help?
Write the answers and important phone numbers on paper and put a copy in every bag.
Cash at home
During a power cut, card payments and cash machines often do not work. According to the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, the Austrian National Bank recommends cash in small notes – about twice your weekly shopping, at most 100 euros per person in the household – kept safely.
Staying informed
Every household should have a battery or crank radio. In Austria, ORF broadcasts around the clock in a crisis; in Vienna, for example, Ö3 on FM 99.9. The car radio works too.
Ask your municipality
Ask your town or municipality: are there contact points during a blackout, such as the town hall or the fire station? According to the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, all police stations in Austria stay staffed as contact points during a blackout.
Do not let the tank run empty
If petrol stations fail, a tank that is at least partly full is worth its weight in gold – for necessary journeys.