As you’ve probably heard over the past couple weeks, we are preparing for our big exercise on Nov. 4.  The exercise scenario will prompt public health departments to make decisions about evacuation and sheltering in place.  There are lots of factors that come into play when making these decisions.  In some situations it may be better to stay indoors and wait for the contamination to subside.  In other situations is better to leave the area immediately.  Depending on the situation, big facilities like hospitals and prisons may not be able to evacuate at all, so sheltering in place may be the only option.

As the recent wildfires have shown us, it is important to have a personal/family evacuation plan and a separate shelter-in-place plan.  In some cases, it is best to hunker down at home and wait for the danger to pass.  Shelter-in-place planning will require you to stockpile key resources such as food, water, medicine, flashlights, radio, etc. Evacuation planning is a bit different.  In this case you will need to have additional items ready to go such as identification, cash, clothing, and mess kits.  For more tips on evacuation and shelter in place, visit www.justincasearizona.com.  Also be sure to bookmark www.azein.gov for real time disaster information.