It is always wise to have information about safety in times of natural disasters, which often come without warning. Such times are too challenging for adults, let alone kids.

But kids, it’s all about keeping our cool and not panicking while dealing with catastrophes. By being aware, you not only can stay safe but can help others stay safe too, and this is where the website https://www.ready.gov/kids does a good job of educating and preparing you to respond to emergencies, including natural and man-made disasters.

The website is clutter-free, with to-the-point information and illustrations. There are four main categories for the elders: (1) Stay informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses (2) Make a family emergency plan; (3) Build an emergency supply kit; (4) Get involved in your community by taking action to prepare for emergencies.

For the kids, the website does the same job, but in a more comprehensive way; for instance you will find a left panel with categories like drought, earthquake, extreme heat, floods, home fires, hurricanes, landslides/debris flow, power outages, rain, lightening, storms, etc.

Clicking any of the links opens another page, and as countries like ours are usually facing extreme heat in summer, so if you click ‘Extreme heat’, it will tell you what to do before the spell of heat wave, what you should be doing during and what measures you should be taking after it is gone.

All the categories like electricity outage, drought, extreme heat, earthquake, etc, comprise a separate paragraph “Am I at risk?” with a catchy illustration. This paragraph tells you about things, which could probably put you at risk regarding the topic. Another nice addition on the same page is the selected vocabulary box related to the same topic.

To know more about such calamities before they occur and keeping essential things beforehand, visit https://www.ready.gov/kids

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 7th, 2018