From an Emergency Preparedness Planning perspective, apartment living has some advantages over detached homes in that residents are housed closely together as opposed to being scattered throughout the community. This makes it easier to communicate and, in a disaster scenario, it's likely that triage (assessing seriousness of injuries) can be conducted more expeditiously.
But there are also drawbacks, particularly from the standpoint of stocking emergency supplies of food and water and ability to secure furniture and appliances by attaching them to walls, etc. Also, depending on the type of apartment building/s, there may be limited avenues of escape and additional risks of fire or other hazards due to the close proximity of neighbors.
In 2018, I wrote the book, Emergency Preparedness for Apartment Communities based on my own years as a both an apartment renter and a homeowner. It covers many aspects of preparedness, from (1) personal readiness to (2) getting more neighbors involved to (3) actually putting together a written plan. Appendices in the book cover different threats, recruitment ideas, legal cautions, training options, and emergency communications. Throughout I've listed additional resources.
People liked the book, but admitted to me that there was still too much for them to get their arms around! So I wrote a companion - THE WORKBOOK.
It follows the same content flow, but is truly a workbook, just as you'd expect. It has simple questions, and spaces for you to write your answers. Step by step, you'll be taking action . . .
- Answering questions to help set personal priorities
- Researching what planning has already been done
- Making sure your owners and/or managers are on board
- Finding and inviting interested neighbors to learn more
- Getting training for yourself and your team
- Learning about your community infrastructure, utilities, etc.
- Picking which disasters to plan for
- Meeting the First Responders that serve your community
- Planning and holding meetings for neighbors to learn more about first aid, ways to strengthen your home, etc.
The Q&A format of THE WORKBOOK moves you and your group forward by simple steps, one after another, on your own time frame. Many of the questions make it easy to engage others in your family or group.
If you haven't been able to make the progress you'd like on your own readiness, or if you want to help your whole community get better prepared, get Emergency Preparedness for Apartment Communities and its companion -- THE WORKBOOK . Everything you're likely to need to know is in these step by step guides as well as how and where to go to find everything else.
