Skip to main content

The Trust Company of Tennessee - Live Confidently

Login
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Community Support
  • Services
    • Wealth Management
    • Corporate Retirement
    • Personal Trust
    • Business Advisory Services
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • News

Planning in advance for a disaster

September 18, 2017 by Sharon Pryse

With all the disasters that have happened recently, it never hurts to make sure that we are prepared for the worst. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all provide checklists to help you get started.

Those lists are the essentials of tangible items for personal survival, but there are also items that are even more personal in nature. Make sure you have identification (driver’s license and/or passport) with you at all times. Gather your family’s medications in their bottles so you can get emergency refills. Have photocopies of your birth certificate, driver’s license, Social Security and Medicare cards, power of attorney and will, insurance, deeds and any marriage, adoption or naturalization certificates stored in a plastic bag. You need to have your banking and investment information, but be sure to keep your pin numbers in a separate location.

You should always back up your computer, and now would be a good time to start using a cloud service for back-ups. If your house is flooded or destroyed by fire, that back-up disk in another room won’t be helping you. In addition, set your back-ups to happen automatically, at least on a daily basis.

I also recommend storing an electronic scanned copy of your essential papers and documents all in one folder on the cloud. Just be sure someone outside the geographic area knows how to access that folder. Check with advisers, CPA, attorney, etc. about their secure storage of your information.

Review your insurance coverage to be sure all your property is appropriately protected. Take lots of deliberate photos or a video of your home, vehicles, etc., and store them in that cloud folder with essential documents.

Other personal items to gather would include spare eyeglasses and toiletries, including soap, shampoo,

toothpaste and toothbrushes, and then a first aid kit, including Band-Aids, antibiotic lotion, antiseptic wipes, Q-tips, etc. Be sure to check the websites of the organizations referenced above for more specific details.

In addition, some cash would be advisable as ATMs and banks may be out of commission. Have enough cash for a few days and include small bills and coins in case you need to buy something out of a vending machine. ATMs out of the disaster zone should provide access to funds after the initial situation clears.

Making a family disaster plan before it happens is less stressful than in the moment. When you are packing, prepare a separate bag for each member of your family. Hopefully you won’t ever need to use these emergency measures. But if you do, we can all learn from what the Boy Scouts have taught us – “Be prepared.”

Sharon Pryse, chairman and founder of The Trust Company, may be reached at sharon@thetrust.com.

SIGN UP FOR UPDATES

Contact Us

(865) 971-1902
info@thetrust.com

Find a Location

Connect with us

Copyright © 2023 The Trust Company

By using this site, you are agreeing to the use of cookies to enhance your experience.AcceptReject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT