Chapter 36 Exercises: Disasters and Emergency Prep

These exercises are designed to produce real, actionable outputs you can use. Complete them in order — each builds on the previous one.

Exercise 36-1: Look Up Your Flood Zone (15 minutes)

What you'll do: Determine your property's FEMA flood zone designation.

1. Go to msc.fema.gov or mymaps.fema.gov
2. Enter your home's address
3. Record your flood zone designation (Zone X, Zone AE, Zone A, Zone V, or other)
4. If you're in any Zone A variant, note whether a Base Flood Elevation (BFE) is established for your property
5. Check when the flood map covering your area was last updated (shown on the FIRM panel)

Deliverable: Write down your flood zone, BFE if applicable, and map date. If you're in Zone A, contact your local floodplain administrator (typically a city or county department) and ask whether your property has any history of Elevation Certificate filings.

Follow-up question: Does your current insurance coverage (homeowners) cover flood damage? If you're unsure, call your insurance agent this week and ask directly.

Exercise 36-2: The Flood Insurance Gap Analysis (30 minutes)

What you'll do: Determine whether you have a flood insurance gap and estimate the cost to close it.

1. Contact your homeowners insurance agent or company and confirm that your standard policy does not cover flood damage (it almost certainly doesn't)
2. If you're in Zone A or Zone X shaded, get a flood insurance quote from NFIP (through any insurance agent who writes NFIP policies) and from at least one private flood insurer
3. Compare the annual premium to the potential loss: what would it cost to replace the contents of your basement or lowest floor? What would it cost to dry out, remediate mold from, and restore the lowest level of your home?

Deliverable: A written note with (a) your current flood coverage status, (b) an NFIP premium quote if applicable, and (c) your assessment of whether the gap between current coverage and potential loss warrants purchasing a policy.

Exercise 36-3: Locate and Document Your Utility Shutoffs (45 minutes)

What you'll do: Find, photograph, and document every emergency utility shutoff in your home.

Required findings: - Main electrical panel location; photograph the panel with the directory visible - Gas meter location (exterior) and main shutoff valve; photograph and note what tool is required to operate it - Main water shutoff: locate it (often in basement, utility room, crawl space, or exterior shutoff box); test it (turn slowly — does it operate freely?); photograph it - Any secondary shutoffs: individual appliance gas shutoffs (behind stove, behind dryer, behind water heater), individual water shutoffs under sinks and behind toilets

Deliverable: A hand-drawn or phone-photographed map of utility shutoff locations. Add this to your emergency binder (Exercise 36-7). Note: if you can't find any of these shutoffs, make finding them a priority — call your utility company for help if needed.

Exercise 36-4: Water Heater Seismic Strap Check (30 minutes + DIY repair if needed)

What you'll do: Inspect your water heater strapping and install or repair strapping if needed.

1. Locate your water heater
2. Check whether it is currently strapped: look for metal straps around the upper and lower third of the tank, fastened to studs
3. If straps are present: verify they are tight, the screws are into solid studs (not just drywall), and the straps are in good condition (not corroded)
4. If straps are absent or inadequate: purchase a water heater strapping kit ($15-$30 at any hardware store) and install per the instructions and the guidance in Section 36.4

Deliverable: A photo of your water heater with strapping in place. If you installed new straps, note the date for your home maintenance log.

Note: This exercise applies primarily to homes in seismically active regions, but strapping also prevents water heater tip-over from any cause. It's a worthwhile task in any region.

Exercise 36-5: Post-Storm Response Rehearsal (20 minutes)

What you'll do: Walk through your home with the post-storm response checklist from Section 36.5 and identify your specific preparedness.

Answer the following for your home: 1. Do you have tarps, 2x4s, and screws available for emergency roof cover? Where are they stored? 2. Do you have a wet/dry vacuum available (owned or a neighbor's) for water removal? 3. Do you know which windows and doors are most vulnerable to wind damage in a major storm? 4. Do you have a battery-powered weather radio or access to emergency alerts on your phone? 5. Do you know your nearest storm shelter location if a tornado warning is issued?

Deliverable: A list of gaps you identified and a plan to address them (purchase a tarp, find out shelter location, enable weather alerts on phone, etc.).

Exercise 36-6: Power Outage Readiness Assessment (45 minutes)

What you'll do: Assess your home's readiness for a 72-hour (3-day) power outage in both winter and summer conditions.

Answer: 1. Heating: If your furnace loses power for 3 days in winter, what alternative heat source do you have? Is it functional and fueled? 2. Pipe freeze risk: Do you have pipes in exterior walls, a crawl space, or unheated garage? What is your plan if interior temperatures drop below 55°F? 3. Food: Do you currently have 72 hours of shelf-stable food in your home? List what it is. 4. Water: Do you have 1 gallon per person per day for 3 days stored? (A family of 3 needs 9 gallons minimum) 5. Lighting: Do you have working flashlights with fresh batteries, or battery-powered lanterns? 6. Communication: Do you have a battery or hand-crank radio to receive emergency alerts if your phone dies? 7. Medications: Do you have a minimum 7-day supply of any critical medications? (Outage or evacuation can disrupt pharmacy access) 8. Generator (if applicable): Is it properly maintained, properly stored, and does the household know never to operate it indoors?

Deliverable: A written gap assessment. Prioritize the top three gaps and commit to addressing them within 30 days.

Exercise 36-7: Build Your Emergency Binder (2-3 hours — the most important exercise in this chapter)

What you'll do: Create a complete emergency binder using the template from Section 36.7.

Materials needed: a 1-inch binder, 7 tabbed dividers, a highlighter, sheet protectors for important documents.

Tab 1 — Insurance Policies: Gather and photocopy homeowners, auto, and any other insurance policy declaration pages. Write policy numbers, agent names, and 24-hour claims numbers on a cover sheet.

Tab 2 — Utility Contacts and Shutoffs: Complete the hand-drawn shutoff diagram from Exercise 36-3. Add your utility account numbers and emergency phone numbers for electric, gas, and water.

Tab 3 — Contractor and Service Contacts: List every contractor whose number you'd need in an emergency. If you don't have plumber, electrician, and water damage restoration numbers, spend 20 minutes finding them now.

Tab 4 — Home Inventory: At minimum, shoot a 10-minute video walkthrough of every room and every significant possession, narrating as you go. Upload it to a cloud storage service. Note the upload location in this tab.

Tab 5 — Important Documents: Photocopy (do not put originals in the binder): property deed first page, mortgage statement, birth certificates, passports. Originals go in a fireproof safe or safe deposit box.

Tab 6 — Evacuation Plan: Write your primary and secondary evacuation routes, your out-of-town family contact, and your pet evacuation plan.

Tab 7 — Supplies Checklist: Complete the checklist from Section 36.7 and note the location of your emergency kit.

Deliverable: A completed emergency binder. Tell every adult in your household where it is. Schedule a reminder to review and update it in 12 months.

Exercise 36-8: Carbon Monoxide Detector Audit (20 minutes)

What you'll do: Audit your CO detector coverage and battery status.

Per NFPA guidelines, CO detectors should be installed: - On every level of the home - Outside each sleeping area - Inside each bedroom for the highest protection

1. Inventory your current CO detectors: how many, where located, what power source (hardwired, battery, plug-in)?
2. Test each one using the test button
3. Check battery replacement dates (most CO detectors should have batteries replaced annually)
4. Verify CO detectors are not past their end-of-life date (most have a 5-7 year life; check manufacturer's label)

Deliverable: A list of your current CO detectors and any gaps. Purchase replacement units or batteries as needed. CO detectors cost $20-$50; the ones that combine smoke and CO detection are efficient two-for-one units.

Exercise 36-9: Tree and Roof Pre-Storm Inspection (30 minutes)

What you'll do: Conduct a pre-storm season visual assessment of your most significant weather vulnerabilities.

From ground level (binoculars help): 1. Trees: Identify any tree within fall distance of your home (approximately 1.5x the tree's height). For each, note: any dead or hanging branches visible, any significant lean toward the house, any visible hollow sections or root damage. 2. Roof: Look for missing, lifted, or curling shingles; any areas where flashing appears lifted at chimneys, valleys, or edges; any visible sagging. 3. Gutters: Any sections that are sagging, separated from fascia, or visibly clogged?

Deliverable: A written list of any items that require professional attention before storm season. For trees: a call to a certified arborist is the appropriate follow-up. For roof concerns: a professional roof inspection ($150-$300). Add these to your maintenance schedule.

Exercise 36-10: Family Emergency Plan Meeting (60 minutes)

What you'll do: Hold a household emergency planning meeting to ensure every member knows the plan.

Agenda: 1. Review the emergency binder location together — every adult should physically locate it 2. Walk to each utility shutoff location as a household; practice shutting off and restoring (water and electricity are safe to practice; gas shutoff should be demonstrated but not practiced without utility company guidance) 3. Review evacuation routes; drive the primary route and identify the secondary route on a map 4. Discuss the out-of-town communications contact: who is it, does everyone have the number? 5. Discuss roles in an emergency: who is responsible for pets, who grabs the binder, who checks on any neighbor who may need assistance? 6. For households with children: age-appropriate discussion of what to do if a parent is not home during an emergency (school/childcare emergency plan, meeting point)

Deliverable: A single-page summary of your family's emergency roles and contacts, signed by all adult household members, stored in the binder and photographed to each person's phone.