Disaster Preparedness

United Way of Metropolitan Nashville is here to help you prepare for tornadoes, flooding or any other major emergency - and to help you recover in the event of a disaster.

Following the May 2010 Nashville Flood, United Way of Metropolitan Nashville reached out to flood survivors. We asked them what advice they could give to others to be prepared for future disasters.

The top 5 things a flood survivor wishes they had on April 30, 2010:

1. Important papers 
Overwhelmingly the #1 headache in the cases managed by United Way Restore The Dream Centers was getting replacement copies of important documents such as bank statements, retirement accounts, insurance policies, deeds, stocks, tax returns, etc. Always make an additional set of copies and store them in a safe deposit box and/or send them to a relative out of state.

2. Safe Deposit Box
It’s smart to keep a safe deposit box with some cash and important documents.

3. Knowledge of Insurance
Know what your insurance covers. Know your policy and if you need photographs of your belongings, etc. Some families thought they had flood insurance but realized afterward that their coverage didn’t cover any belongings, just the structure. Others were 30 days late on their insurance payment and therefore were denied coverage.

4. Gasoline
Never let your gas tank go below ½ tank.  During and after a disaster, gas could be hard to find & all of the credit card networks could be down.

5. Survival Kit
Have a survival kit ready. Include food, water, medications (or at least a list of them), cash, important documents, extra glasses, camera, blanket, flashlight, emergency radio, etc. Devise a plan in advance on how to connect with your family.

In the case of a disaster, dial United Way’s 2-1-1 Helpline (dial 2-1-1 on your phone) or refer to www.211tn.org, a database of more than 7,000 local health and human service programs.