37. “Very few citizens will utilize evacuation/mass care centers; they will
prefer to stay with friends and relatives, or to camp out in their own
yards.”
COMMENT: This is exactly what happens. In addition, the majority of
displaced persons will NOT register with the Red Cross or other evacuation/mass
care center and advise them where they can be located.
This makes the job of handling health and welfare traffic much more difficult.
ALL emergency workers - amateur radio operators included - who have any contact
with the public should encourage all evacuees to register with the Red Cross
even if they are planning to provide their own lodging. Furthermore, they should
be instructed to notify the Red Cross (or whoever is keeping the lists) when
they move to a second, third, etc. location.
HOWEVER...victims may not comply. In those cases, EMCOMM operators may provide a
valuable service by asking victims where they can be located “in
case there are any inquiries or messages for them”.
Obtain the family name and first names. (Other helpful information such
as: ages of children, employer(s) and other information is optional.) Victims
may be reluctant to divulge information, so do not “force the issue”.)
Be sure to record where they intend to be staying, and ask them to notify a Red
Cross or ARES worker if they move. (They may not want to, or have time, to
go to “a center”. Tell them that any Red Cross or ARES worker can relay new
information to the proper officials. 3x5” index cards work great for
this purpose since they can be easily alphabetized and later input into a
computer program. It is suggested that all volunteers (even non-hams) keep
100 cards in their “ready kits”.