Just in time for soon-to-be Hurricane Gustave roaring into the Gulf, I’ve discovered OneStorm, a free site that aims to “educate and prepare families for severe weather.” This well-organized will get your disaster planning started with downloadable forms such as shopping and contact lists, as well as a very comprehensive article library with topics that range from planning and preparation to behavioral issues, but the real draw here is the automated hurricane plan wizard.

After registering you’ll be offered the chance to start building your hurricane plan. The site suggests that building your plan will take about 20 minutes, but you should allow longer if your important documents are not already organized in a central location. Alternatively, you can opt to add additional information at a later time. The screens are ordered logically, and while comprehensive, the process goes very quickly since most input is done with check boxes as opposed to actually typing.
Having the following information handy will make the process go even faster: emergency contact numbers of friends and family, family neighborhood meeting place and out-of-town meeting place, pet immunization records, prescription information, and healthcare provider information.

The final section of the wizard lets you print out lists of supplies that are still needed, supplies on hand, human and pet health information, and contact information. You are also invited to share your contact, pet and health status with local emergency officials. I opted to just share my contact information.

This is a great site and I’d love to have been able to write a more comprehensive review, but my printouts indicate that I need to stock up, so I’m off to Sam’s Club. Stay safe, all.