Ready Singapore

The threat of terrorism is real. As the Minister for Home Affairs has emphasised in the past, the security forces need to get it right all the time but the terrorist needs to get it right only once. Hence, community vigilance is an imperative. To make a country inhospitable to terrorists and be a hard target, public vigilance and alertness is the key resource in any society because no Government, however efficient and adequate its security forces, can protect everyone and everything in the country.

How much to do and where to prioritise limited security resources is a persistent question which Governments everywhere have to confront today. Likewise, on the one hand we want to sensitise our public to the reality of the threat and the possibility of an attack, knowing that public vigilance and resilience is critical to Singapore’s counter-terrorism efforts. On the other hand, we are mindful that we should not become despondent, paranoid and paralysed by fear. Life must go on and we must learn to live and adjust to the new security climate and environment. Staying positive and keeping a sense of balance is the key.

Get Ready | Checklist | FAQ

The Government has been working hard to prepare for emergencies and crises. Some of you as residents or as officers in key organisations have been involved, for example in Exercise Community Spirit or in the Community Emergency Preparedness exercises. Although it is the professionals who respond to disasters, only you can prepare yourself and your family for emergencies, big or small.

• First of all, we can start by thinking about what may be needed in an emergency situation.
• Second, we can gather items that could come in handy in an emergency.
• Third, we can tell our family members about these items and where such items are stored in our homes.

A checklist is offered here. It suggests the key items to pack into a bag – a READY Bag – in case of emergencies. You can customise it to suit yourself and your family and your own special needs.

• the Civil Defence Emergency Handbook ,
• a radio-torch-lite, and
• a document case for important information, such as photocopies of identity cards of household members, and essential contact numbers.
• Depending on your own individual needs, various items could be included, such as personal medication or a basic medical kit, and even biscuits and bottled water.
• Medical Card.pdf
  (for medical information), it should consist of critical information such as any pre-existing medical conditions, allergies and any special medications you are taking.

The READY Bag Checklist is NOT the answer to every emergency. It is a minimalist list.

• If there is a power disruption, or incident that cuts our power supplies, the radio-torch-lite can give light and access to information transmitted by radio;
• If the SCDF emergency siren (or Public Warning System) is activated or if all Singaporeans have to stay indoors because of an incident, the SCDF emergency handbook explains what to expect, how to interpret the different emergency sirens, and the radio-torch-lite will shine light on much needed information;
• Should an emergency happen at home and only the elderly and children are at home, the contact details for household members will come in useful.
• A medical card containing your medical information can help emergency rescuers save you.

If we do not start to think about getting ready,
we will not be ready, much less stay ready.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE HOME TEAM:
THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS AND ITS DEPARTMENTS

Feedback, suggestions on how to improve this? Send us an email atsingaporeunited@mha.gov.sg.

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Do you know what to do in an emergency? Are you prepared for your family?

Have you prepared essential items to help you through an emergency? If not, do consider putting together a Ready Bag – a collection of essential items that will help you in an emergency.

When your Ready Bag is prepared, make sure each member of your household knows where the Ready Bag is kept. The Ready Bag should be ready and easy to get hold of when you need it in an emergency.

Everyone in the family can play a role in being prepared for emergencies. It is easy and inexpensive to prepare for a Ready Bag. Below is a checklist of items you may want to go through with your family to include in your Ready Bag. Take turns in the family to check and update your Ready Bag on a regular basis.

Essential Items

SCDF Emergency Handbook (Printable versions here: English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil) Medical Card.pdf (Printable version, just fold into quarters.) Torchlight and/or candles with matches Transistor radio (include additional batteries) for tuning in to national emergency broadcasts Spare batteries in vacuum pack Whistle Essential personal medication First-aid kit Copies of important documents in a water-proof folder (identity card and passport) Child care supplies and/or other special care items Water purifiers and/or Water purification tablets

Optional Items

• List of emergency telephone numbers (e.g. the Police and SCDF hotlines, telephone number for the Neighbourhood Police Centre nearest to you, and utility companies)
• List of personal contacts (including office/school telephone numbers of family members)
• Cash (consider in small denomination)
• Bottled water (observe expiry date; it should be replaced periodically)
• Biscuits and/or other dry foodstuffs (observe expiry date; the food should be replaced periodically)
• Writing material (paper and pen/pencil)
• One set of spare clothes (e.g. track pants and a T-shirt)

Other considerations when you pack your READY Bag:

• Should each member of the household have his or her own Ready Bag? Do what is most practical for the family.
• Do not pack bulky items into the Ready Bag. A bulky Ready Bag may hamper movement during an emergency.
• Take note of perishable items. Check expiry dates and replace items periodically.

INFORM FAMILY MEMBERS WHERE THE READY BAG(S) IS KEPT.

NOTE:
The checklist is based on situations in which you might be evacuated from your home. For chemical incidents where you will be alerted to carry out the In-Place Protection procedures, you will need to set aside the necessary materials. For information on the In-Place Protection procedures, please refer to your copy of the SCDF emergency handbook (Printable versions here: English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil).

Additional Information: What's Up Nov/Dec 2005

Question: If a tsunami were to hit Singapore, how can the READY Bag help me to survive?

The READY Bag will not help you to survive every emergency. The checklist is not meant to cater to every conceivable emergency.

If a sudden earthquake or tsunami were to affect Singapore, there is very little households can do to prevent or pre-empt it, beyond being alert and getting out of disaster’s way.

For emergencies such as blackouts, the radio-torch-lite suggested for the READY Bag will offer light and access to information. If you put biscuits and bottled water in the READY Bag, they can be some form of rations in the meantime before emergency responders arrive.

Question: The READY Bag seems intended to be very portable. What kind of emergencies is the READY Bag intended for such that people have to be evacuated? In an evacuation, should we waste time to look for the READY Bag? Would carrying the READY Bag during evacuation hamper movement?

The READY Bag is intended to be portable so that it will not slow you down in an emergency.

It is not only in an evacuation situation that we may take the READY Bag with us. A situation such as a major power failure may bring many residents out of their flats and homes and into the darkness. If they bring along their READY Bags, they will have a torchlight and a radio to access information. They will also have at hand the SCDF emergency handbook on what to expect, and they may have essential contact numbers such as the telephone number of utilities companies or the Neighbourhood Police Centre.

In situations where not all family members are together, the essential contact numbers in the READY Bag will be useful resource for family members to stay in touch.

The READY Bag should realistically contain only items deemed very essential by you. This would reduce the size of the bag and keep it mobile.

The READY Bag should also be stored at a convenient place in the home so that it is within easy reach at any time. This way, very little time is needed to take the READY Bag in an evacuation or emergency situation.

Family members should also be told where the READY Bag is kept.

Question: Does it mean that a person should carry the READY Bag wherever he goes? If not and when a person is outside and an emergency situation occurs, the person would not have the basic items he or she would need to deal with the emergency.

The READY Bag will not help a person to survive every emergency or calamity. But the READY Bag contains items which could be handy in an emergency. The READY Bag should be stored at home and / or a place where you regularly spend a considerable amount of time. Some individuals may feel that it is useful to pack a READY Bag and place it in the office or car.

It is a personal choice whether a person wishes to carry the READY Bag wherever he or she goes, depending on your own lifestyle and habits.

Question: Should every individual in the household have his or her own READY Bag? In an emergency, would it not be strange for a household to have so many READY Bags?

Whether to pack individual bags for each member of the household or for the household to share one READY Bag, is a personal choice.

For instance, for parents with young children, they may want to have a family READY Bag. For families with grown-up children, they may prefer individual READY Bags.

What is more important is that you and your family members think through what you would need in an emergency situation and prepare for it by packing a READY Bag.

Question: Storing food, bottled water and medicines in the READY Bag is a bad idea because they are perishable. How much ration should be packed in the READY Bag?

Individuals and households should think through what they would need in an emergency situation. Whether food, bottled water or medicines should be included is a personal choice.

The READY Bag is not a one-size-fits-all solution
to every emergency.

It also should be tailored to the needs of individuals and households. Some individuals or households may find some items more essential or useful than other items. Some with medical conditions or allegies, may need special medicine – you should consider packing them into the READY Bag, unless you already carry them around with you all the time.

If perishables like biscuits, bottled water and medicines are included, then there should be periodic checking of the expiry dates.

Regardless of what the contents are, the READY Bag should be regularly checked to ensure contents are updated or kept in effective states, especially medicine and food.

Question: Why include money in the READY Bag?

Individuals and households should think through what they would need in an emergency situation. Whether money should be included is a personal choice.

Question: Is the READY Bag going to be sold? Where would it be sold?

Any bag can be your READY Bag.

What we have given out at the Home Team Workshop (or other events) are specimens to show how a READY Bag can be. Through the READY Bag Checklist, we hope to encourage all of you to think about how you can prepare yourself and your family for emergencies in general.

Anyone can pack their own READY Bags. All that are needed is a sturdy bag and items that you think are essential in an emergency.

Feedback, suggestions on? Send us an email at singaporeunited@mha.gov.sg

Additional feedback from You:

Since the launch of the “My READY Bag” concept, we have received feedback from members of the public. Thank you for your thoughtful suggestions.

Some of you have suggested:

“It is hard to keep checking whether normal batteries are still working. We should use more durable batteries of XXX brand so that they can be kept longer.”

“Why do we want to use torch lights or radios that depend on batteries as a single source of power? There are torch lights and radios that do not need batteries. These battery-less equipment would be good to include in the checklist for the Ready Bag.”

“The SCDF Handbook is too big. Why not produce a smaller pocket-size booklet that is easier to keep?”

" We are not very sure what should go into a First-Aid Kit. Can there be a list of items?"

"We are not very sure what should go into a First-Aid Kit. Can there be a list of items?"
" A water purifier would be useful. Perhaps some water purification tablets as well."
We say:

Thank you for all the feedback and suggestions on how the “My READY Bag” concept can be customised to the needs of the individual households. The fundamentals of readiness starts with one being self-reliant and taking stock of the various needs that we may have in crisis time. We are glad that Singaporeans have taken the effort to provide useful feedback that will help us refine the concept and the checklist that accompanies it.

We will explore with the Singapore Civil Defence Force on the feasibility in producing a pocket-size Civil Defence Handbook. For suggestions on other items to be included in the checklist (core and optional), we will consider them for inclusion in the checklist that we are updating as more useful feedback and inputs come in.

More ideas on how you can get ready and be prepared? Email us at singaporeunited@mha.gov.sg Or call the MHA Feedback line at 6478 6151.

Disasters can happen any time and anywhere. Most of the adult population spends eight hours, or more, at work. Thus, we should be equally prepared for emergencies at home as well as at work.

With this in mind, a Corporate Ready Bag was launched in July 2006 to encourage the business community to think through how they should be equipped to deal with an emergency that occurs at work.

The items in the Corporate Ready Bag consist of the basic items in the residential version – small first aid kit, torchlight, portable radio, spare batteries, whistle and emergency handbook. In addition to these items, the Corporate Ready Bag should also carry items that would be useful to the security coordinator/Corporate First Responder of the building or company in his reaction to emergencies. Such items include:

a. Luminous Cap
Wearing a luminous cap would enable the security coordinator to stand out in the mist of the crowd and for his/her colleagues to look to him for instructions.

b. Masking Tape and plastic sheet
These are essential materials for In-Place Protection to be conducted. Even though some buildings have pre-prepared the plastic sheets and masking tapes, it is important for that the security coordinator has something to fall back on in the event that the pre-prepared items are missing or torn

. c. Cordon Tape
In the event of a suspicious finding or hazards, the security coordinator can immediately cordon off the area with the tape to prevent people from coming into a danger zone.

d. No-entry stickers
The stickers complement the cordon tape and prevent people from going towards the hazard. It can also serve to divert human traffic away from the affected incident site.

e. Emergency Contact List
This would enable the security coordinator to account for the staff at the assembly area

f. Grid floor plan
These would provide the security coordinators the necessary information to navigate to the incident location to conduct their search and rescue mission.

The above is only a guide on the items we consider to be essential to an organisation. Each company should customise its own ready bag to meet its needs.

It is never too early to start preparing for a disaster.
Preparation is the best defense for emergency situations.
If we do not start to think about getting ready,
we will not be ready, much less stay ready

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