The following tips will assist people who are deaf or hearing impaired to be prepared when disasters strike:

Hearing Aids

• Store hearing aid(s) in a strategic, consistent and secured location so they can be found and used after a disaster.
  
  For example, consider storing them in a container by your bedside, which is attached to a nightstand or bedpost using a string or Velcro. Missing or damaged hearing aids will be difficult to replace or fix immediately after a major disaster.

Batteries

• Store extra batteries for hearing aids and implants. If available, store an extra hearing aid with your emergency supplies.
• Maintain TTY batteries. Consult your manual for information.
• Store extra batteries for your TTY and light phone signaler. Check the owner’s manual for proper battery maintenance.

Communication

• Determine how you will communicate with emergency personnel if there is no interpreter or if you don’t have your hearing aids. Store paper and pens for this purpose.
• Consider carrying a pre-printed copy of important messages with you, such as: "I speak American Sign Language (ASL) and need an ASL interpreter," "I do not write or read English," and "If you make announcements, I will need to have them written or signed."
• If possible, obtain a battery-operated television that has a decoder chip for access to signed or captioned emergency reports.
• Determine which broadcasting systems will be accessible in terms of continuous news that will be captioned and/or signed. Advocate so that television stations have a plan to secure emergency interpreters for on-camera emergency duty.

Alarms

• Install both audible alarms and visual smoke alarms. At least one should be battery operated.

These tips were originally compiled by the City of San Antonio based on information from the Independent Living Resource Center of San Fransisco, CA.