Tips for managing finance during natural disasters.

When Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc along the Atlantic Coast, particularly in New Orleans, the whole world saw what followed. Shocking images of homeless people, widespread looting, hunger and total chaos made a lot us rethink our preparedness to face such a situation. Many of the survivors of natural disasters have often wondered if surviving the disaster was really such a good thing or not. The situation is especially difficult for those who already have a mountain of debt or are living from paycheck to paycheck.

One never really thinks about financial preparedness to face these situations. Most of us know how to hide or reach help, store food and other basic survival stuff.

But have we given serious thought to the morning after? If you haven’t then here’s how you can prepare for such an emergency.

• Have a fireproof and durable box to store important documents, and be sure to take the box with you when you evacuate. You need to have a copy of your drivers’ license, residence proof, Social Security Card, marriage, birth and death certificates, your insurance policies and bank papers, wills, deeds, tax records, photographs, important phone numbers(like insurance companies) and a document listing all your major valuables which will help in insurance claim.
• In your budget, make a provision for ‘Emergency Fund’. Perhaps you can open a separate bank account for this purpose. Be sure to regularly contribute to this fund, so that in the case of a natural disaster, you have sufficient money for your immediate needs.
• Make sure you are sufficiently covered for floods, tornado, hurricane, volcano, and the insurance is up to date.

In the aftermath, when you’re on the road to recovery:

• Be careful to whom you divulge your social security number; ensure the person is genuine.
• Consult a consumer credit counseling service to get help with regular monitoring of your credit, and protect yourself against identity theft.
• If you have had to move, be sure to provide all your creditors, insurance companies and the like, your new address. Include 'Disaster Victim' on your credit file; credit companies make concessions for people like you.
• Be in touch with your bank to ensure an active account, adequate checks, and update your information.
• If the situation has still not improved, but the credit concessions have ended, you can contact your creditors, with the credit counseling services as mediators, to renegotiate a debt management solution.
• Find out about Employee Assistance Programs from your employer and utilize all resources you can.
• Find out if there are special job considerations for disaster victims, from your state’s employment commission.
• You can also register for victim benefits with the Social Security Administration.
  

This is a guest post by Tina Reeves of buyVerizon.com, a site that offers savings and current information on Verizon FiOS.