Naturally, your first priority in an emergency is to protect your family and property. But it's also important to guard against the financial consequences of a disaster.

As part of the Ready New York campaign, OEM offers an Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK) (in PDF). Created by Los Angeles-based Operation HOPE, a non-profit agency that provides financial literacy and economic empowerment programs, the EFFAK can help you identify important financial documents and serves as a quick reference guide for critical information.

OEM tips for financial preparedness:

• Complete your EFFAK financial worksheet, which includes bank account, credit card, and insurance policy information. If you store this information electronically, make a backup copy.
• Take the time to identify and organize important financial and legal documents such as social security cards, mortgages or leases, bank and credit card statements, investment papers, tax returns, and insurance information.
• Make copies of your important documents and your completed EFFAK and put them in a secure place, either at home in a protected area or at an off-site location.
• Update your EFFAK once a year to keep the kit current.