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The Xenitelis family may not have a formal disaster kit, but they have thought through some contingency plans.

With Dad in the National Guard and Mom working at a daycare center, they can't ignore the possibility that in a large-scale disaster, they might not be able to immediately get to their 11- and 12-year-old children.

That's where Grandma comes into play. "She's retired and lives with us, and our house is about four miles from the school," said Harry Xenitelis. "She knows she has a responsibility to swoop in and pick them up."

Beyond that, though, the Kailua family knows to head inland if they have to evacuate in water-related emergencies. They have a supply of flashlights, batteries and canned food, and they even have a pump in case of flooding, assuming that the electricity isn't out.

"We've got a little bit of a plan, just not a robust one," Harry said.

Hurricane season starts today, and reminders from Civil Defense to prepare are punctuated with news of earthquakes, cyclones and tornadoes coming in from around the world.

But even as parents are asked to prepare, the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies points out that many childcare providers don't have plans for the children they care for. Parents need to take matters into their own hands there, too.

SOME CATCHING UP TO DO

While public schools are federally mandated to have a disaster plan, the same regulations don't apply when it comes to early childhood education and care. Providers who are required to have disaster plans for accreditation make up less than 10 percent of centers across the nation, according to the agency.

Parents contacted by The Advertiser last week said the news about disasters made them pause, but not long enough to stock up on supplies or check in with their daycare providers and children's schools.

One mother sheepishly admitted that the family had already eaten through their "emergency" rations from last year.

Another, who worked at a school, knew where the school she worked at would evacuate to, but not where her children's school would go.

All agreed they had some catching up to do.

"I think about it, but we don't have a plan," said Kaua'i mom Starley Medeiros, whose five children range in age from 3 to 20. "We don't have anything my husband and I have discussed."

Thinking aloud, Medeiros, who works in Kuipo, noted that she's a half-hour drive from her baby sitter in Lihu'e, and her husband's workplace is even farther away. They might be able to enlist her sister for help, though, since she's now a stay-at-home mom.

The Medeiros family is better prepared at home, thanks to her son's Sparky the Fire Dog homework assignment, which required them to draw out a fire evacuation plan and decide where family members could meet outside.

They also always have water on hand, flashlights and canned goods. "We have the stuff on a daily basis and normally if we have a heads up, we'd go and stock up for more," she said. "I can't say we have what they require as far as a three-day supply, but I know we'd be OK."

If the kids had to be evacuated, Medeiros ticked off the places they might be: the convention center, the school cafeteria, a nearby park, the stadium.

"It's funny, you don't think about it until something is brought up to make you think about it, and now I'm going to find out," she said.

A FEW BASIC THINGS

Chances are, if your child is at a state-licensed daycare provider and school, an evacuation plan exists.

In addition to the provider's preparations, though, Maria Lutz, Hawai'i Red Cross director of disaster services, said there are a few basic things that parents should think about, such as setting up two different potential meeting places, designating an out-of-state contact person and laminating cards with emergency information for every member of the family.

There are things that could help prepare a child emotionally, too, such as keeping a family photo at the daycare center and making sure the child has a personal item to cling to, such as a stuffed animal or blanket, Lutz added.

Cindy Ballard, the O'ahu coordinator for PATCH, a childcare referral service, said the organization has taken Department of Defense emergency preparedness guidelines and tweaked them to meet family childcare standards.

Licensed childcare providers are required to give parents a copy of their emergency plans, including evacuation procedures in case of fire, earthquake, tsunami, hurricane or flooding.

"They're supposed to make provisions for 72 hours for all their children — (to take care of them) without assistance," Ballard said.

They also have to make sure not to close their homes or centers before all children in their charge have been picked up.

However, having actual emergency kits is not a requirement for licensing, according to the state Department of Human Services, so parents might want to send their children to daycare with extra clothes, diapers, baby food, water and first aid kits.

Danel Iwasaki of Lihu'e, who watches Medeiros' 3-year-old, makes the children in her care practice a fire drill every month. "If I ring the bell, they're to run to the nearest exit and walk out to the mailbox," she said.

In a bigger emergency, though, Iwasaki said she'll forward all her calls to her cell phone, but the best thing parents can do is listen to the radio and find out if her neighborhood has been evacuated. In 11 years, that's never happened, she said, knocking on wood.

In addition to listening to the radio, parents should keep handbooks provided by their schools and daycare centers on hand.

Ray Sanborn, president of Kama'aina Kids, said parents receive handbooks when they enroll their children in the programs, and the disaster plans are pretty much in compliance with the civil defense guidelines in the front of the phone book.

There are circumstances that cause the closure of individual schools, but in an islandwide situation, Sanborn said the Kama'aina Kid sites will stay open and care for the kids as best they can or evacuate them to the appropriate shelter.

Sanborn could remember several situations where centers stayed open late at night because of police standoffs, fires and road closures. "I can't recall an overnight, but it could happen," he said. "Some of the staff would stay with the kids and some of the staff would have to leave to take care of their family situation, too."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

PREPARE CHILDCARE PROVIDERS FOR DISASTERS

What if a disaster, natural or otherwise, affects your family? If your child is one of the nearly 8 million who are age 4 and younger who attend a center- or home-based childcare program or stay with a nanny, sitter or another non-relative, you should make sure plans are in place.

DAYCARE FACILITIES