Despite rumours to the contrary, nursery school children are not being required by Government to carry a three-day supply of water with them in case of a natural disaster.

However nursery and day-care centres in Bermuda are being encouraged by the Environmental Health section of the Health Department to prepare disaster plans in the event of disasters such as Hurricane Fabian.

The department recently issues a general set of "disaster preparedness" guidelines to licensed child-care providers on how they can prepare and take care of their young charges.

That information was mistakenly sent to parents from several nurseries, sparking concerns that three year-olds would be forced to carry disaster relief kits around with them daily.

"The guidelines included information on developing a disaster plan based on the needs of each centre; a list of emergency shelters; various emergency checklists; suggestions for food safety; and recommendations for maintaining a safe water supply," a Government spokesperson said yesterday.

"The information, which was developed from an international checklist, was distributed to nurseries and day-care centres in order that they could in turn develop their individualised and Bermudianised checklists and requirements.

"There are some items on the list that would naturally make sense for every nursery and day-care centre to have while other items that would be unique to particular circumstances."

The spokesperson apologised for any misunderstanding, saying: "The list was not intended to be sent to parents, but to guide nurseries in their planning ... the Ministry does not require parents to supply each and every item as listed."

Nurseries and day-care centres should take responsibility for drawing up and personalising their own plans and deciding what children in their care will need to be comfortable if they were unable to go home due to a hurricane or other emergency. "It's about being prepared for any eventuality."

The Ministry intends to distribute similar information to public schools, seniors' homes and the general public to ensure everyone is more knowledgeable of what they should do to stay safe in the face of a disaster, especially during this hurricane season, the spokesperson said.