Good planning!

Do everything you can to persuade/trick everyone into carrying a pealess whistle and flashlight on their person (not their pack) at all times. (I even carry these every day on my keychain.)

Ditch the flares, especially with smoking and drinking going on. Signal fires and signal mirrors are generally better attention-getters. See this site for more info on survival gear:

http://www.equipped.org/srvkits.htm