National Preparedness Month is observed every September in the United States to promote awareness and encourage emergency preparedness. It’s a time for individuals, families, and communities to review and enhance their emergency plans, ensure they have the necessary supplies, and understand how to respond accordingly to different disasters.
National Preparedness Month typically focuses on a specific theme or set of themes. These provide guidance on various aspects of preparedness, such as creating emergency kits, developing communication plans, and staying informed about potential hazards.
Preparing for different types of disasters can certainly make a big difference in how you and your family handle emergencies. Here’s a simple guide to get started:
1. Assess Your Risks
- Identify Hazards: Consider the types of disasters that are most likely to affect your area, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, or severe storms, and prepare accordingly.
- Review Past Incidents: Look at past emergencies in your region to understand what could happen.
2. Create a Family Emergency Plan
- Communication Plan: Establish how your family will communicate if separated. Choose a meeting spot and designate a family contact person outside your area.
- Evacuation Plan: Identify multiple evacuation routes from your home and workplace. Know where your local shelters are located.
- Emergency Contacts: List important contacts and share them with every family member.
3. Build an Emergency Kit
- Basic Supplies: Include items like water (two gallons per person per day for at least three days), non-perishable food, a flashlight, batteries, a first aid kit, and a battery-powered or hand-crank radio.
- Personal Items: Add medications, important documents (e.g., IDs, insurance papers), and personal hygiene items.
- Hygiene Supplies: Poor hygiene is a leading cause of illness during disasters.
- Special Needs: Don’t forget supplies for babies, elderly family members, or pets.
- Recommended Supplies List
4. Stay Informed
- Emergency Alerts: Sign up for local alerts and warnings and stay updated on emergencies.
Wireless Emergency Alerts - Weather Information: Follow reliable sources for weather and emergency updates.
NOAA Weather Radio
5. Practice and Review
- Drills: Regularly practice your emergency plans with your family. Conduct fire drills, tornado drills, and other scenario-based exercises, particularly the ones of most concern to you, in your area.
- Update Plans: Review and update your plan and emergency kit annually or whenever there’s a change in your family situation. Additionally, consider having plans based on the seasons, especially the contents of your emergency kits.
6. Get Involved
- Community: Join local preparedness programs or workshops. Being part of a community effort can surely provide additional resources and support.
7. Develop Emergency Skills
- CPR/AED – First Aid: This training is a crucial component of first aid preparedness. Knowing how to perform CPR and use an AED can make a life-saving difference in emergencies. Basic first-aid skills can be a game changer in a disaster.
Schedule your private group session today - Stop The Bleed: Blood loss is the number one preventable cause of death after injury. Learning the skills to identify and treat traumatic life-threatening bleeding is extremely valuable when your local EMS is overwhelmed by a disaster.
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Stay Vigilant and Be prepared
In addition, take these steps to ensure you and your loved ones are better prepared to handle emergencies effectively. It’s always better to be proactive than reactive for safety and preparedness.