National Preparedness Month kicks off on September 1, and Cobb & Douglas Public Health is urging the community to take time to learn about the risks of natural disasters and how to prepare for an unexpected emergency. The theme this year is ‘“Disasters Don’t Plan Ahead. You Can.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), through Ready.gov, has broken this year’s Preparedness Month into four weeks of topics for residents to get involved:
- Week 1 (September 1-9): Make a Plan for Yourself, Family and Friends
- Week 2 (September 10-16): Plan to Help Your Neighbor and Community
- Week 3 (September 17-23): Practice and Build Out Your Plans
- Week 4 (September 24-30): Get Involved! Be a Part of Something Larger
Additionally, residents can focus on being informed about how and where specific emergencies occur, building supply kits and working with neighbors to make community plans through use of detailed “playbooks” and readiness tips for each of the most common emergencies:
- Earthquakes – Earthquakes can occur suddenly and be deadly. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass and falling objects.
- Floods – Flooding is the most common natural disaster in the United States and can happen anywhere.
- Hurricanes – Hurricanes have the power to cause widespread devastation and can affect both coastal and inland areas.
- Tornadoes – Tornadoes are one of nature’s most violent storms, and can cause death, injury and destruction within seconds.
- Wild Fires – Wildfires can occur anywhere and can destroy homes, businesses, infrastructure, natural resources and agriculture.
- Winter Storms – Winter storms can occur anywhere and bring freezing rain, ice, snow, high winds or a combination of all these conditions. They can cause power outages that last for days or weeks, making it hard to keep warm and making travel very dangerous.
For more information about National Preparedness Month and for detailed information about the most common emergencies and how you can prepare, visit www.ready.gov or call 1-800-BE-READY for more information.