Disaster Preparedness Resources: September is National Preparedness Month

Posted by Carolyn Martin on August 31st, 2015 Posted in: Emergency Preparedness, Training & Education

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Is your library disaster ready?  With wild fires occurring in every state of the Pacific Northwest Region emergency preparedness is especially important for those being affected in these areas and libraries can play an important role.  September is National Preparedness Month (NPM) and the theme for this year is Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.  Communication is an important part of the emergency plan whether it is preparing an emergency kit, an evacuation plan, or what to do in case of separation.

Libraries have played an important part in disaster recovery, often being a place of refuge in the aftermath. But libraries can assist before the disaster by providing information and programs to inform their communities to better prepare for such emergencies by keeping them aware of the resources available and providing opportunities to create disaster plans which can lead to a smoother recovery and may lessen the losses during a disaster whether natural or human created. Such steps don’t necessarily eliminate the stress and anxiety associated with such events but it can help reduce it as well as reduce the impact.

The National Library of Medicine provides a wealth of resources in disaster planning for libraries.  MedlinePlus contains information for all sorts of disasters and an array of information for the public. DIMRC (Disaster Information Management Resource Center) contains information to prepare libraries to become educated and informed about their role in the community to better assist their communities when disasters strike. This informative website provides access to information resources specifically for disasters including focusing on preparedness, response and recovery. It includes such information as training and competencies in disaster preparedness, resources for first responders and patrons and clinicians, and in large-scale disasters free access to the medical literature. DIMRC has an upcoming webinar titled Disaster Health Information Outreach & Collaboration Project scheduled for September 10 at 10:30am Pacific Time.  To listen to this and previous webinars go to http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/dismeetings.html

Ready.gov provides all kinds disaster preparation information including a link to FEMA’s facilitator guide for libraries and others who may want to provide a community program focused on emergency preparedness. There’s information for businesses and the community including fun learning tools for kids. Each week of National Preparedness Month focuses on a particular disaster leading up to its conclusion on September 30 which is the National PrepareAthon Day. Join this grassroots campaign to increase awareness of emergency preparedness.

Contact us here at the PNR if you have questions about these and other resources for your library’s role in emergency preparedness.