National Preparedness Month: Resources You Can Use

Posted by Sarah Levin-Lederer on September 14th, 2018 Posted in: Public Health
Tags: community engagement, Emergency Preparedness (EPP), Public Health, public safety

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September is National Preparedness Month and there’s still time to make and practice your plan, learn life saving skills, check your coverage and save for an emergency.

Week 1’s theme was Make and Practice Your Plan

No one knows when an emergency will happen, but making and practicing your plan now will help you during and after.

Here are some planning resources to get you started:

• To learn about making plans, putting together evacuation and shelter in place kits and other emergency preparedness basics, visit the Department of Homeland Securities ready.gov page. Ready.gov has information available in 13 languages.
• Children, older adults, people with disabilities and pregnant women may have different needs during an emergency. Visit NLM’s Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) to learn about planning for populations with unique needs.
• Don’t forget your pets when making your emergency plans. Visit the CDC’s Pet Safety in Emergencies page for more information.

 

Week 2’s theme was Learn Life Saving Skills

Knowing basic first aid and other life skills means that you can help your family and community during an emergency.

• Visit the Red Cross online to find a first aid or other lifesaving class in your area.
• Volunteer with local response partners to learn more skills and help your community during an emergency response. Learn more about Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) or find your local CERT team here.

 

Week 3’s theme is Check Your Coverage

• Keep your insurance information, including all policy numbers and phone numbers, in your shelter in place and evacuation kits.
• Learn about flood insurance by visiting floodsmart.gov an initiative of FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program

 

Week 4’s theme is Save for an Emergency

• Keep important financial, medical and legal documents in a safe place.
• Keep some cash on hand with your emergency supplies. ATMs won’t work if the power is out.
• Visit Ready.gov’s Financial Preparedness page for more tips on preparing records and finances for emergencies.
• Learn about Emergency Financial First Aid with the free kit from FEMA.

 

And always make sure you’re following trusted sources for resources and updates on social media to avoid scams and hoaxes.  On twitter, follow @nnlmner, @fema, @femaregion1 (New England), @nws, local news outlets, and local and state government accounts.