Preparedness
September is National Preparedness Month, and on behalf of Ready.gov, DOT reminds you to be disaster aware and to prepare for emergency situations at work, at home, and elsewhere.
As President Obama wrote in his message to participants in America's PrepareAthon, "Knowing regional hazards, understanding your risks, and getting involved in preparedness efforts within your community can make all the difference in critical moments before, during, and after an emergency."
Ready.gov establishes four universal building blocks of emergency preparedness: Be informed, Make a Plan, Build a Kit, and Get Involved. National Preparedness Month builds on this foundation, encouraging Americans to focus on simple, specific activities that will increase individual, family, community, and workplace preparedness.
Each week of National Preparedness Month has a theme, and we urge you to explore the material Ready.gov has prepared for each of these important themes:
- How to Reconnect with Family after a Disaster
- How to Plan for Specific Needs before a Disaster
- How to Build an Emergency Kit
- How to Practice for an Emergency
Each week, Ready.gov will feature specific information focusing on these themes to ensure a well-rounded approach to increasing disaster awareness.
National Preparedness Month culminates with the 2014 National PrepareAthon! on September 30. America's PrepareAthon! is an opportunity for individuals, organizations, and communities to prepare for six specific hazards through drills, group discussions, and exercises. Hazards include:
For a handy reference, please download Are You Ready? A Guide for Citizen Preparedness. Are You Ready? provides a step-by-step approach to disaster preparedness including how to get informed about local emergency plans, how to identify hazards that affect your local area, and how to develop and maintain an emergency communications plan and a disaster supplies kit.
Other topics covered include evacuation, emergency public shelters, animals in disaster, and information specific to people with differing needs. The guide also also provides in-depth information on specific hazards including what to do before, during and after each hazard type.
