Celebrate National Preparedness Month with Some Family Care
National Preparedness Month is a designation that calls attention to the need to get your household, neighborhood, and community ready to recover from and respond to disaster. Although it’s nice to have a month set aside to shine a spotlight on the issue, emergency preparedness is an ongoing effort that requires attention throughout the year.
That being said, you can mark the occasion this month in a few key ways:
Test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Check the expiration dates on your emergency food, water, and medications.
Make sure that all family members—whether they’re going to school, to work, to daily activities, or on trips—know what to do when disaster strikes. Make sure everyone knows where to meet up and whom to text (out of state) with their status.
Clear leaves and debris from gutters and street drains.
Make sure your household is ready to survive two weeks in the cold and wet without power. If you have a medical condition that requires electrically powered equipment, register with PSE; this will ensure your power is restored more quickly.
Get vaccinated against COVID-19 and the flu. Read more here.
Make sure your neighborhood had gone through Map Your Neighborhood.
If you have young people in your household, get them involved in these activities. Seeing you doing something proactive and participating can help reduce anxiety.
If you have older people in your household or you are an older person, have a conversation with family about the unique needs and concerns of senior citizens relative to emergencies. These needs and concerns include accessibility, medications, reliance on assisting devices, and sensitivity to temperature.
If you have pets or domestic animals, do a quick check to make sure they’re ready for emergencies too. Do you have food and water stocked for them? What about their medications? Do they have access to warm and dry shelter?
September will come and go, but emergency preparedness never ends. Follow the Prepare in a Year program to do one thing a month to get your household ready.