Ready, set, plan! September is national preparedness month

It is never too early to start preparing for disasters and emergencies. Emergency management and other public safety take decisive measures to make sure communities are as prepared as possible before a crisis hits.

September 2015 marks the twelfth annual National Preparedness Month, dedicated to encouraging communities and residents to take action and plan ahead for emergencies such as severe weather. National Preparedness Month is divided into four focus weeks: floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and power outages. Different locations may be prone to one event more than another however, it is vital for communities and families to expect and plan for the worst regardless of the disaster type. As a starter, ready.gov features a basic list of necessities for residents to have on hand during a disaster such as water, food, a weather radio, and extra batteries.

Public safety agencies have found social media to be an extremely useful tool in educating large audiences about what preparation entails and specific steps to follow to achieve emergency preparedness. The official hashtag of National Preparedness Month is #NatlPrep. On twitter, @Readygov has shared an online toolkit to help users prepare.

Preparedness is not limited to severe weather but can apply to many different emergency situations. What if you had the job of protecting our nation’s capital? Imagine the planning and precautions that must take place to ensure that the capital is safe. Join Everbridge on September 16^th for an exclusive Expert Insights Webinar, Protecting the Capital: Leveraging a Notification System for Coordination and Response with the National Capital Region (NCR).  In this webinar, Sulayman Brown, Assistant Coordinator/EOC Manager for Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management will discuss why the NCR needed a critical communication system and how they utilize it to ensure any threat is properly responded to.

Departments and organizations of all sizes can participate in National Preparedness Month. We encourage you to take time this month to ask yourself the following question: If a disaster were to happen tomorrow, would you be prepared?