National Preparedness Month Guidance Sorely Needed This Year
With residents in much of southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana and other states working to recover from Harvey's destructive rains and wind, and a stronger hurricane churning westward toward Puerto Rico and possibly Florida, the overall theme and the four weekly themes are right on target.
National Preparedness Month is under way, as the federal government's Ready.gov website marks the annual observance in September with an extremely timely theme about planning and preparedness: "Disasters Don't Plan Ahead. You Can."
"We should all take action to prepare! We are all able to help first responders in our community by training how to respond during an emergency and what to do when disaster strikes — where we live, work, and visit. The goal of NPM is to increase the overall number of individuals, families, and communities that engage in preparedness actions at home, work, business, school, and place of worship," the NPM website reminds us.
With residents in much of southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana and other states working to recover from Harvey's destructive rains and wind, and a stronger hurricane churning westward toward Puerto Rico and possibly Florida, the overall theme and the four weekly themes are right on target.
The site offers links to lots of preparedness materials grouped into the four weekly themes:
- Week 1, Sept. 1-9: Make a Plan for Yourself, Family and Friends
- Week 2, Sept. 10-16: Plan to Help Your Neighbor and Community
- Week 3, Sept. 17-23: Practice and Build Out Your Plans
- Week 4, Sept. 24-30: Get Involved! Be a Part of Something Larger