Get Ready profile: Speaking up for women’s voices and making a difference in preparedness

March is Women’s History Month, an annual observance that celebrates the vital role of women in American history. To mark the month, APHA’s Get Ready Blog spoke to Eva Jarawan, PhD, MBA, MPH, an assistant professor in the Department of International Health at Georgetown University Medical Center, about her work in global emergency preparedness. 

In the 1800s education and legislation were considered “too weighty for the sensitive fibers of the female mind.” Luckily, such laughable ideas have long been discarded. Women are leading universities, organizations and nations — and the fibers of their minds are doing just dandy, thank you very much.

Women have made major strides in the field of health, including emergency preparedness, response and recovery. Among those is Eva Jarawan, a Georgetown University professor who has worked in public health for over 30 years, striving to protect the health of people around the world during emergencies.

Her career has included work at the World Bank, where she served people on a global scale. She also worked in countries such as Eritrea and the Democratic Republic of Congo on projects that tackled HIV/AIDS and health effects that linger after conflicts have ended.

Jarawan’s success in the field didn’t come about without discrimination based on her gender, she noted. Early in her career, her salaries were often below those of her male counterparts, even below those of the students graduating from her class. Back then, women were sometimes not standing up for themselves for fear of losing their jobs or were embarrassed, especially in developing countries, she said. As it took time for her to gain self-confidence, she identified with them. But she has since found her voice.

 “Women have to speak up,” Jarawan said.

As a professor, Jarawan continues to improve health through her teaching and research and stays abreast of emergency preparedness needs around the world.

Jarawan told the Get Ready campaign that she admired protections put in place for emergencies in the U.S. But she expressed concern that too many people lag at getting ready despite knowing that they should be prepared for disasters. Looking to past disasters can motivate people to get ready for what may happen next, she pointed out.

“People try to draw lessons from them and improve, and that’s important,” Jarawan said.

Summer camps mean summer fun — and disaster preparedness

Have you ever tried to tell a child it’s time to stop playing outside?  As tough as it may be to tell one child to make the next cannonball in the pool their last because it’s dinnertime, imagine gathering a group of dozens of kids who are having fun at summer camp.

These campers are disaster prepared. Image: FEMA

As regular Get Ready Blog readers know, disasters and emergencies can occur anywhere. And that means they can occur when kids are away from home, as well. Luckily, at summer camps, there are grown-ups in charge who are working hard to keep kids safe while they’re having fun.

But that doesn’t mean that they can’t use a little help getting ready. In fact, a recent survey found that many U.S. summer camps aren’t completely prepared to handle situations like prolonged power outages or evacuations.

So what can you,as a parent do? For one, ask your summer camp for a copy of its disaster plan. Provide resources owners and counselors can use to prepare for emergencies. Connect them with local partners and officials who can help them make plans.

You can also help your child get ready for any disasters that may occur while away at camp. For example, you can:

• Pack a camp preparedness kit. Your child will need a flashlight and batteries to get around camp at night. But it makes sense to have other emergency items as well, like first-aid supplies, a whistle, snacks and an emergency information card.
• Make a communications plan. How will you and your child communicate during an emergency? Make sure your children have a list of emergency contacts in their phones and on paper. Identify a third-party contact, like a friend or family member out of town, who can be reached if you can’t.
• Be prepared for the heat. Summer camps mean summer weather, which usually means heat. Make sure your child knows how to be prepared for hot weather and to recognize the signs of heat illness.
• Watch out for mosquitoes and ticks. They can carry diseases like West Nile virus and Lyme disease. Pack plenty of bug repellent. And know how to check for and remove ticks.
• Watch out for rodents. Cabins and campgrounds can be home to mice and other rodents, which can spread diseases. Tell your kids not to touch rodents, dead or alive, and to tightly pack up food so rodents aren’t tempted to come inside. 

For even more summer safety tips for kids, check out this page from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Working with minority communities to prepare for disasters

Nicole Lurie, M.D., M.S.P.H.
Photo: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response was created shortly after Hurricane Katrina. The office, which is part of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, leads the nation in preventing, preparing for and responding to the health effects of public health emergencies. Among its charges is to make sure underserved communities are ready for disasters.

In our new Get Ready Report podcast, we spoke with Nicole Lurie, MD, MSPH, assistant secretary for preparedness and response, about why emergency preparedness is important for racial and ethnic minority populations. A report to Congress showed that Hurricane Katrina in 2005 had its greatest impact on communities where low-income minorities lived. People who are less educated, have low incomes and live in substandard housing often suffer more in disasters, “and those populations are, more often than not, likely to be racial and ethnic minority populations,” Lurie told the Get Ready campaign. Sometimes there are language or cultural barriers in a community, which can hinder preparedness and response.

“By the same token, minority populations are often more resilient than other populations,” Lurie said. “There are often very close social connections and ties in a community and those social connections are one of the most important things to promote community resilience and personal resilience.” Preparing and responding quickly to disasters can save lives and make the U.S. a healthier nation. Disasters such as the Joplin, Missouri, tornado of 2011 or Hurricane Sandy in 2012 showed the need to make sure communities are resilient, she said. That includes constructing buildings that won’t fall down and people can exercise in, giving people access to fresh food and making sure people can walk around their neighborhoods safely.

Listen to Get Ready’s podcast with Lurie to hear more about emergency preparedness or read the transcript.

Get ready for National Public Health Week

The beginning of April marks an exciting time for advocates of healthier communities. APHA is hosting National Public Health Week, April 6-12. The event is a time to celebrate, learn and tell others about public health. Supporters join together each year to talk about important health topics such as nutrition, health care and even emergency preparedness.



This year’s theme is “Healthiest Nation 2030,” which ties into APHA’s work to make the U.S. the healthiest nation in one generation.  People in the U.S. live shorter lives than residents of many other high-income countries, face more chronic diseases and struggle with obesity. The theme encourages communities to think of ways to improve our nation’s health.



Learn about the many ways to get involved in the week of events:

• Check out the NPHW calendar to see what your local health department, universities or others in your community are planning and attend an event. 
• Attend the NPHW forum “Raising the Grade” or view the live webcast on Monday, April 6, from 1-3 p.m. ET. Health experts will discuss opportunities to create the healthiest nation.
• Talk with other public health supporters during the fifth annual Twitter chat on Wednesday, April 8, at 2 p.m. ET. Follow @NPHW on Twitter and use the hashtag #NPHWchat. RSVP to save the date.

Or plan an event in your community to share simple ways to be prepared in emergencies. The Get Ready campaign offers a wealth of free preparedness fact sheets to share at your health fair, pass out on campus or hang in your office.

Each day of NPHW has something to offer. Take a look at the weekday themes for inspiration:

• Monday, April 6: Raising the grade: The U.S. trails many other high-income countries in life expectancy and other measures of good health, and this holds true across all ages and socio-economic groups.
• Tuesday, April 7: Starting from ZIP: Today, your ZIP code says too much about your health. Within the United States, there are unacceptable disparities in health by race and ethnic group, state by state and even county by county.
• Wednesday, April 8: Building momentum: Influential leaders, companies and organizations are taking important steps in line with creating the healthiest nation.
• Thursday, April 9: Building broader connections: In the work to become the healthiest nation, we can’t do it all on our own. We have to expand our partnerships to everyone that has an impact on our health.
• Friday, April 10: Building on 20 years of success: 2015 is APHA’s 20th anniversary for coordinating National Public Health Week, and the accomplishments of the public health community over the last two decades are significant.

Get tips and tools for your NPHW events online now and share your activities via social media with the #NPHW hashtag.

Better Safe than Sorry

Today’s guest blog is by Gwen Camp, director of FEMA’s Individual and Community Preparedness Division, which organizes America’s PrepareAthon!, a grassroots action campaign that works to increase community preparedness and resilience.

If a disaster happens, do you have a plan to get in touch with family members? Are you signed up for cell phone alerts so you can stay informed? Are your emergency supplies up to date? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, then the time to get prepared is now!

The America’s PrepareAthon! campaign is here to remind you that getting prepared doesn’t have to be expensive, time consuming, or hard. The America’s PrepareAthon! website, has FREE planning guides, toolkits, and creative materials to help you plan a preparedness activity for your family or community. Hazard-specific materials are available for earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and winter storms. Many of these resources are available in other languages, including Spanish, Japanese, and French.

Twice a year, on April 30 and September 30, America’s PrepareAthon! promotes national days of action, called National PrepareAthon! Days, to bring focus to preparedness. The April 30 National PrepareAthon! Day may still be weeks away, but individuals and communities are starting to take action now.

So, get started with one or more of these 10 simple actions and don’t forget to register your participation on ready.gov/prepare. We’re over 2.5 million strong and counting!

1. Sign up for local alerts and warnings, download apps, and/or check access for wireless emergency alerts;
2. Develop and test emergency communications plans;
3. Assemble or update emergency supplies;
4. Learn about local hazards and conduct a drill to practice emergency response actions;
5. Participate in a preparedness discussion, training, or class;
6. Collect and safeguard critical documents;
7. Document property and obtain appropriate insurance for relevant hazards;
8. Make property improvements to reduce potential injury and property damage (mitigation); 
9. Hold a scenario-based continuity of operations tabletop exercise for your organization; or 
10. Plan with neighbors to help each other and share resources.

Summer storms can mean power outages

Rosanna Arias/FEMA

Summer storms can leave your home, your neighborhood and even your entire city or town without power. While power outages can occur any time of year, summer power outages come with special challenges, such as heat-related illness. To prepare for summer power outages, follow these tips:

•   Beware of heat stroke: Power outages mean loss of air conditioning or electric fans. If temperatures are high, don’t sweat it out. Go to a designated cooling center or friend’s house with functioning air conditioning. Heat can be especially dangerous for seniors. If you do stay at home, keep blinds and curtains closed to block out the sun. Consider buying a battery-operated fan for your emergency supply kit.

•   Store bottled water: In addition to knocking out power, summer storms can also lead to flooding and contaminated water. So it’s especially important to have water stored during the summer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you drink a glass of fluid every 15-20 minutes in extreme heat. Do not drink alcohol or caffeine, as they will dehydrate you. If you use a water purification system, keep in mind it may not work during a power outage.

•   Make sure your food is safe: According to CDC, if the power is out for more than four hours, it’s best to move meats and dairy products into a cooler with ice. Move stuff to a cooler but don't open the freezer . Use a food thermometer to check the temperature of your food before you cook or eat it. Discard any food that has a temperature of more than 40 degrees. Remember: When in doubt, throw it out.

•   Unplug: The American Red Cross suggests that during a power outage, it’s a good idea to unplug all electrical equipment. When the power comes back on, the spike in electricity can cause damage to equipment like computers and televisions. Leave one light on, however, so you can know when the electricity is back on.

•   Protect against carbon monoxide: While a home generator might make a power outage easier to cope with, never use one inside a home, garage, basement or any partially enclosed area. Generators, along with any other gasoline or propane burning device, can produce carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, tasteless gas and exposure can lead to death. It’s a good idea to have a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector that works without electricity.

For more summer preparedness tips, visit Get Ready’s Summer Safe Web page. 

Steps to safe structures: Celebrating building safety year-round

In a disaster, structures are often the first place we go for safety. But how do we make sure those buildings are safe? One way is through enforcement of strong building codes, as President Barack Obama noted during his Building Safety Month proclamation this spring.

“Time and again, devastating natural disasters have tested the strength of our communities and the resilience of our people,” Obama said. “Our capacity to withstand these threats depends on what we do to prepare today, from reinforcing critical infrastructure to making sure our buildings adhere to local codes and standards.”

It’s not just during national observances that we should think about building safety, however. Year-round, all types of conditions and weather can cause damage to buildings that could make them unsafe. Summer can bring high winds from thunderstorms and tornadoes, and winter can produce damaging ice and snow.

So what can you do to make sure a building is safe? While some steps take place before a building is constructed and others occur after a disaster, there are many ways to make buildings safer and protected.

Build it for safety: Building codes are rules that builders follow to make sure that a structure is safe and prepared for possible emergencies. Builders use information like where a building is located and common weather risks to decide how to build a safe and protected building.

In fact, this year’s Building Safety Month theme was “Code Officials Keep You Safe.” Each week, the International Code Council, founder of the observance, shared information about how codes protect us, looking at topics ranging from fires to dangerous weather.

Prepare it for safety: Even after a building has been built, there are sometimes more ways to keep it safe. For example, a house in an area where hurricanes are common could have shutters added to prevent damage to windows.

Evaluate its safety: If a disaster does damage a structure, officials will need to make sure the building is safe for people to enter again. High winds could damage parts of a home or spread debris around. In addition, earthquakes could damage a building’s foundation and flooding could leave behind mold conditions. All of these things could cause health problems or injuries.

It’s always a good time to consider the safety of your home, workplace or other buildings. For more details on ensuring buildings are safe for disasters, download our Get Ready fact sheet in English  or Spanish.

Tips for summer safety from Get Ready

Summer is usually a time for fun vacations, family outings, barbecues and splashing in the pool. And because we want to make sure that you stay safe and healthy while having fun this summer, we’re once again hosting our Summer Safe series on the Get Ready Blog.

What kind of topics will we cover in Summer Safe? Staying safe in hot weather and while traveling, and food safety during disasters, to name a few.

Check out the Summer Safe page on the Get Ready website for free fact sheets that you can print and share with your family or in your community.

Do you have any other ideas or questions about summer safety and preparedness? Let us know in the comments, or send us a tweet @GetReady!

Enter APHA’s Get Ready Pup-Preparedness Photo Contest

Do you have a dog? Is she or he photogenic? (Need we ask?) Snap a photo of your dog and enter APHA’s Get Ready Pup-Preparedness Photo Contest! The contest is using dogs as a fun way to promote preparedness. The competition comes on the tails (pun intended!) of our successful 2012 cat photo contest.

From now until April 27, send us photos of your canine friends to enter the contest.

Take a look at the topics covered by the Get Ready campaign — such as having a plan or not, preparing for evacuation, or driving in a disaster— and figure out how to illustrate it with your dog. We will add witty captions and share your dog’s message about emergency preparedness with the world. The winning photos will go into our Get Ready calendar.

When you’re ready to send us your pics, visit the Get Ready website for FAQs, rules and other info on entering the contest.

And while you’re there, check out some of the cute doggie photos we’ve received so far!

Pledge to be a force of nature

Are you a force of nature? The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration want to help you become one. That’s why they created National Severe Weather Preparedness Week. Held annually each spring, the week encourages people to help their family, friends and community prepare for severe weather.

While the week is over, the lessons it shares are good year-round. The campaign aims to get people to understand what to do before, during and after severe weather. There are three simple steps that anyone can do to get ready for weather events such as tornadoes, hurricanes and other dangerous storms:

1. Know your risk. Figure out which kinds of severe weather can happen where you live and work, so you can make a plan to get ready for these events.
2. Take the pledge. Be a force of nature by taking the Pledge to Prepare at Ready.gov.
3. Be an example. Once you take the pledge and start preparing, share your story with your family and friends. Tweet about it, write a Facebook post, make a YouTube video. By showing people that preparedness is something that anyone can do, you’ll inspire others to get ready, too!

We want to know how you plan to be a force of nature, so tell us what you do to prepare for severe weather in the comments below!

 

Today’s the day: Remember to check your stocks!

Did you remember to turn your clocks ahead for daylight saving time this weekend? We hope so!

There’s one more thing we want you to remember to do: Check your stocks. It’s easy to forget about your emergency supplies until a storm or power outage happens, but that’s no time to find you’re out of something important.

That’s why today is a perfect day to check your emergency stockpile. Make sure that you have flashlights, fresh batteries and a manual can opener. Check your canned food to make sure that nothing has expired. Have at least one gallon of water on hand for each person in your household for at least three days — and have extra for your pets!

If you don’t have an emergency stockpile, you can start today. We have great fact sheets with tips on stockpiling food and water, and advice on how to stockpile on a budget.

After you’ve taken care of your own stockpile, remind your loved ones to check their supplies, too. Send them an email, post it on Facebook, send out a tweet!  A few minutes of preparedness today can make a big difference the next time an emergency happens!

Spread the word: It’s almost time to set your clocks and check your stocks!

How often should you refresh your emergency supplies? At least every six months on any easy-to-remember date. That's the reasoning behind the Get Ready: Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks  campaign: To remind people to refresh their emergency stockpile twice a year when they adjust their clocks for daylight saving time.

We've created a range of free materials to remind people to check their emergency preparedness stockpile — from logos and e-cards to sample tweets and a video.

And for those who don't have an emergency stockpile, we also have fact sheets about stockpiling food and water, as well as tips for stockpiling on a budget. If you run a health center or agency, library, business or other organization, you can even add your own logo to our fact sheets!

Check out the Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks materials on our website.
Don’t forget to spread the word!

Check out our new emergency preparedness cookbook, “Recipes for Disaster”

Did you know that March is National Nutrition Month?

We know what you’re thinking: “What’s nutrition got to do with emergency preparedness?” Actually, it’s really smart to think about nutrition when you’re preparing for emergencies, because food is an important part of any emergency stockpile.

Last year, we held our Emergency Stockpile Recipe Contest to get people thinking about what they’d cook if the power went out. We got a lot of great recipes, which we announced on the blog in April.

Now, we’ve taken those recipes, along with recipes from our own staff, and created a free cookbook called “Recipes for Disaster." The cookbook also includes tips for stockpiling food and water, advice on putting together an emergency kit on a budget and even checklists so that you know what to pack.

You can download “Recipes for Disaster” here. We hope it makes it a little easier — and tastier — to get prepared!

Let us know your favorite recipe in the comments.

New video game helps kids get ready for disasters

Are you a disaster hero? You can become one with a new game from the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Disaster Hero is an online game created to teach young people — and gamers of all ages! — about preparing for disasters. The game takes players through a series of challenges that will help them learn about preparing an emergency kit and making a disaster plan, as well as staying safe before, during and after four common natural disasters — hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods.

Screenshot from Disaster Hero

The game is free and is designed for students in first grade and older. Anyone with a computer and Internet connection can play — no sign-up is required. Players who create a free account can save their scores and design their own character.

Have you played the Disaster Hero game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This Valentine’s Day, show your loved ones you care — about emergency preparedness!

When you love someone, you want to keep them safe, especially in an emergency situation such as a disaster.

Here at APHA’s Get Ready campaign, we think Valentine’s Day is a great time to think about preparing for emergencies. What’s more romantic than saying you care enough to prepare?

Tornado preparedness e-card from Get Ready.

On that note, we’ve created some free emergency preparedness-themed Valentine’s Day cards for you to send to your loved ones. With topics ranging from flu shots and hand-washing to stockpiling and pet preparedness, we’ve got something for everyone.

The cards are free, and you can email, tweet or post them to Facebook — or even print them out! Just visit our e-card page to see the options and pick your favorites.

What holiday should we celebrate next? Tell us in the comments!

Drop, cover and hold on: Tomorrow is the Great Central U.S. Shakeout!

At 10:15 a.m. tomorrow, more than 2 million Americans in nine central U.S. states will drop to the ground and hold on. No, it’s not a new dance craze — Thursday, Feb. 7, is the Great Central U.S. Shakeout!

The shakeout is a chance to practice your earthquake preparedness drills. Millions of people take part in these drills every year. Even if you don’t live in an area where earthquakes frequently occur, it’s important to be prepared, as they can happen anywhere and anytime. (Just ask people who lived in central Virginia in 2011.)

If you’ve never run an emergency drill before, the shakeout website makes it easy — there are free toolkits for schools, offices and home on the organization’s resources page. 

If you live in the central U.S., you can participate in tomorrow’s drill by signing up here. And if you live in another state, or even another country, don’t worry — there will be more Shakeout drills throughout the year!

Getting ready for earthquakes has never been so simple.

Let us know how your shakeout goes in the comments!

Get your mobile phone disaster-ready

According to the American Red Cross, more Americans are using social media and apps during disasters. Mobile phone apps and social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter are now tied as the fourth most popular way to find information in an emergency, after TV, radio and the Internet.

Cellphones, smartphone apps and social media tools are especially useful during disasters when phone lines are down and power is out. That’s why the Federal Emergency Management Agency is focusing its 2013 Resolve to be Ready campaign on including these technologies in your emergency preparedness plans. Here are some ideas to help you get started.

Mobile phones: The following tips are useful for any type of cellphone:

• Add “ICE” contacts to your phone. ICE, or in case of emergency, contacts will help first responders get in touch with your loved ones if an emergency happens. It’s a good idea to add a local ICE contact and one that lives out-of-state to your phone’s list of contacts. 


• Text — don’t call — when phones are busy. Phone lines are often busy during and after emergencies as many people try to contact loved ones, but oftentimes texts can get through. Make sure everyone in your family knows how to send text messages. 


• Find out if you can get Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone. FEMA and many U.S. cellphone carriers have teamed up to create a system for Wireless Emergency Alerts. These are messages sent to your phone just like text messages, only they contain emergency information. These could be sent during disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes or terrorist attacks. You don’t need to sign up for these alerts — they are automatically sent to most cellphones. To check and see if you can receive these messages on your phone, visit the Wireless Emergency Alerts website.

Smart phones: Can you access the Internet or download apps on your phone? Here are some more ideas to use your phone to get ready:

• Download emergency apps. If you have a smartphone, there are many apps you can download that can be very useful in an emergency. The American Red Cross has created apps to help people during earthquakes, hurricanes and wildfires. The organization also has a first aid app and an app to help you find a local shelter during a disaster. You can find more information about these apps (and get them for free!) on the Red Cross website.


• Use social media to let friends and family know you’re safe. In a recent survey, Red Cross found that 76 percent of Americans use social media to check in with friends and family after an emergency. Posting a simple message such as “There was a tornado in my neighborhood — power is out but we are OK” on your Facebook or Twitter account can help let people know that you are safe. 


• Find local emergency information online. Check Facebook and Twitter to see if your local government, fire or police and local Red Cross chapters have set up accounts and follow them before an emergency happens. On a national level, you can also follow organizations such as FEMA, the American Red Cross, Ready.gov and other trusted sources. APHA’s list of national and regional emergency preparedness Twitter users is a good start. And don’t forget to follow @GetReady on Twitter!


• Reminder: While these sources are great, if you are in a life-threatening situation, remember to always call 911 first.

Do you have any other tips for preparing with your mobile phone? Do you have another emergency app you think we should know about? Let us know in the comments!

New report asks: Are we ready or not?

It can be hard to measure how ready we are for emergencies. A new report from Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation tries to answer that question. The report, “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism” comes out every year and can tell us how prepared we are, state-by-state and as a country.

The report finds that as a country, we have made some progress in getting prepared since 2001 by improving the availability of vaccines and bettering disease monitoring, among other measures. However, budget cuts at the national and state level have stopped the U.S. from making even more progress.

The report ranked states from most to least prepared on a scale of one to 10, with 10 the most prepared. Overall, 35 states and Washington, D.C., scored a six or lower. No states scored 10 out of 10, but five states were ranked as the most prepared, at eight out of 10: Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin. Kansas and Montana were the least prepared, the report found, scoring a three out of 10. Check out this map to see where your state falls.

[Map, courtesy Ready or Not? 2012,
Trust for America's Health and
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]

Read the report to learn more about why your state was ranked high or low.

How did your state do? What do you think of the report? Let us know in the comments below!

Get Winter Ready with us this year!

Today is the first day of winter, so what better time to start thinking about what you need to do to prepare for winter weather?

We’ve put together a Winter Ready page so that you can see all of our great resources on winter storms, power outages, cold and flu season and more — all in one place.

We’ll also be focusing on winter weather preparedness over the next few months, so check back for our Winter Ready blog posts. You can subscribe to the Get Ready Blog so you don’t miss a thing.

Stay warm, stay safe — and happy winter!

Give the gift of preparedness this year

Have someone on your holiday gift list who is hard to shop for? Why not give the gift of emergency preparedness? Here are some simple, inexpensive ways to show you care and help your loved ones be more prepared in the new year:

1. Flashlight with extra batteries: When the power goes out, how many of us have gone rummaging in the dark looking for that flashlight? Or we find the flashlight, only to realize it doesn’t have fresh batteries? It might sound like a boring gift, but flashlights and batteries always come in handy. Consider a magnetic flashlight that will stick on the fridge, or a headband flashlight so that giftees can keep their hands free during an emergency.
2. First-aid kit: First-aid kits are always great to have around, but can be especially useful during a disaster or storm, when emergency responders can be delayed. You can purchase pre-made kits at most stores, or take a look at our tips for creating a useful first-aid kit and make your own! Plus, if you decide to make your own kit, you can personalize it. For a new mom, for example, include baby-related items. 
3. All-weather radio: Weather or emergency radios are battery- or hand crank-powered. They are specially designed to receive the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio All Hazards broadcast, which is a 24/7 broadcast from the National Weather Service with official warnings, forecasts and emergency alerts. New versions include USB ports so you can charge your mobile phone when the power goes out!
4. Car emergency kit: For your favorite someone who loves to get behind the wheel, you can help them be safe on the road by gifting items for a car emergency kit. Items like a first-aid kit, car battery charger or jumper cables, and a flashlight are all important things to have in a vehicle. If the person lives in an area at risk for cold temperatures or winter storms, consider adding an extra blanket, a set of warm clothes and an ice scraper. 
5. Family emergency plan: Sometimes the best gifts are ones that money can’t buy. While you gather with family and close friends over the holiday season, set aside time to create an emergency plan with your family. Think about the possible disasters that could happen near your home and discuss what your family can do to stay safe. Make a list of important phone numbers, including someone who lives out of the area in case local phone lines are busy. Take a look at a map and pick both a local and out-of-town meeting place where you can safely meet your loved ones in the event of an emergency. Once you’ve got everything planned out, be sure to write it down and give everyone a copy. Ready.gov has a blank family preparedness plan that you can fill out, or create your own!

That’s our short list of preparedness gift ideas. Are you helping someone get ready this year with a holiday gift? What’s on your wish list? What was the best preparedness gift you have ever received?  Let us know in the comments!  Have a happy and safe holiday season.