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.

CDC superdog teaches kids how to be prepared for disasters

Ready Wrigley

Dogs have always been a human’s best friend, but who knew they could also help kids prepare for emergencies? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response would like you to meet Ready Wrigley, a caped cartoon superdog who helps children and families learn how to prepare for the unexpected.

Ready Wrigley is the star of two free activity books — perfect for families, friends and classrooms — that kids can enjoy as they learn how to keep safe. The books come with fun puzzles, games and tips that are written at a child’s level.

In her debut activity book, Ready Wrigley focuses on teaching kids about hurricanes, such as what a hurricane is and how to spot one. Along with helpful checklists to create a hurricane emergency kit, the book tells kids what to do in case of an evacuation.

This year, a second Ready Wrigley activity book debuted that focuses on earthquakes. The book, which was released just in time for National Preparedness Month in September, explains how earthquakes happen and what to do when one occurs. Directions teach kids how to “drop, cover and hold on,” and tell them what they can expect after an earthquake.

Involving kids in your family’s preparedness activities can be key to staying safe. And teaching kids about disasters and emergencies before they occur can help them be less afraid when something does occur.

Want even more preparedness info for kids? APHA’s Get Ready campaign features free preparedness games and materials for children. Visit our kids page to download them, and check out our parents page for information on talking to your kids about preparedness.

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!

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!

More than 13 million people are getting ready for earthquakes this week

What are you doing Thursday, Oct. 18, at 10:18 a.m. local time?

Get Ready and APHA will join more than 13 million people around the world to get ready for the most unpredictable kind of disaster — earthquakes!

The event is called the Great ShakeOut, and it’s designed to help people prepare for emergencies by practicing what they will do in an earthquake. This year, millions of people in the U.S. will be joined by people in Canada and Italy to hold the world’s largest earthquake drill.

To find out if your state, region or territory is participating, visit shakeout.org. You can also check for local events or sign up to hold your own. If you don’t live in an area where there are official events going on, you can still hold your own drill and sign up.

The best part is that the Great ShakeOut makes it really easy to plan an earthquake drill by providing instructions, posters, videos and even sound effects to help make your event simple and effective. There are free resources for schools, businesses, health care offices, houses of worship and your home.

So, what are you waiting for? Be part of something huge: Shake out with us this Thursday!

My Get Ready Story: Being prepared, no matter where you live

As a part of National Preparedness Month, APHA’s Get Ready campaign asked people to share their preparedness stories with us. Cyndi H., of Anaheim, Calif., shared her story about moving to a new state and how it’s helped her be more prepared.

“I’m originally from Florida, so my idea of disaster preparedness was waiting until hurricane season approached and then checking my supplies and restocking. When I moved to California a year ago, I knew my threats were different, as I now faced earthquakes and wildfires. But I wasn’t concerned and delayed my preparations, assuming I’d make a plan and gather my supplies at some point.

Then one day while at work, the earth shook. It didn’t last long and it wasn’t strong, but the message was clear: I wasn’t ready. Did I have any supplies at work or home? What kind of supplies did I need? How would I get home if the roads weren’t clear? Did I have a plan to meet up with my husband?

A good kit, like this one from the Red Cross, makes all the difference!

Now, my husband and I both travel with earthquake backpacks and have stocks of supplies at home. We carry emergency food, water, lighting, radios, first aid, batteries, copies of identification and basic tools. We conducted a home evaluation to familiarize ourselves with shut-offs for gas, water and electricity, placed emergency lighting throughout and checked our smoke detectors. We’ve also made a plan to maintain communication and meet up with each other in the case we are separated when an emergency occurs.  

A few weeks ago the ground shook again. But this time I wasn’t as startled or as worried. It only took a few hours one day to get ourselves prepared. The peace of mind I’ve gained was worth the effort.” 

Have you ever moved and realized that you needed to change your emergency plans because of new threats? Let us know in the comments!

Get ready for an earthquake: It’s the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut!

Are you ready for an earthquake? If you live in the Central United States, tomorrow is a great opportunity to practice your preparedness skills, as millions of Americans in nine states will participate in the second annual Great Central U.S. ShakeOut.

Scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 7, the ShakeOut will give residents the chance to participate in simulations so that they know what to do when an earthquake hits. As the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut website reminds us, it’s important to participate in these drills because “to react quickly you must practice often. You may only have seconds to protect yourself in an earthquake, before strong shaking knocks you down — or drops something on you."

Drop, Cover, Hold On image courtesy www.dropcoverholdon.org

Earthquake drills are important because earthquakes can happen anywhere, any time — as millions of Americans learned on the East Coast in 2011. What’s more, people can be confused by conflicting information about the best thing to do in an earthquake. While some people believe that they should run outside or get into a door frame during an earthquake, these are no longer recommended as safe practices. According to experts, the best way to protect yourself is to drop, cover and hold on.

Here’s a great video about the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut, which includes a group of children practicing a drop, cover and hold on drill.

If you don’t live in the Central U.S., there are other ShakeOut drills planned later this year for other U.S. states and around the world. Of course, you don’t have to wait to organize your own earthquake preparedness drill. There are plenty of free resources available to help you get ready.

Check out our Get Ready earthquake preparedness fact sheet, available in English (PDF) or Spanish (PDF).

For resources to plan your own earthquake drill, visit the ShakeOut website. For a fun take on home earthquake preparedness, try your hand at this online game.

If you are participating in the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut, we’d love to hear how it goes. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments below!