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.

Tips for staying safe this tornado season

As this week’s devastation in Oklahoma shows, tornadoes are among the most violent storms. The tornado that ripped through Moore, Okla., on May 20 left many residents injured and without homes and cost numerous lives.

Unfortunately, tornadoes can strike with little or no warning, destroying entire neighborhoods in just a few minutes. But there are some things you can do to improve your safety.

• Know the signs. Tornadoes often happen during thunderstorms. You should look out for dark, greenish skies; large hail; a large, dark, low-lying cloud; a visible, rotating funnel; or a loud roar. Get to know your local warning system and keep a battery run radio ready to go. If there’s a tornado watch, listen for weather updates and be prepared to shelter. If there’s a tornado warning, it means a tornado has been sighted and you should act now to find shelter.
• Prepare your home. Pick a safe room in your house that is most secure for your family and pets. Ideally, it should be underground or in the basement. If that’s not an option, then you should pick somewhere with no windows. Put together an emergency stockpile kit and store it somewhere easy to access in an emergency. And be sure to practice your drill.
• Know where to go. If you're in a car, seek shelter in a sturdy building. If there is flying debris while you are driving, pull over and park. As a last resort, you can stay in your car with your seat belt on, lowering your head down below the windows and covering it with your hands and a blanket, if available. Another last resort option is to get out of your car, find a place that is noticeably lower than the level of the road and lie in it, covering your head with your hands. Your choice should be decided based on circumstances.

Check out our Get Ready tornado fact sheet for more information and get tips for preparing a safe room from Ready.gov.

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!

 

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!