COOK COUNTY – Nationwide, the month of September is recognized as Emergency Preparedness Month. Disasters happen and can strike without warning, but you can plan ahead. Great resources are available to help you and your family create an emergency plan at www.ready.gov
You can also download the free FEMA app through the App Store or Google Play for tools and alerts to help become better prepared.
Locally, Emergency Management and Public Health & Human Services, who lead the local Emergency Preparedness Committee, will have a display in the lobby of the Courthouse with helpful emergency preparedness information this week. Stop by to grab a free reusable emergency kit bag from Homeland Security & Emergency Management that tells you what to include in your emergency kits, information on how to make your property wildfire resistant, emergency preparedness resources, and more.
In addition, the Office of Emergency Management will be participating in a regional Emergency Operations Center Activation Test to help ensure the local EOC can function in the event of a community emergency.
“Emergency Preparedness Month is an opportunity to look at what you would do in the event of different emergencies and talk to your family about your needs and plans,” said Valerie Marasco, Director of Emergency Management & Public Information. “During a large community disaster, emergency responders may be tied up with critical calls and may not to be able to get to everyone immediately, we encourage people to be prepared to able to take care of themselves for 72 hours. It’s important to plan what you would do ahead of time, prepare emergency kits for your home and vehicles, have vital items like medications, documents, and extra chargers ready if you had to evacuate from your home, know you should check on, and more.”
Severe weather and disasters can happen at any time and winter is fast approaching, planning now will potentially save you money, stress, and could even save your life.
