NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH: A TIME TO REMEMBER. A TIME TO PREPARE

(Salisbury, MD)     As our nation marked the tenth anniversary of 9/11, remembering those lost, honoring our first responders, and renewing our commitment to prepare and plan for emergencies, the Wicomico County Health Department encourages the community to prepare and plan for any emergency while remembering these past events. 

As you’ve watched the news or experienced it first-hand, you know that emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere without notice.  Households, businesses and organizations need to prepare in the event an emergency causes you to be self-reliant for three days or longer without utilities, water, access to supermarkets or local services or maybe even without response from police, fire or rescue.  Preparing can start with three important steps:

1.  Get an emergency supply kit.  Keep enough supplies on hand for you and your family, including pets – water, non-perishable food, first aid, medications, flashlight and batteries, clothing.  Have a kit, not just at home, but one in the car and one at work.

2.  Make a plan for what to do in an emergency. Discuss and document a plan with your family, loved ones and neighbors.  You may not be together in the event of a sudden emergency. Consider how you will communicate and reconnect after an emergency. Include in your plans, those in your care who may need extra help.

3.  Be informed about emergencies that could happen and identify free resources of information in your community that will be helpful before, during, and after an emergency. 

“How ready were you in last month’s natural disasters?” asks Danny Drew, Emergency Planner for the Wicomico County Health Department. “Check your kit and restock if necessary.  Review your plan and make changes now.”  “Each one of us is part of the nation’s emergency management team and together we can keep everyone safe.”  

September is National Preparedness Month, founded after 9/11 to increase preparedness in the U.S.  Hosted by the Ready campaign and Citizens Corps, it focuses on turning awareness into action by encouraging everyone to make an emergency preparedness plan.  For more information, including checklists, posters, and brochures visit www.wicomicohealth.org, www.Ready.gov or call 1-800-BE-READY, 1-888-SE-LISTO, or TTY 1-800-462-7585.