Severe Weather Awareness Week — Make Sure You Are Prepared

Photo courtesy of National Weather Service

By Kassidy Ketron
Intern

It’s Severe Weather Awareness Week, which means it’s time to make sure you are prepared in case bad weather hits your city.

1. Know Your Risk

• What hazardous weather can affect the area where you live and work and how could it impact you and your family?
• Bookmark weather.gov to get the latest forecast information
• Follow the National Weather Service on Facebook and Twitter
• Read the State of the Climate reports to discover historical trends

2. Emergency Preparedness Kit

Before disaster strikes it’s a good idea to have supplies prepared that you might not otherwise think to get during the fact.

At minimum, you should have:

• Water—one gallon per person, per day (3-day supply for evacuation, 2-week supply for home)
• Food—non-perishable, easy-to-prepare items (3-day supply for evacuation, 2-week supply for home)
• Flashlight
• Battery-powered or hand-crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)
• Extra batteries
• First aid kit – Anatomy of a First Aid Kit
• Medications (7-day supply) and medical items
• Multi-purpose tool
• Sanitation and personal hygiene items
• Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies)
• Cell phone with chargers
• Family and emergency contact information
• Extra cash
• Emergency blanket
• Map(s) of the area 

3. Family Disaster Plan

It is important for your family to be as prepared as possible when faced in case of emergency, which is why we think you need to make plans and practice what you would do in such an event.

• Meet with your family or household members.
• Discuss how to prepare and respond to emergencies that are most likely to happen where you live, learn, work and play.
• Identify responsibilities for each member of your household and plan to work together as a team.
• If a family member is in the military, plan how you would respond if they were deployed.
• Plan what to do in case you are separated during an emergency
• Plan what to do if you have to evacuate 

4. First aid and CPR/AED certified

You never know what might happen during severe weather. Planning for the worst, isn’t always a bad thing. Make sure at least one person in your household is first aid and CPR/AED certified.

• Visit redcross.org/takeaclass
• Attend class
• Get certified
• Congratulations!

Severe Weather Awareness Week is a great time to learn more about where you live and the weather that can affect you. It’s also a great time to get prepared. For more information visit our website.