September is National Preparedness Month

(COLUMBUS, OH) - September is National Preparedness Month as designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Ready campaign. National Preparedness Month (NPM) encourages Ohioans to plan ahead and prepare for disaster. Being aware, prepared, and remaining resilient are an essential part of a safer community.

This year's topic is resilience with a focus on diverse communities such as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, intending to shed light on emergency messaging and how to better reach all Ohioans with information on preparing for and recovering from disasters.

"Ensuring that all Ohioans know where to get emergency communications is very important," said Ohio EMA Executive Director Sima Merick. "This year's National Preparedness Month focus aims to help communities in Ohio that may have barriers to receiving critical safety and preparedness information."

The 2024 National Preparedness Month brings attention to the challenges different communities in Ohio face that hinder their ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, as well as focusing on building resilient communities.

Consider the many types of emergencies and disasters and the impacts they pose. What can Ohioans do to be prepared and stay safe? One way to prepare is by making an emergency plan, including preparing an emergency kit in advance. When making a plan, consider the following:

• How will you receive emergency alerts and warnings?
• What is your household's shelter plan?
• What is your evacuation route?
• What is your family/household communication plan?
• Do you need to update your emergency preparedness kit?
• Document and Insure Your Property.

You can find information and materials in languages other than English by clicking HERE.

To learn more about preparedness and resilience, and to view Governor Mike DeWine's National Preparedness Month Proclamation, click HERE.

For more preparedness tips, follow along on Ohio EMA's social media at Ohio EMA Facebook and Ohio EMA Twitter and visit Ready.Gov.