With National Preparedness Month in full swing, now is a great time for counties to encourage their citizens to start thinking about and preparing for future events.
Kentucky has been no stranger to disaster the past few years, both large, such as the tornadoes and floods, and small, like house fires and vehicle accidents.
No matter the size, all these events can be both devastating and traumatic for those involved, and that can sometimes make it hard to think and talk about with our families and friends.
However, avoiding these difficult conversations is NOT the best way to deal with critical situations. In an emergency, sometimes seconds can be the difference between positive and catastrophic results. That’s why it’s vital to have a plan, and you can’t have a complete plan if you don’t first have a conversation.
The theme of National Preparedness Month for 2024 is “Start a Conversation.”
It encourages people to set aside time and discuss with their families the actions they will take in the event of an emergency, and to begin to formulate their plan on how their household would react in emergency and hazardous situations.
FEMA’s ready.gov website offers several resources and toolkits in multiple languages to assist in this process. For those who already may have a plan, this month is a great time to ensure that it is ready to execute by doing things like checking the batteries in your flashlights and smoke/carbon monoxide alarms, rotating your bottled water stock, checking your blankets for pests or insects, or ensuring that your vehicle’s maintenance is performed.
For county governments, National Preparedness Month is a great time to review your Emergency Operations Plans and Continuity Plans.
Start a conversation about what the county will do and how it will respond when disaster strikes. Schedule a tabletop exercise, hold a fire drill or visit your road department with your first responders to check on the status of their equipment.
Nothing has the potential to derail a response quicker than expecting a certain piece of equipment to be available only to find that it is out of service.
Also, for those counties that are not yet “Storm Ready,” becoming certified through the National Weather Service is a great way for a county to show their commitment to disaster preparedness.
Finally, engage your residents. It is hard to get accurate numbers, but statistics seem to show that less than 5% of the population has a complete emergency plan, and less than 25% have even discussed it.
Resources run scarce quickly in a disaster response, so ready and resilient residents can help alleviate that issue. The NACo website has resources that you can use to highlight your preparedness efforts and engage via social media at www.naco.org/resource/2024-national-preparedness-month-county-participation-toolkit.
As always, KACo stands ready to assist. Please do not ever hesitate to reach out to me (jon.kovach@kaco.org) for advice or assistance. With everyone working together, we can help our homes, counties and our state to be more prepared the next time an emergency strikes.
