September is National Preparedness Month

Established in 2004, the goal of National Preparedness Month is to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies.  

Why is there so much focus on asking us as individuals to be prepared ? 

• The idea is that the more ready we are to react and stay safe in an emergency event, the less harm we will experience. Makes sense. Even bigger picture, if we can be somewhat self-sufficient during and immediately after an emergency, our public organizations (think: fire and rescue, law enforcement, local and federal governments, medical and utility providers) can turn their attention to broader post-emergency problems, like restoring public services and repairing infrastructure. 

There are lots of ways to prepare and lots of information about specific emergency scenarios.  Here are a few easy ways to get started or revisit your emergency plan and a printable resource at the bottom of the page:

Neighbors 

• One of the most important resources in an emergency is other people! This is backed up by research.  Communities with strong social connections are more likely to recover quickly after an emergency event.  
• Say hello to your neighbors, exchange contact info, learn about the "stuff" you each have that would be helpful in an emergency.
• Host a free (virtual or in-person) Neighborhood Ready Meeting. These are free and focus specifically on emergency planning for neighborhoods (https://www.tualatincert.org/tualatin-ready).  
• Consider joining the Tualatin Community Emergency Response Team!

Water

• Having an emergency supply of water is one of the most important things you can do to prepare for an emergency. This is because people can survive for weeks without food, but only a few days without water.
• The general rule is to have one gallon of water per person per day to last you 14 days.
• You can store your emergency water supply in your own containers or buy commercially bottled water.  
• More info from the Regional Water Providers Consortium here!

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