XENIA — Greene County Public Health has committed to support September as National Preparedness Month to increase awareness and preparedness throughout Greene County.
The event, now in its thirteenth year, is a nationwide, month-long effort hosted by the Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps, encouraging households, businesses and communities to prepare and plan for emergencies.
One of NPM’s key messages is: being prepared in the event of an emergency can help you to be self-reliant in the face of being without utilities and electricity, water service, access to a supermarket or local services, or maybe even without response from police, fire or rescue for up to three days. According to GCPH officials, preparing starts with four important steps:
1. Be informed about emergencies that could happen in your community, and what to do before, during and after an emergency,
2. Make a plan for what to do in an emergency,
3. Build an emergency supply kit,
4. Get involved.
GCPH officials said in a release, “Preparedness is a shared responsibility; it takes a whole community. National Preparedness Month encourages families in communities nationwide to make an emergency preparedness plan. If you already have one in place, it’s time to update it and practice it.”
For more information about the Ready Campaign and National Preparedness Month, visit www.ready.gov or call 800-BE-READY.
