# 7436
National Preparedness Month (September) is just 60 days away, and along with thousands of others across the country, AFD blog is once again proud to be part of this year’s NPM coalition.
As you can see by the chart above, the number of coalition members has quadrupled since 2010.
Members consist of individuals, organizations, and businesses . . . and you are encouraged to join as well.
Interested in preparedness throughout the year? If so, continue here to Pledge to Prepare. By Pledging you will become part of the National Preparedness Coalition. There is no cost or obligation in doing so. As a Coalition Member, you will have access to exclusive resources and be able to collaborate with thousands of fellow members across the country on ways to participate and get your community involved.
While I promote preparedness year-round, twice each year this blog makes a concerted `preparedness push’; first in late May to kick off Hurricane season, and again in September for National Preparedness Month.
The goal of NPM2013 is to foster a culture of national preparedness, and to encourage everyone to plan and be prepared to deal with an event where they can go at least three days without electricity, running water, local services, or access to a supermarket.
These are, of course, minimum goals.
The disruptions following hurricanes, tornado outbreaks, floods, and other natural disasters often run for days or even weeks, and so – if you are able to do so - being prepared for 10 days to 2 weeks makes a good deal of sense (see When 72 Hours Isn’t Enough).
As a Floridian, my preparedness plans are somewhat hurricane-centric, as these massive storms provide the most likely disaster scenario for my area. But my disaster plans are appropriate for other disaster scenarios as well.
In addition to being prepared to shelter-in-place for up to two weeks, I have a network of trusted disaster buddies to whom I can turn in an emergency (as can they to me), several pre-arranged evacuation destinations should I need to `get out of Dodge’, and a 72-hour bug-out bag I can grab at a moment’s notice.
My Bug-out-bag, Canteen, & Toiletry kit
I also keep an overnight bag, and a fully equipped first aid kit, in the trunk of my car . . . just in case (see Inside My Auto First Aid Kit).
My investment in preparedness is relatively small – only a few hundred dollars – which I consider cheap insurance. But if a hurricane, a pandemic, or some other disaster strikes, I’ll be in a much better position to cope.
As I tell people, preparing is easy. It’s worrying that’s hard.
While the federal government will respond during any major disaster, they know it may take days or longer to reach everyone and to restore essential services. Which is why they encourage all individuals, families, business owners, and communities to become better prepared to deal with all types of disasters.
I would invite you visit the following preparedness sites.
FEMA http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm
READY.GOV http://www.ready.gov/
AMERICAN RED CROSS http://www.redcross.org/
If you are on Twitter, I would suggest you follow @FEMA, @CraigatFEMA, and @ReadyGov.
And finally, a few of my own preparedness articles include:
In An Emergency, Who Has Your Back?
