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The United States sees – on average – 60 to 80 major disasters each year (see FEMA list), and yet most Americans remain woefully unprepared to fend for themselves for even the first 72 hours.
And three days is a minimum goal, as some disasters (think Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, or a major earthquake) could cause interruptions lasting a week or longer, and federal state and local help could be spread very thin in the opening days.
Three years ago, in APHA: Some Clever Valentines Day Preparedness Messages, I highlighted some free e-cards from the APHA (American Public Health Association) that incorporated preparedness advice into the traditional Valentine’s Day message.
Every year since then, the APHA has added new cards (along with keeping many from past years), which you can use to remind your loved ones of the importance of being prepared. This year, once again, the list has grown.
Get ready with one of our free e-cards!
If you're a fan of APHA's Get Ready campaign, we know you love to be prepared as much as we do. To help you spread the message, we created some Get Ready e-cards so that you can share the importance of preparedness with your loved ones.
Browse our cards below. When you find one you'd like to send, click on the image. From there, you can share the card with friends and family!
This is just a sampling as this year there are now 36 cards to choose from.
For more on what you can do to prepare for the next disaster, visit the FEMA, or Ready.gov website, and feel free to re-visit some of my earlier preparedness blogs (below).
Preparing For An Unpredictable New Year
GridEx 2013 Preparedness Drill
Pandemic Preparedness: Taking Our Cue From The Experts
And lastly, in NPM13: The Greatest Prep Of All, I wrote about what I consider to be the most important preparedness step you can take – having, and being, a disaster buddy. Cultivating a network of family and friends to whom you can turn for help in a disaster, to who can turn to you for aid, if they need it.
Because no matter where you live, its just a matter of time before the next disaster strikes.
