Disasters Can Happen Any Time in Kane County; September Is the Month to Prepare
Each year, September is recognized as National Preparedness Month. This year’s theme is “Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.”
Don Bryant, director of the Kane County Office of Emergency Management, is asking residents to take action. Do you know what you’ll need? Do you know where to go? Where will you connect with your family?
“Each year September serves as a reminder that we must dedicate ourselves to preparing for the types of emergencies and disasters that could affect us where we live, work, and play,” he said.
Four of the five weeks in September raise awareness about disasters including floods, wildfires, hurricanes and power outages. These themes call attention to emergencies and disasters that could happen across the country this time of year. The fifth week leads up to the National PrepareAthon! Day on Sept. 30 when the nation will come together to take action and practice their preparedness in advance of an emergency.
2015 Weekly Themes
- Week 1: Sept. 1-5 — Flood
- Week 2: Sept. 6-12 — Wildfire
- Week 3: Sept. 13-19 — Hurricane
- Week 4: Sept. 14-26 — Power Outage
- Week 5: Sept. 27-30 — Lead up to National PrepareAthon! Day
What Will You Need?
In extreme situations resources may not be immediately available to you. Take action today and develop an emergency kit. Your emergency kit contains basic items you and your family may need if an emergency happens. Most of these items can be found around your home, and should be collected into one place before a disaster happens in case you need to evacuate at a moment’s notice. If you do not have these items, consider low‐cost sources in your community to purchase them ‐ such as your discount grocery store or retailer. Also, consider making additional purchases over time to increase your preparedness while making the kit affordable. Click here to download the Emergency Kit list.
Remember to check your kit on a regular basis. Some items in the kit can expire ‐ like canned food and bottled water. If you check your kit regularly, you can swap out these items with fresh supplies and use the canned goods for regular purposes, like including them in lunch or dinner. Read more here.
Will You Know Where To Go?
Your local emergency officials have information on emergencies that might impact your community, how to get information if a disaster happens, how to evacuate and how you can sign-up for more information. Please see below for your local emergency management agency site. Click below for specific information pertaining to Illinois. Read more here.
Where Will You Reconnect With Your Family?
Having an emergency plan in place before an emergency or disaster allows you to determine how to protect yourself and your family and how to get back in touch with your family in an emergency: floods, fire, severe storms, etc. It is important to ensure the whole family is a part of the planning process so that your plan addresses everyone’s needs. This might include your kids, elderly family members, or even neighbors. A Family Emergency Plan will help you identify what to do in different emergencies and to talk with those you love about how to get in touch with each other.
A part of developing your emergency plan is to familiarize yourself with emergency plans at places that are a part of your everyday life, such as school, work, church, or day care. Read more here.
For more information on how you can get started visit gearupgetready.org.
