Hot Topic: Are You Ready?
If a major disaster hits Georgia, will you be ready? Do you have plans in place to make sure that you and your family can be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours following an emergency such as a hurricane, flood, or terrorist attack?
If the answer is “no,” then now’s the time to get ready and the state of Georgia has just the tool to help.
Ready Georgia is a statewide campaign supported by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) aimed at motivating Georgians to take action to prepare for a disaster. A faster and easier way to write an individual or family preparedness plan and develop a disaster kit is now at your fingertips in www.ready.ga.gov.
The ready.ga.gov web site allows you to create a “Ready Profile.” By creating your own, personal Profile, you will have access to a customized emergency plan that will include a ready checklist of items you’ll likely need following a large-scale emergency along with a communications plan so that you’ll be prepared in case you are separated from loved ones.
The main focus of Ready Georgia is to educate and empower Georgians to prepare for and respond to emergencies with three steps: get a kit, make a plan, and be informed.
Get a Kit
Recommended items for your personal preparedness kit:
• Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days.
• Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food.
• Flashlight and extra batteries.
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with extra batteries for both.
• Special items for infant, elderly or disabled family members and pets.
Make a Plan
Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to plan in advance.
• Plan places where your family will meet, both within and outside of your immediate neighborhood
• If you do not have a car, plan how you will leave if you have to evacuate
• Plan how you will care for your pets in an emergency.
• Identify an out-of-town contact.
• Be sure every member of your family knows the phone number and has coins or a prepaid phone card and cell phone to call the emergency contact.
Be Informed
• Learn more about the potential emergencies that could happen where you live, how you will be notified, and the appropriate way to respond to them.
• Contact your local emergency management agency to learn about the emergency plans that have been established in your area.
For more information on Ready Georgia or to develop your personal Ready Profile, go to ready.ga.gov.
WWW Address: http://www.gachd.org/hot-topic/are_you_ready.php