It's Preptember! How We Prepare for Emergencies and How You Can Too

It’s not just September, it’s Preptember! Emergency preparedness refers to the steps you take before, during, and after an emergency or natural disaster, and we all have a role to play. Here’s how:

How we prepare for public health emergencies

Nearly all emergencies and natural disasters can impact health and well-being. We assess several factors to prioritize our preparedness for certain emergencies. We look at indicators like how likely an emergency is to happen, its human, healthcare, and community impacts, and how well we feel we are prepared to respond and recover. These top five emergencies we focus on are called “hazard vulnerabilities.” This year, the top five hazard vulnerabilities we identified include:

• Cyberattack
• Supply disruption
• Epidemic
• Flash flooding
• Sustained power outages

To prepare for these top vulnerabilities, our emergency preparedness team makes sure our staff:

• Complete critical FEMA trainings. These trainings make sure our staff understand all the unique roles and responsibilities within a response. Who handles logistics? Who does the planning? Who is in charge? All of that is outlined in these trainings.
• Conduct drills and exercises with staff and other stakeholders to practice response and recovery. Unfortunately, these drills are not quite like the Emergency Response episode of Parks and Rec (as much as we’d love video scenarios from Leslie Knope). Usually, a drill means we practice a realistic, scripted scenario.
• Update plans and procedures with the most current information and lessons learned. For example, we are currently updating our internal training policy to make sure key staff have the skills and knowledge to play a crucial role in an exercise or real-life emergency.

This year, we also funded five community groups to help prepare our communities for emergencies. Some projects include:

• Opening and operating a tornado shelter, as well as providing outreach in ahead of bad weather to people experiencing homelessness
• Supporting the purchase and installation of a generator to ensure the continuity of critical mental health and substance use services
• Hosting regular community talks to educate people about emerging health threats and natural disasters

How you can prepare for emergencies

You may now be thinking to yourself: how can I make sure I am prepared? Maybe you already have a plan in place if an emergency or natural disaster happens! But you can never be too prepared. Here are a few things to make sure you are prepared as possible:

• Put together an emergency kit with food, water, and other supplies you’ll need for several days. If your family includes any pets, make sure to consider them too!
• Put together a family emergency communication plan with phone numbers, medical information, emergency meeting places, and more. You may not be together when an emergency happens.
• Read up about emergency alerts. Some will go to your phone automatically, others you must sign up for. Sign up for local alerts from Dane County Emergency Management.
• Know what you’ll need to prepare if you must shelter at home, at the place you’re in when an emergency happens, or at a mass care shelter.
• Make an evacuation plan: how you’ll leave, where you’ll go, places that take pets, and more.

Ready.gov is an excellent resource for checklists and preparedness information. Starting a conversation today can help you and your family take more steps to get ready and stay safe during an emergency or disaster!