Kingston, NY – September is National Preparedness Month (NPM) and Ulster County Executive Mike Hein has announced the County’s continued support for this important initiative. This event, now in its thirteenth year, is a nationwide, month-long effort started by the Ready Campaign, encouraging households, businesses and communities to prepare and plan for emergencies. The 2016 National Preparedness Month theme is a continuation of last year’s theme “Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.” This initiative encourages everyone to make a plan in order to know what to do during an emergency with a continuing emphasis on preparedness for youth, older adults, and people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.
“Unfortunately, we never know when an emergency will take place as we have witnessed in the past with Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy,” said County Executive Mike Hein. “A recent Federal Emergency Management Agency survey found that nearly 60 percent of American adults have not practiced what to do in a disaster at work, school, or home in the past year, and less than half of these adults have developed an emergency plan and discussed it with their household. National Preparedness Month reminds us to be proactive and be prepared because a disaster or emergency could have life threatening implications. I urge Ulster County residents to make a plan and participate in readying themselves to be prepared for any type of emergency, which in turn will be beneficial to our families, our neighbors and our communities when faced with a crisis. For information on preparing an emergency kit or communication plan please visit https://www.ready.gov/kit, www.community.fema.gov, https://emergency.cdc.gov/preparedness/kit/disasters/ or contact the Ulster County Department of Health’s Public Health Preparedness Program at (845) 334-5540.”
Dr. Carol Smith, Ulster County Commissioner of Health and Mental Health
“This year’s theme: `Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today´ focuses on encouraging everyone to have an up-to-date contact list for those you may need to reach during a disaster. It also calls for establishing alternate methods of communication in case traditional means are not available,” said Dr. Carol Smith, Ulster County Commissioner of Health and Mental Health. “The Ulster County Department of Health, Mental Health, and other County agencies train for multiple disaster scenarios, however no amount of training can prepare you for every situation. That is why it is so important that residents do what they can to prepare to ride out disasters in the short term until help arrives, including helping our friends and neighbors who may not be able to care for themselves. Families should consider making a plan that includes who to call, where to meet and what to pack."
Steven J. Peterson, Director of Ulster County Emergency Communications
“September is recognized as National Preparedness Month. We ask that everyone take action to prepare, now and throughout the year, for the types of emergencies that could affect us where we live and work. We are looking to build a culture in Ulster County where preparedness is not just the focus of a given month, but is a part of everyday life,” said Steven J. Peterson, Director of Ulster County Emergency Communications. “`Don’t Wait, Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today´ is the theme for this September’s National Preparedness Month which focuses on preparedness for youth, older adults, and people with disabilities as well as others with access and functional needs. Weekly themes and suggested action items can be found at https://www.ready.gov/september.”
One of the key messages of National Preparedness Month - is be prepared in the event an emergency in order to be self-reliant for three days without utilities and electricity, water service, access to a supermarket or local services, or maybe even without response from police, fire or rescue. Preparing can start with four important steps:
1. Be informed about emergencies that could happen in your community, and identify sources of information in your community that will be helpful before, during and after an emergency;
2. Make a plan for what to do in an emergency. Develop a written, family (and business/organization) disaster plan and review it with everyone, so that everyone knows what to do, where to go and how to communicate in the event of a serious emergency;
3. Build an emergency supply kit; and
4. Get involved.
For more information about the Ready Campaign and National Preparedness Month, visit www.ready.gov and http://www.community.fema.gov/ or call 1-800-BE-READY (1-800-237-3239), or contact the Ulster County Department of Health – Public Health Preparedness Program at (845) 334-5540.
