Resolve to be READY

WASHINGTON - As 2011 - one of the most active years for disasters in recent history - comes to a close and Americans get ready to ring in a new year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is encouraging all Americans to Resolve to be Ready in the by making a new year's resolution to be prepared for emergencies.

As a recent report by the National Climatic Data Center highlights, 2011 has seen more billion-dollar natural disasters than any year on record. This year alone, the U.S. experienced its first hurricane landfall since 2008, the most deadly series of tornadoes since the 1950s, significant earthquakes and severe flooding - hazards that impacted every region of the country. All of these events have served as important reminders that disasters can strike anytime, anywhere, and being prepared is one of the most effective things we can do to protect our homes, businesses and loved ones.

Today, FEMA kicked off its annual campaign, Resolve to be Ready in 2012, which urges Americans to make preparedness a priority during the holiday season by making a new year's resolution to be ready for disasters or by thinking about preparedness tools for last minute gift ideas.

"One of the most important lessons we can take away from this year is that disasters can impact all of us, no matter what part of the country we live in," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. "While we can't control where or when they might hit, we can take steps in advance to prepare for them - efforts that can go a long way toward protecting our families, homes and business. Resolving to be Ready in 2012 could be the most important pledge you make this year."

By making a resolution to take a few simple steps in advance, Americans can minimize the impact of an emergency on their families, homes or businesses. To take the pledge, visit www.ready.gov/resolve or www.listo.gov, which includes free information, checklists, and guidelines about how to put together a kit, make a plan, and stay informed.

Resolve to be Ready in 2012 is a nationwide effort to increase awareness and encourage individuals, families, businesses, and communities to take action and prepare for emergencies in the New Year. This effort is led by FEMA's Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and The Advertising Council. For more information, visit Ready.gov and CitizenCorps.gov or follow the campaign on Twitter using the hashtags #ready2012 and #resolve.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

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N7XYO encourages preparedness

The following article was from PoliceOne.com and the intended audience was law enforcement officers.  However - much of the information could apply to ARES volunteers responding to assist served agencies during an emergency.



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Mark Conklin N7XYO SEC

ARES Oklahoma

918-232-8346



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As reports of the crisis in Japan continue to dominate the news, we're reminded that mass disasters of various types can happen anywhere, anytime. Obviously, it's critical that you and your agency candidly evaluate your level of preparedness for such an event from a professional perspective, but perhaps just as important is evaluating your family's level of preparedness.

If a mass disaster hits, you'll be called away for who knows how long and you'll need to stay focused in order to perform safely and effectively. Your attention will need to be on your job, not on concerns about your family and whether they know what to do. In the event of a crisis, do you and they feel confident that they're ready to self sufficiently function without your direction and involvement? Have you discussed things like evacuation plans and routes, emergency survival tactics, things to expect and avoid in a mass emergency involving public panic, things to do and not do in the event of water, power and/or communications loss, who best to call for help when you can't be there, discussion of the roles each family member would play in the event of an emergency (for example, that the older kids will take responsibility for the younger kids while mom or dad does whatever needs to be done).

I live in earthquake country and need to be prepared for the unexpected natural disaster at any moment in time. It just so happens that twice a year when we change the clocks for daylight savings  not only do I change the batteries in my smoke alarms, but I also tear apart and put back together again my family's earthquake kit. I make sure the clothes set aside for my son will still fit him six months from now, and the cans of food have expiration dates more than six months out. I also review with my wife our out-of-state emergency phone numbers, our primary rally points and action plans, as well as contingencies for the safety and welfare of our son at his school.

You may live in Tornado Alley, or along the coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico (where hurricane season runs from June through November). Or you may live near the many thousands of miles of underground natural gas pipelines that, when they go they really go. Wherever you are, let the disaster in Japan serve as an impetus to speak with your family about this stuff, because when a mass disaster event happens in your area, you're almost certainly going to be serving in your role as a public safety officer, not a dad, a mom, a son, or a daughter.

You'll rest much easier knowing that they'll know what to do.