We just received this New Year’s greeting from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Region 4 – which serves eight states in the Southeast, including the Carolinas.   Now is a great time to think about preparedness and this includes some great tips, so we decided to share it here.

If you want to learn more about individual or congregational disaster preparedness and response, we invite you to join us for our book study on A Ready Hope.   We meet on  Zoom Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm through February 6. Click here to register!  A free copy of the book is available to congregations in NC & SC that participate in the study. 

This year resolve to be prepared, here are some resolutions that we can all make to be better prepared.

• Make an emergency plan: choose a safe place to meet, learn evacuation routes, and establish an out-of-town contact.
• If you have a pet, make sure you have a photo of you and your pet together in case you get separated during a disaster.
• Get to know your neighbor and invite them to be a part of your emergency plan.
• Snap photos of important documents and save them in a secure place or online.
• Set up group text lists so you can communicate with friends and family during emergencies.
• Take a class in CPR and first aid.
• Keep and update emergency supplies; remember to include cash.
• Have back-up power sources available to charge devices in case of a power outage.
• Snap pictures of your property for insurance purposes.
• Check your insurance for coverage on disasters like floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes.
• Sign up for alerts and warnings. Download the FEMA App to get real-time alerts, safety tips, and locate open shelters.
• Remember, you don’t need to spend money to start disaster preparedness planning, Visit the low and no cost tips page on Ready.gov for additional information on how to get started.