America’s PrepareAthon is a Campaign to Increase Preparedness
Tim Manning, Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness at FEMA and Dr. Russell Schneider, Director of NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center
(Washington, D.C., Thursday, April 14, 2016) – America’s PrepareAthon is a campaign to increase the number of individuals who understand which disasters could happen in their community, what to do to be safe and mitigate damage, and how to take action to increase their preparedness and participate in community resilience planning.
Tornados can happen quickly with very little warning, and the effects can be devastating if you’re not prepared. There are a few important things you can do right now to make sure you’re ready for a possible tornado.
Tim Manning, Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness at FEMA, talked recently about the importance of having an emergency plan in place.
MANNING:
TORNADOES CAN BE VIOLENT AND FAST-MOVING, AND OFTEN STRIKE WITH LITTLE WARNING. THE BETTER PREPARED YOU ARE, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF SURVIVING.
MAKE SURE YOUR CELL PHONE RECEIVES WARNINGS FROM THE WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM.
AND PROTECT YOUR FAMILY WITH AN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS PLAN. MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH EACH OTHER BEFORE A DISASTER.
AND WHEREVER YOU SPEND A LOT OF TIME – AT HOME, WORK, SCHOOL – KNOW WHERE YOU SHOULD GO TO QUICKLY SEEK SHELTER FROM A TORNADO. THEN PRACTICE GOING TO THAT SHELTER OR SAFE ROOM SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHEN IT ACTUALLY HAPPENS.
Dr. Russell Schneider, Director of NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, based in Norman Oklahoma, talked recently about taking steps now to prepare for emergencies.
SCHNEIDER:
AT THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER, OUR TEAM OF WEATHER PROFESSIONALS IS ABLE TO FORECAST CONDITIONS THAT CAN LEAD TO SEVERE WEATHER AND TORNADOES SEVERAL DAYS IN ADVANCE. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS THE TECHNOLOGY TO TRACK STORMS AND PROVIDE UPDATES BY THE HOUR – AND EVEN BY THE MINUTE – IN ORDER TO GIVE YOU AS MUCH ADVANCED WARNING AS POSSIBLE.
BUT DON’T WAIT UNTIL YOU RECEIVE THE TORNADO WARNING. YOU CAN – AND SHOULD – PREPARE NOW. FOR EXAMPLE…
PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTS AS WELL AS OTHER TRUSTED WEATHER SOURCES. THEY PROVIDE THE MOST UP-TO-THE-MINUTE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
CONSIDER BUYING A NOAA WEATHER RADIO. IT PROVIDES BROADCAST ALERTS 24 HOURS A DAY DIRECTLY FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, AND YOU CAN BUY THEM ONLINE OR AT MOST ELECTRONICS AND BIG BOX STORES.
AND FINALLY, MAKE SURE YOU AND EVERYONE IN YOUR FAMILY KNOWS WHERE TO GO FOR SHELTER – WHETHER THEY ARE AT HOME, WORK OR SCHOOL – AND THEN PRACTICE GETTING TO YOUR SAFE LOCATIONS.
For more information please visit community.fema.gov.
The campaign is coordinated by FEMA in collaboration with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, the private sector, and non-governmental organization.