Throughout the United States, public safety and emergency personnel at national, state and local levels are encouraging people to be prepared for emergencies. The 2015 theme for September as National Preparedness Month is “Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.”
There are five weeks in September this year and each week will concentrate on specific preparedness messages:
Week 1 – September 1 – 5 Flooding
Week 2 – September 6 – 12 Pet Preparedness
Week 3 – September 13 – 19 Emergency Awareness
Week 4 – September 14 – 26 Power & Utility Outages
Week 5 – September 27 – 30 Emergency Planning & Kit Building
“People who live and work in Fayette County are partially prepared for emergencies,” says Pat Dugger, Director of Lexington’s Division of Emergency Management. “What we want them to do this month is to be more aware of what the real threats are here in Lexington and how to be ready.”
The most significant threats in Lexington are weather-related. Ice storms, high heat and extreme cold as well as severe thunderstorms, flooding, tornadoes and damaging straight-line winds have all occurred in central Kentucky over the past decade. These and other events can cause power outages that can last several days.
Lexington is at the intersection of two major interstate highways – I-64 and I-75 – as well as two major railroad lines. Every day, thousands of tons of dangerous and hazardous materials are transported through Fayette County. Residents need to be prepared for an accident involving hazardous materials.
There are four important things to do in order to be prepared:
Be Aware – Stay up-to-date with local weather forecasts and news events. Listen to radio, watch television newscasts or check in with online or mobile phone websites and apps.
Make a Plan – Think ahead and decide where you’d go to meet if family members couldn’t go home in case of an emergency. Make a printed list of important phone numbers and give copies to family members. More about emergency planning is available at: http://bereadylexington.com/make-a-plan/
Build a Kit – During an emergency, you and family members need to be prepared to go it alone for the first 72 hours. An emergency kit has food, water, clothing, copies of important documents and other supplies you’ll need to live for those first three days. More about what you should put in your emergency kit is available at: http://bereadylexington.com/emergency-kits/
Get Involved – Before an emergency, there are many ways to get involved and learn about what to do during an emergency. Take a CPR and/or first aid class, or get involved with some of the programs that teach how to offer air in an emergency. More about those programs is available at: http://bereadylexington.com/get-involved/
More general information about emergency preparedness is available from the Division of Emergency Management website: BeReadyLexington.com. Information from the division is also available through the DEM Facebook page: LexingtonKYEM and the DEM Twitter account: @lexkyem.
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For more information:
John Bobel
Public Information Officer
Office: 859-258-3859
Mobile: 859-213-6791
Email: jbobel@lexingtonky.gov
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