Are You Ready?
Release Date: March 17, 2005
Release Number: 1539-407
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ORLANDO, Fla. -- With the 2005 hurricane season nearly upon us, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced publication of an updated, in-depth guide to citizen disaster preparedness titled, “Are You Ready?”
The publication is available to individuals, families and community preparedness groups who are looking for a comprehensive information source of what to do before, during and after a disaster strikes.
The guide provides a step-by-step approach to disaster preparedness by walking the reader through information on how to get informed about local emergency plans, identifying hazards that affect their area, instructing them on how to develop and maintain an emergency communications plan, and building a disaster supplies kit.
Other guide topics include evacuation, emergency public shelters, animals in disaster and information specific to people with disabilities. The preparedness facts are based on the most reliable hazard awareness and emergency education information including advances in scientific knowledge, the most accurate technical language and the latest physical research on what happens in disasters.
“Being prepared for disasters is everyone’s personal responsibility, and the ‘Are You Ready?’ guide can be a key tool to enable families to protect themselves against all hazards,” said Bill Carwile, the FEMA federal coordinating officer. “We are making these publications available to the public at all of our 21 Disaster Recovery Centers.”
To broaden the usage of the publication, a facilitator guide is available for those interested in delivering the disaster preparedness content in a classroom or small group setting. The facilitator guide includes training modules for adults and school children. It also contains a CD ROM tool-kit with resources such as customizable slides and hazard-specific fact sheets.
The guide also can be used as a study manual with credit awarded for successful completion with a 75 percent score on a final exam. Questions about the exam should be directed to www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/is or by calling 800-238-3358. College credit for the course is also being offered through Frederick Community College, Frederick, Md.
“I would encourage everyone to take the time to pick up a copy and study this publication,” said Craig Fugate, state coordinating officer with Florida’s State Emergency Response Team (SERT). “Having just experienced the devastation by four major hurricanes and their aftermath, we all should understand the necessity of being better prepared for future events.”
The 200-plus-page “Are You Ready?” guide is FEMA’s premier, preparedness resource catalog and is also available from the FEMA Web site. Log on to http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/ for your free copy. Or, receive your copy by mail from FEMA’s Publications Warehouse at 1-800-480-2520.
Four preparedness booklets supplement the guide’s information. They cover the following citizen preparedness topics: 1) Preparing for Disaster; 2) Food and Water in an Emergency; 3) Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and other Special Needs; and 4) Helping Children Cope with Disaster. Organizations are urged to use the Web site’s instructions for printing large quantities of the guide, even customizing the covers with organization seals or logos.
The State Emergency Response Team (SERT) is a collaboration of Florida’s state agencies led by the state coordinating officer. SERT’s mission is to ensure that Florida is prepared to respond to emergencies, recover from them, and mitigate their impacts. Visit www.floridadisaster.org for the latest information on the hurricane relief efforts.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Friday, 18-Mar-2005 08:00:54