Resolve to be Ready in 2013

Make emergency preparedness a New Year’s resolution. With the start of a new year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is reminding Americans to Resolve to be Ready for emergencies in 2013 through a national public awareness campaign. Led by FEMA’s Ready campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and the Ad Council, this year’s emphasis includes integrating smartphones into preparedness plans. As a simple resolution, the Ready campaign is encouraging smartphone owners (more than half of mobile phone owners in the U.S.) to turn the technology in their purses and pockets into a life-saving tool during and after an emergency or disaster. 

Through the use of everyday smartphone technology, individuals, families, responders and organizations can successfully prepare for, adapt to and recover from disruptions brought on by emergencies and/or disasters. Emergencies can strike with little or no warning but by making this resolution and following simple steps to prepare in advance, Americans are more likely to know what to do in an emergency, such as winter storms and power outages.

For more information visit Ready.gov and Citizen Corps or follow the campaign on Twitter using the hashtag #R2BR2013.