Plan your emergency kits during National Preparedness Month
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) - Families packed Veterans Park for the city’s “Be Ready Bash.” National Preparedness Month is celebrated in September each year, a time to raise awareness in the community about prepare for emergencies.
"We want to ensure that the community not only celebrates, this month for national preparedness month, but also all year long, because these emergencies can happen at any time. And it's important that we are prepared for ourselves," said the Manager for the Emergency Preparedness Program, Christina Macias.
The Department of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Management teamed up to prepare residents with hands-on demonstrations, free flu shots, and tips on building an emergency plan.
Organizers stressed the importance of emergency kits for every member of the family from child to pets.
"In your emergency kit, you want to ensure that you have everything that your family needs. And also you want to include your pets. So let's say you have three children, then you should have an emergency kit for each child. If you have pets, you want to make sure that you have an emergency kit for your pets," Macias added.
Experts shared simple steps to help families stay safe such as stocking up on food, water, and medication to last at least three days.
Creating a communications plan so loved ones know how to reach you if power or cell service goes out. map resources around your neighborhood showing fire stations and clinics.
Tips on keeping medical devices, batteries, and chargers ready to go.and storing copies of important documents in a safe place including ids, insurance, and medical records.
City leaders said that preparing now makes a huge difference once an emergency occurs. For more resources and a full check list on what you need to prepare: https://elpasoready.org/be-ready/.
