National Preparedness Month Encourages Residents to Plan Before Disaster Strikes
In La Verne, we face risks from earthquakes, wildfires, extreme heat, flooding, and other emergencies. Follow these tips to help you and your family stay prepared.
✅ Make a Plan
✅ Build a Go Bag
✅ Stay Informed
September is National Preparedness Month, an annual campaign encouraging Americans to prepare for emergencies and disasters before they occur.
This year’s theme, “Americans Stand Ready,” emphasizes the role individuals and families play in strengthening their communities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends that households understand their local risks, make an emergency plan, assemble supplies and sign up for alerts.
Preparedness is particularly important in La Verne, where the City’s hazard mitigation planning process has identified potential threats including earthquakes, wildfires, extreme temperatures, strong winds, flooding, landslides, drought and dam failure. Emergencies can also trigger power outages and interrupt water, transportation and communication systems.
Professional first responders could be overwhelmed or delayed following a major disaster. Residents may need to care for themselves, their families and their neighbors until help arrives.
You can prepare by creating a household emergency plan, building a go bag kit, and staying informed.
Make a Plan
Create a communication and evacuation plan, accounting for children, older adults, people with disabilities and pets.
Build a Go Bag
Assemble an emergency supply kit, or Go Bag, for everyone in your household. Use 3-Day Emergency Go Bag checklist to guide you.
If you have have pets, they will need a go bag too. Use the Pet Emergency Go Bag Checklist below to guide you.
Stay Informed
California residents can learn about county alert systems through CalAlerts. You can also sign up from alerts from LA County and La Verne.
📲 Sign up for Alert LA County
📲 Sign up for La Verne alerts through Nixle. Text 91750 to 888777 Alerts are available in English and Spanish.
📲 Download Genasys Protect, a free emergency alert and evacuation app.
If you're interested in more extensive preparation, you can enroll in La Verne’s free Community Emergency Response Team training. The program teaches adults basic disaster response skills, including fire suppression, first aid, medical triage, light search and rescue, utility control and disaster psychology.
🔥 Learn More About Fire Prevention & Safety
Staci Baird
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