With today marking the beginning of severe weather awareness week, there’s no better time to review your emergency plan and take inventory of the items in your emergency kit, says Emergency Management Director Natalie Easterday
“Severe weather can happen at any time. You should have the CodeRed app, and should have weather radios, multiple ways to receive information and to have that plan. Where are you and your family going to go if that severe weather happens? Do you have an emergency kit that has some food and water if your home was impacted? Severe weather awareness week a great time to kind of look at it, just take a few minutes to kind of get prepared for this year” said Easterday.
While preparing your kit, Easterday says a rule of thumb should be to make sure there’s enough food and water for everybody in the house for at least three days, among other items.
“Make sure to consider special needs for young kids, such as formula. Reading glasses, prescription medication, at least three days of medication, so that way if you didn’t have access right away you’d have something” reminds Easterday. “Phone chargers, car charges, throw an extra charger in there, so that way you have access. If you put canned food in your kit, make sure you have a can opener. Don’t rely on an electric can opener when the power is out.”
Easterday recommends the best thing families can do to prepare for the event of severe weather is to sit down and talk about it, should the situation arise.