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Emergency Preparedness
Preparedness is a responsibility for every Ohio resident. We cannot control the world around us, but we can be ready when disaster strikes. Help ensure both you and your family are prepared for hazards such as natural disasters, power outages, or intentional acts by starting with the following:
- Get a Kit, Be Ready webpage.
- Pet Preparedness webpage.
Help others! When you know you are prepared, give back to your community by donating items or funds to a local charity or food bank. Additionally, one of the best ways to give back to your community is to donate your time:
- Ohio Responds : a personalized volunteer opportunity site shared by the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (Ohio EMA) and ODH.
- Medical Reserve Corps : The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a national network of volunteers, organized locally to improve the health and safety of their communities. MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals, as well as other community members without healthcare backgrounds.
- Red Cross: An international organization dedicated to providing assistance in a variety of ways.
Preparedness and Extreme Weather Resources
Planning may seem like an afterthought, but disaster could strike at any time and it is important to know how to prepare yourself for different circumstances. When creating an emergency preparedness plan, be sure to include the following information:
- How will you and your family receive emergency alerts and warnings?
- What is your shelter plan?
- What is your evacuation plan if you need to leave your residence?
- What is the family/household communication plan to get in touch with each other?
Please visit Ready.gov and the Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness to find sample plans to help with all of your preparedness needs. The Ohio Department of Health Public Health Extreme Weather Resource Guide also provides for more information on preparing and responding to extreme weather events.
When making your preparedness plans be sure to include any special needs for every member in the household. Keep in mind some of these factors:
- Different ages of members of your household
- Dietary needs
- Medical needs including prescriptions and equipment
- Disabilities or access and functional needs
- Pets or service animals
- Cultural and religious considerations.
It’s important that your family and household members have an emergency plan along with a communication plan. You can use this as a guide and add or remove items pertaining to your household and the emergency.
- For resources on emergency and communications plans for businesses and families, go to Ready.gov.
- For family disaster preparedness plans, visit the American Red Cross for more information.
Practice the plan with your family/household. Even though emergency response skills won’t be used every day, those abilities need to be utilized often enough that when the time comes, everyone can recall them and act quickly. Drills give everyone the chance to get things right before they are in a critical situation and can also identify plan shortcomings so that they can be corrected before an emergency.
- If you live in a more rural area of Ohio with livestock, visit the Center for Food Security and Public Health for the farm emergency preparedness plan.
- Other helpful resources include prep4agthreats.org resources and contacts for agricultural purposes. Ready.gov also has good resources for plans and what to do in case of emergencies.