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Personal Preparedness
Discuss with your family and friends about what you will do in case of an emergency. Get a plan in writing and be sure to write down specifics on how your household will respond. A template can be used such as this or you can create your own with some basic information.
Meeting Places: Determine two locations to reunite with your household:
1) Near your home in case of a sudden emergency, such as a fire disaster
2) A specific location away from your home in case you cannot return or need to evacuate your home. Make sure this option would be far enough away from the potential hazard that it is accessible.
Establish an out-of-area contact: Local phone lines may be down or overloaded following a disaster. An out-of-area contact can relay information back and forth and establish a list of all family members status and location. See more on out-of-area contacts here.
Write down emergency contact phone numbers: In an emergency, do not rely on the contacts in your cell phone, there may not be power to recharge it. Have a communication card handy for all family members.
Revisit your plan, at least annually and make revisions as necessary.
Build a Kit: Our new preparedness goal is to be prepared to be on your own for 14 days. Do you have what you need to survive 2 weeks without power and running water? There are endless references and ideas online to create or supplement your emergency preparedness kit. Below are a few links to get you started:
Red Cross Emergency Preparedness Kit
2 weeks ready from Oregon's Office of Emergency Management.
Build a Kit from Ready.gov : This focuses on a 72 hour kit, however it can be easily adapted to be a 14 day kit with additional food and water.
Create smaller kits for you work and vehicles. See examples of what to include (PDF).
These lists can be adapted and changed to conform to your personal needs and preferences. For those that want a kit already made, they can be found on Red Cross, Amazon, and many other retailers.
Some disasters are predictable and receiving warnings in advance can help you better prepare for the event. Here are some options to get first hand, accurate information for alerts, warnings, trainings and disaster updates:
AlertSense: Receive emergency alerts notifying you as to evacuations, crime/imminent danger and local area emergencies. Sign up for AltertSense notifications.
GovDelivery: Sign up for GovDelivery to get notifications on upcoming workshops and trainings, as well as educational disaster information and tips. Sign up now.
Local Emergency Radio Stations: Designated radio stations in Snohomish County include:
KXIR - 89.9 FM
KSER - 90.7 FM
KXA - 1520 AM and 101.1 FM
KRKO - 1380 AM
Purchase a NOAA radio: Tuning into a NOAA radio can give you continuous weather information during an emergency including warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information directly from the nearest National Weather Service Office. For more information on NOAA weather radios see information from the National Weather Service.
Actively involved individuals together make strong communities. There are many opportunities where you can make a difference:
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT):
The Everett Office of Emergency Management offers Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class every fall and spring. The 8-week training course is conducted one evening each week and covers a variety of planning, prevention, and manipulative skills aimed at surviving a disaster. Participants will be expected to attend all 8 sessions, establish a three (3) day home survival kit, obtain personal safety equipment, and be a willing team participant. CERT is about people helping people.
For more information and to sign up for a CERT class, visit our CERTpage.
Everett OEM Auxiliary Communication Service (ACS) - HAM Radio Group:
The Everett Emergency Management Office has a volunteer ACS group to help support communications in the city should regular communications fail during a disaster.
For more information and to sign up, visit our Everett Office of Emergency Management calendar.
Map Your Neighborhood program:
Neighborhoods that are prepared for emergencies and disaster situations save lives, reduce the severity of injuries and trauma and reduce property damage. In addition, contributing as an individual and working together as a team helps develop stronger communities and improve the quality of life in the community.
For more information on Map Your Neighborhood, and to start one in your neighborhood, check out our page.