WHA Safety Week: Emergency Preparedness

Every October, WHA hosts a safety week to help equip our staff with tips and tools for emergency preparedness. With WHA offices located in California, we focus on ways to prepare for earthquakes, home fires, and wildfires. Preparing before an emergency plays a vital role in ensuring that everyone has the necessary supplies, knows what to do, and how to stay safe. 

Here are four steps on how to start preparing:

1. Secure your Space

– Prepare your home before an emergency happens by securing and removing hazardous items.

– Have a professional check to see if your home is securely anchored to its foundation. Consider strengthening porches, decks, carports, chimneys and fireplaces, and garages.

2. Create a Plan

– Begin writing an earthquake emergency plan; focus on family communication. Consider that family members may not be home when an emergency occurs.

– Collect contact information for family members and other important organizations such as doctors, schools, and hospitals. Include your out-of-city contact person’s name and number, your reunion location, and the location of your emergency supplies.

– Review and practice the plan during family meetings.

3. Organize an Emergency Kit

– Have an emergency kit readily reachable. It should include three days’ supply of water and food for each member of your household and your pets. Also include flashlights and batteries, portable radios, medications, a first aid kit, and a whistle. For a full list of suggested earthquake safety preparation supplies, visit gov.

– Protecting financial and personal documents is an important step in being prepared. Store financial documents in the Cloud, in a fireproof bag, or on a portable drive kept in your emergency kit.

4. Sign up for Emergency Alerts

– Stay informed with the information you can trust. Take a few minutes to sign up for emergency alerts from your local government and other reliable sources. Visit this URL to sign up for alerts in your county: http://calalerts.org/signup.html

Suggested Apps to download:

– FEMA App

– Red Cross App

– MyShake App

Throughout the week, we gave our staff first aid kits, raffled off three fully equipped emergency kits, and awarded t-shirts to those who participated in answering questions about what they learned about safety preparedness. October serves as a reminder to the WHA staff to revisit their current emergency plans and kits and make sure they are ready to go at a moment’s notice.