The Spalding County Office of Homeland Security is hosting a Kickoff meeting in partnership with FEMA and their Preparathon campaign. The kickoff will be on Thursday January 21, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. in the meeting room at the Spalding County Annex located at 119 East Solomon Street. While everyone understands the importance of preparing, this kickoff meeting will ensure that everyone knows the resources available to assist in preparing for a disaster.
A recent Federal Emergency Management Agency survey found that nearly 60% of American adults have not practiced what to do in a disaster by participating in a disaster drill, or preparedness exercise at work, school, or home in the past year. Further, less than half of these adults have developed an emergency plan and discussed it with their household. With the number and severity of weather-related disasters on the rise, America’s Preparathon! is an opportunity for individuals, organizations and communities to take action to prepare for specific hazards through group discussions, drills and exercises.
America’s Preparathon! is a grassroots campaign for action to increase both individual and community preparedness and resilience. The goals of the campaign are to increase the number of people who understand which disasters could happen in their community, know what to do to be safe and mitigate damage, take action to increase their preparedness, and participate in community resilience planning.
On February 3, 2016 in conjunction with the statewide tornado drills, individuals, families, workplaces, schools and organizations will come together to practice simple actions to stay safe before, during, and after emergencies, including:
- Register for the local emergency notification alerts on the Spalding County website.
- Develop an emergency communication plan for your family.
- Collect important documents and keep them in a safe place.
- Have an emergency kit that can be used for the need of sheltering in place or evacuating with supplies in case water and power are unavailable.
If you would like a site evaluation for your drill or for more information, contact Spalding County EMA at (770)228-2129.