Emergency Preparedness

 

Emergency Preparedness

Emergencies can range from inconvenient to devastating. County Emergency Managers, the medical community and public health have been developing plans to respond to all emergencies quickly and appropriately.  Businesses, schools and other community partners have also joined in preparing for whatever emergency might come our way.

Emergencies could be weather related like ice storms, floods, or tornadoes. A fire or a train or truck caring chemicals could overturn, causing you to evacuate your home.  A pandemic could cause illness limiting your ability to leave your home.

An influenza pandemic is a very large outbreak of flu, usually affecting the entire world.  Some pandemics - like the ones in 1957 and 1968 - are relatively mild.  But another pandemic like the one in 1918 could have a devastating effect on society.  Roughly a third of the population may be sick, and another 10 percent could be reluctant to come to work.  But the impact of the disease is only part on the picture: The larger challenge may simply be to keep society running, and provide for basics like food, water, electricity and routine health care.  

Preparedness is everyone's job.  Every individual or family should have a plan for how they will respond to emergencies, just as government agencies, businesses, schools, and other service groups have been working on their emergency plans.  Each person must be ready to act on their own.  One of the keys for the safety of your family is to be prepared for the first 24 to 72 hours of an emergency.  Start today to prepare for an emergency.

For tips on making a Family Emergency Plan, visit https://www.ready.gov/plan

 

Emergency Volunteer Program

Countryside Public Health encourages locals to sign up for the Minnesota Responds Emergency Volunteer program. 

Minnesota Responds is a partnership that integrates and engages local, regional, and statewide volunteer programs to strengthen public health and health care, reduce vulnerability, build resilience, and improve preparedness, response and recovery capabilities.

Local volunteer coordinators mobilize health and "non-health" volunteers to respond to emergencies and/or improve health capacity within their community, or if the volunteer is interested, within the state. Whether you work in a health field or not, active or retired, if you have an interest in assisting your community or state, we invite you to register in Minnesota Responds.

To sign up for MN Responds, please go to their website at www.mnresponds.org

 

ChildCareAware of America: Help Child Care Programs PREPARE, RESPOND, and RECOVER from Natural Disasters and Emergencies.  www.childcareprepare.org

 

 

 

Editable Region