By Dr. Joanne Stone Wyman, SOLE H&DR Logistics Coordinator

Preparing Yourself, Your Family, Your Community & Your Business.  Do you already have a preparedness plan that guides what you’ll do in the event of a natural or man-made event that has the potential to create disastrous conditions?  With September as “National Preparedness Month” in the United States, this is a good time to create your plan or review and update the one you already have.  Depending on the severity of an event and its consequences, you may be able to shelter in place (hunker down in your home or place of business) or you may have to evacuate.  Your plan should cover both circumstances.  Whether you stay or go, some common items you’ll need include:  non-perishable food for 3-7 days; potable water at a minimum of 3 gallons/per person/per day; OTC and Rx medications; first aid supplies; important papers (mortgage, insurance policies, passport, license); battery-powered radio and light sources (no candles, please); cash; and a full tank of gas.

For tips on creating or updating your plan, start at https://www.ready.gov/september.  Once you have the basics in place, you’ll want to tailor your plan to circumstances in your state or locality. You can find a list of state emergency management agencies at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-management-agencies (up to date as of August 8, 2019).

Examples of local information you may need are: evacuation zones (if your community has completed an evacuation map); locations of shelters; state 511 contacts for road conditions; and emergency utility phone numbers.  You can find a list of state emergency management agencies at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-management-agencies (up to date as of August 8, 2019). You may need to do a web search for your local emergency management agency.

Include state and local emergency management mobile apps and social media outlets in your plan.  For instance, my home state of Virginia has an app called “Ready Virginia” where I can stash my plan, including my emergency contacts and the status of my supplies; find information about an ongoing emergency; and notify my emergency contacts that I’m safe. Similarly, North Carolina, a state to which I travel frequently also has a “ReadyNC.org” app that provides local weather, road conditions, power outages, and open shelters along with other disaster assistance information.

Supporting the Emergency Response.  As logisticians we have many skills relevant to all four phases of disaster preparedness planning and response (mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery).  On social media outlets (e.g., Facebook groups, Twitter, Instagram) I often see posts asking “how can I become involved in supporting an emergency response?” or “How can I start a career in emergency management”?  Here are some ideas:
          – Engage in Citizen Corps – https://www.ready.gov/citizen-corps
          – Become part of a Community Emergency Response Team –  https://www.ready.gov/community-emergency-response-team
          – Find a volunteer opportunity with a Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) – https://www.nvoad.org/
          – Participate in a local/regional emergency response exercise –
          – This June my local county put out a call for volunteers to participate in “Capital Fortitude”, a full-scale emergency exercise designed to evaluate the National Capital Region’s ability to dispense medication quickly, with this exercise scenario specifically focusing on an anthrax attack.”
          – If your state has an “Emergency Management Agency/Activity” [e.g., Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA)] and it has a “Reserve Corps”, put your logistics expertise to use by becoming a “Reservist”. 

Whatever path you take, make sure it’s through an organization accepted as part of the formal, recognized national emergency management framework. As logisticians, we can appreciate the pitfalls of self-deployment outside the formal system.