IEMA Joins Nationwide Campaign to Encourage Disaster Preparedness

‘Disasters Don’t Plan Ahead. You Can.” is Theme for National Preparedness Month in September

SPRINGFIELD – September is National Preparedness Month and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) is joining with emergency management agencies throughout the state and across the U.S. to encourage people to spend a few moments during the month on disaster preparedness.

The campaign’s theme Disasters Don’t Plan Ahead. You Can. urges people to set aside time to discuss emergency plans with family members and develop a plan to stay safe when disaster strikes. The goal of this annual preparedness push is to increase personal and community disaster preparedness throughout the U.S.

"We never know when the next disaster will strike, but there are actions we can take to be better prepared for the unexpected," said IEMA Director James K. Joseph. "As we are seeing with Hurricane Harvey, even an expected weather event can have unexpected devastating consequences."

Throughout September, IEMA will offer tips and information on how to develop a family emergency communication plan, assemble an emergency supply kit, as well as ways to receive critical emergency warnings.

IEMA offers disaster preparedness information on the Ready Illinois website (www.Ready.Illinois.gov), a one-stop resource for detailed information about what to do before, during and after disasters.

In addition, throughout September IEMA will post daily preparedness tips on the Ready Illinois Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ReadyIllinois​) and Twitter (@ReadyIllinois).

During disasters, IEMA uses the Ready Illinois website, Facebook and Twitter pages to provide critical information about the incident, including shelter locations, road closures, safety information, photos and more.