Next month, September, is Disaster Preparedness Month and it's a great time for families to assess their own readiness to handle a natural or man made emergency (www.ready.gov).
One of the things that's always concerned me about preparing for the unknown is how exactly we'll get notified or alerted to impending danger.
What if there isn't a billowing smoke cloud to signal a fast-approaching wildfire? What if I'm not in my car, listening to the radio announcement of a hazmat-related road closure? What if the TV isn't on (which it isn't usually during the day in the office) to show the severe weather alert?
Fortunately, researching a recent article helped put my mind at ease a bit.
Most nat'l agencies (and local jurisdictions too) now offer a host of alert options -- from old-school mass phone notifications to Twitter posts, widgets and Facebook updates. Emergency warnings and information instantaneously can be sent to cell phones and laptops anywhere.
The trick, as I see it, is for residents to take the initiative to sign up for, or subscribe to, these alerts. It only takes seconds to do, and next to having an emergency supply kit ready, could mean the difference between being prepared, and not.
