The Office of Public Health and Emergency Preparedness prepares the public health response to natural disasters and manmade disasters.
It does so by working with other governmental agencies and private entities to make plans on how to respond to emergencies. It then coordinates exercises to practice these plans and to revise them as needed so that the community is prepared in an actual emergency.
These plans might include how to staff and supply shelters during a natural disaster, or how to deliver life-saving medications after a bioterrorist attack.
Now is also a good time for You to get ready for whatever might occur:
- Learn more--know which emergencies are most likely to occur and how to prepare for them. Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Emergency Preparedness website.
- Make a plan—decide where you will keep supplies, how will you evacuate, and how you will all get back together. Follow the planning steps provided at Ready.gov
- Stock food water and other supplies--enough for 3 to 7 days.
- Now is a good time to begin collecting the items on our supply list.