Since its inception in 2004, National Preparedness Month has been observed in the U.S. each September.1 Sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within the Department of Homeland Security, National Preparedness Month encourages Americans to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, schools, and communities. FEMA’s Ready Campaign, the correlating public education outreach campaign, disseminates information to help the general public prepare for and respond to emergencies, including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks.2

Since September 11, 2001, the US Government has encouraged all citizens to make their own survival preparations.3 September was chosen as National Preparedness Month, as the tragedies of September 11, 2001 highlighted to the nation the importance of being prepared. Also September has been chosen partly because of the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is in mid-September.4

This year’s theme is:

If you are interested in learning more about National Preparedness Month, visit the website Ready.gov. You will find emergency plan templates you can use to prepare a disaster plan for your community, your family, and your pets. While the plan itself is important, making sure your family members and friends know the plan, is critical.

For each week of National Preparedness Month, there is a specific theme:

  • Week 1: September 1-5 — Flood 
  • Week 2: September 6-12 — Wildfire 
  • Week 3: September 13-19 — Hurricane 
  • Week 4: September 20-26 — Power Outage
  • Week 5: September 27-30 — Lead up to National PrepareAthon! Day (September 30th )

FEMA has prepared several hazard-specific resources that are designed to help you plan, conduct, and promote your preparedness activities and discussions:

http://community.fema.gov/take-action/hazards

Since it is National Preparedness Month, it is a good time to ask yourself: If an emergency happened tomorrow, would I be ready?

I leave you with this quote:

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
      —Benjamin Franklin

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Preparedness_Month
2 Id.
3 Id.
4 Id.