Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: <br />September 7, 2005 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. <br />SUBJECT: National Preparedness Month in <br />DEPARTMENT: Emergency Management <br />Cou <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) <br />No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Proclamation <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Jack Ball, 968-2050 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To designate the month of September 2005 as National Preparedness Month in <br />Orange County. <br />BACKGROUND: The United States Department of Homeland Security, the American Red <br />Cross, the International Association of Emergency Managers, the National Association of <br />Counties, and 124 other entities have formed a coalition to engage Americans in emergency <br />preparedness by continuing the National Preparedness Month for September 2005. The <br />Orange County Department of Emergency Management encourages all residents to use this <br />time to educate their families about preparing for all types of emergencies. <br />Hurricanes Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne impacted North Carolina in 2004 and left communities of <br />western North Carolina with devastation from which recovery continues a year later. These <br />communities experienced extreme flooding, power outages, and landslides from the storms. <br />The impacts from these hurricanes, and the memories of prior events that have affected <br />Orange County, such as the December 2002 ice storm, should reinforce residents' <br />understanding that they should be prepared at all times to be self-sustaining for seventy-two <br />(72) hours, at a minimum, in the event government or volunteer emergency response agencies <br />cannot reach them immediately after a disaster. Residents should maintain a kit that will <br />support everyone in the family for a minimum of 72 hours. The kit should also include a NOAA <br />weather radio to provide information on all hazards, twenty-four (24) hours a day. Information <br />on compiling such kits may be found at Orange County Emergency Management's new <br />preparedness website www.readyorange.org or by calling 919-968-2050. <br />This is a good time for families to re-educate themselves about what to do during an <br />emergency, revisit and revise family emergency plans, update the list of important telephone <br />numbers, and double-check the family disaster supplies kit.