Preparedness Guidance

Public Education Programs
NEMCo provides free-of-charge presentations and workshops to groups and organizations about how to prepare for an emergency or a disaster. The presentations can be 30 minutes to half a day in length depending on group needs.

Be Prepared, Not Scared!
During the first few hours or days following a disaster, essential services may not be available. People must be ready to act on their own. Being prepared at home is the single most important thing to help your family and the community.

This page will provide detailed information about being 2 Weeks Ready (PDF) for you and your family. Emergency responders once said three days of supplies was what you needed in case of a major earthquake or other disaster. Now, it's two weeks in the Pacific Northwest. This recommendation was revised after the June 2016 Cascadia Rising drill, which tested the Pacific Northwest's ability to not only survive but to recover from a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and resulting tsunami. The results found that residents and state emergency response teams were not ready to fully respond, which means that local communities will need to be prepared to take care of themselves for a while. 

South County Fire provides a FREE one-hour online Disaster Preparedness training. You learn how to prepare and care for yourself, your family, your neighbors, friends and community in a disaster. You will learn:

• Disasters known to the Pacific Northwest.

• How to start a preparedness kit.

• Basic steps to creating a disaster plan.

• How and when to shut off utilities.

Start preparing today! Click here to take the Disaster Preparedness course.

You can find additional resources at www.ready.gov