National Preparedness Month Spotlight: Build Out Your Plan

September is National Preparedness Month, and it’s time to start planning with your neighbors.

Led by our partner, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Preparedness Month is dedicated to educating and empowering Americans to prepare for emergencies that may take place in our homes, workplaces, schools, and communities. All month long, we’ll be featuring content to help you and your neighbors plan for any emergency, big or small.

Our thoughts are with the neighbors impacted by Harvey and Irma. To support recovery efforts, please visit the Red Cross.

In the face of a natural disaster, having an emergency plan is essential. However, practicing and building a plan out with your community is just as important.

FEMA created a list of items to highlight while getting your emergency plan together:

1. Build an Emergency Financial First Aid Kit which includes household, financial, and legal documentation, in addition to medical documents and contact information
2. Maintain savings for use in cases of an emergency
3. Participate in an emergency drill with your neighbors
4. Know where to access community resources near you, such as shelters or food banks
5. Safeguard your valuables
6. Switch to electronic payments to receive necessary payments and benefits online

Sharing safety tips with your neighbors on Nextdoor has proven helpful in many instances, so we created a guide with some of the best ways to utilize your Nextdoor account for emergency preparedness:

• Practice an evacuation plan. Gather your neighborhood together to practice a community emergency plan.
• Invite your nearby neighbors. Get the word out to communities surrounding yours by posting to your Nearby Neighborhoods on Nextdoor.
• Share a neighborhood emergency plan. Upload and host a document on your Nextdoor website to share preparedness tips with your neighbors.
• Post on Nextdoor. Divide responsibilities in preparation for emergencies by posting a list of urgent tasks that each of your neighbors can help out with.
• Send out an Urgent Alert. Faced with an emergency? Share your updates with neighbors in the form of an Urgent Alert to update residents in your neighborhood.
• Connect with your local public agencies. Stay informed by receiving updates from your local public agencies to receive news pertinent to your area.

Tune in next week to learn more about how to get more involved in your community’s preparedness plan with your neighbors.

Join your neighborhood on Nextdoor here.

Do you have a story about how you’ve used Nextdoor in your neighborhood? Let us know.