St. Lawrence County Is a Force of Nature and You Can be Too
The St. Lawrence County Department of Emergency Services has today announced their promotion of National Severe Weather Preparedness Week March 3-9, 2013. During this week they are asking members of the community to "Be a Force of Nature" and better prepare for severe weather threats in our area.
As a committed leader for weather-readiness, Emergency Services will be highlighting ways individuals can Be a Force of Nature by knowing the risk, taking action and serving as an example.
Sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Severe Weather Preparedness Week is a nationwide effort to increase awareness of severe weather and to motivate individuals, families, businesses, and communities to take actions that will prepare them in the event of severe weather.
Each year, individuals are killed or seriously injured by tornadoes, ice storms, hurricanes and other types of severe weather, despite advance warning. In 2012, there were more than 450 weather-related fatalities and nearly 2,600 injuries. Severe weather knows no boundaries and affects every individual.
“We are committed to ensuring the safety of our community and you play an important role. By taking a few steps now you can be better prepared and assist in saving lives" said the Department Director.
NOAA and the Emergency Services recommends that you can become better aware involved by taking a few simple steps.
Know Your Risk: The first step to becoming weather-ready is to understand the type of hazardous weather that can affect where you live and work, and how the weather could impact
you and your family.
Every state in the United States has experienced tornadoes and severe
weather, so everyone is exposed to some degree of risk. The 1998 severe ice storm and more recently hurricanes Irene and Sandy hit New York causing widespread damage.
Check the weather forecast regularly and visit ready.gov/severe-weather to learn more about how to be better prepared and how you can protect your family during emergencies.
Pledge and Take Action: "Be Force of Nature" by taking the Pledge to Prepare at
ready.gov/severe-weather. When you pledge to prepare, you will take the first step to making
sure that you and your family are prepared for severe weather. This includes filling out your
family communications plan that you can email to yourself, putting an emergency kit together,
keeping important papers and valuables in a safe place, and getting involved.
Obtain a NOAA Weather Radio, and check to see if your cell phone is equipped to receive
Wireless Emergency Alerts and sign up for localized alerts from emergency management
officials. Stay informed by having multiple sources for weather alerts - NOAA Weather Radio,
Weather.gov, and Wireless Emergency Alerts. Subscribe to receive alerts at
http://www.weather.gov/subscribe.
You can also subscribe to the St. Lawrence County Citizens' Alert by sending your email address to: citalert@stlawco.org.
There is also a "Doomsday Expo" planned for 17-19 May in Ogdensburg that will feature special events, discussions and vendor exhibits to inspire community and family participation and emergency planning and preparedness.
Be an Example: Once you have taken action, share your story with your family and friends.
Create a YouTube video, post your story on Facebook, comment on a blog, or send a tweet.
Studies show that many people use social media in the event of a disaster to let relatives and
friends know they are safe. This is an important trend because people are most likely to take
preparedness steps if they observe the preparations taken by others. Social media provides the
perfect platform to demonstrate preparedness actions for others.
More information and ideas on how you can Be a Force of Nature can be found at the St. Lawrence County Emergency Services website or Ready.gov/severe-weather.
Information on the different types of severe weather such as tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flooding is available at www.weather.gov and ready.gov/severe-weather or the Spanish-language web site www.listo.gov.
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