These tips can help you keep your household prepared for emergencies

September 8, 2025 | Jodi Baker | safety, severe weather, tips, video

September is National Preparedness Month, making this a good time to make sure your home and family are prepared for emergency.

Use the following questions to help put a plan together for your household.

How do I receive emergency alerts and warnings?
What is my shelter plan?
What is my evacuation route?
What is my family/household communication plan?
Do I need to update my emergency preparedness kit?

You should also consider the needs of the members of your household and determine who will help meet those needs. Those needs could include things like:

Household members who require assistance
Medical needs including prescriptions and equipment
Disabilities or access and functional needs including devices and equipment
Pets or service animals

You can take control before a disaster strikes by taking a few minutes to gather items you probably already have lying around your house to create a disaster preparation kit.

If you have all of these items ready to go, you’ll be able to get your family to safety more quickly in an emergency situation.

The video above provides a quick tutorial on how to prepare a disaster kit for your home.

For more National Preparedness Month recommendations and tools, see www.ready.gov/plan.

About Jodi Baker

Jodi Baker contributes stories to The Wire in addition to serving as a media liaison for OPPD. She was a reporter, working for news stations from her hometown of Omaha to San Diego, prior to joining the utility in 2013. Jodi has a bachelor’s degree in Broadcasting from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, with a minor in Criminal Justice. She’s married with two older children and two younger dogs – Shi Tzu mixes. She loves watching her daughter’s track meets, going to concerts with her husband Dave, who used to co-host a local music video program, and traveling whenever possible.

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