Make Emergency Preparedness Your New Year's Resolution
Clark County emergency managers are encouraging residents to make emergency preparedness their New Year’s resolution.
“The new year is a good time for families and local businesses and organizations to think about emergency preparedness,” said Clark County Fire Department Deputy Chief Billy Samuels, who oversees the County’s Emergency Management Office. “Emergencies by definition are unpredictable but there are some key steps people can take to help themselves stay safe in the event of an emergency.”
Local emergency managers recommend two free apps to help people prepare for emergencies. Both can be downloaded from the Apple Store or Google Play. The Southern Nevada Community Preparedness App at https://southern-nevada-community-preparedness-app-lasvegas.hub.arcgis.com/ offers resources to help families create personalized emergency preparedness plans and disaster supply kits. Subscribers can receive emergency warnings and other information as well. Additionally, the public also can sign up to receive alerts only via text or email through a community notification system called CodeRED at https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/BF1085069456. The key steps for emergency preparedness are:
- Make a plan. Talk to your family about how you will communicate before, during, and after a disaster, and how you will connect if separated. Choose a primary and secondary meeting place in case an emergency affects your home or neighborhood and designate an out-of-state contact for family members to call if separated. Teach youth to prepare for emergencies. Businesses, community organizations and families should participate in safety drills and exercises.
- Build a kit. Gather supplies that will last for several days after a disaster for everyone living in your household including food and water. Consider the unique needs each person or pet may have in case you have to evacuate quickly. Include provisions for infants and medically fragile family members. You also should prepare an emergency kit for your car.
- Be informed. Know the risk of dangers in your area and check your insurance coverage. The top hazards identified in Southern Nevada are communicable disease, wildfire, flooding, earthquake and extreme heat. Power outages also can occur. In an emergency, stay tuned to local TV or radio stations for alerts, instructions, and official notifications. Follow Clark County on social media @ClarkCountyNV.
To learn more, visit the Fire Department’s website pages at https://ClarkCountyNV.gov/fire. County Emergency Management staff may be available to talk to community groups. Requests can be directed to (702) 455-5715. In addition, Clark County Television (CCTV) has created emergency preparedness PSAs on different topics that have been shared widely with local news media and on County social media sites including an earthquake safety video featuring The Scott Brothers, Drew and Jonathan Scott: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwbJhENzVCg.
Officials also encourage the public to remember the “See Something, Say Something” campaign. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security developed the campaign to thwart terrorism and other criminal activity by encouraging citizens to report suspicious activity to the proper state and local law enforcement agencies. As part of the effort, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center have set up a 24-hour hotline for the public to report suspicious activity at (702) 828-8386. A CCTV PSA about the resource also is available on Clark County’s YouTube site at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xWmWg3Oitw.
These other emergency preparedness resources also may be helpful:
- Federal Emergency Management Agency: www.Ready.gov
- American Red Cross: www.redcross.org
- Southern Nevada Health District: www.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org
- Nevada Division of Emergency Management: www.dem.nv.gov
- Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department: www.lvmpd.com.
- Clark County Regional Flood Control District: https://www.regionalflood.org/
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Clark County is a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to providing top-quality service with integrity, respect and accountability. With jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and covering an area the size of New Jersey, Clark is the nation’s 11th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to 2.3 million citizens and 45.6 million visitors a year (2019). Included are the nation’s 8th-busiest airport, air quality compliance, social services and the state’s largest public hospital, University Medical Center. The County also provides municipal services that are traditionally provided by cities to 1 million residents in the unincorporated area. Those include fire protection, roads and other public works, parks and recreation, and planning and development.