Travis County is marking National Preparedness Month this September with a campaign focused on the theme “Preparedness Starts at Home.” The county aims to encourage residents to take simple steps toward emergency readiness, highlighting actions that can be taken in various rooms of the home.
Officials advise residents that preparedness can help in situations where sheltering-in-place is necessary due to power or water outages, or when evacuation must happen quickly. Recommended items for the kitchen include a working smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm, a multi-purpose fire extinguisher, a manual can opener, non-perishable food for three days per family member, and one gallon of water per person per day.
In bedrooms, it’s suggested to keep smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, flashlights, go-bags with essentials, phone chargers and extra batteries, battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA weather radios, and waterproof containers for important documents. For garages, officials recommend similar safety devices as well as proper storage of gasoline and propane in approved containers kept away from heat sources.
A weekly focus schedule has been outlined: Week 1 targets kitchen readiness—checking pantry expiration dates and preparing first aid kits; Week 2 focuses on bedrooms—testing exits and securing furniture; Week 3 addresses garage safety—clearing exits and labeling utility shut-off valves.
County officials also share tips such as freezing water bottles to keep food cold during outages and practicing evacuation plans regularly. According to their information, most house fires occur between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., but working smoke alarms can double survival chances. They note that text messages may be more reliable than phone calls during disasters.
Residents are encouraged to follow Travis County Emergency Services on social media platforms including Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, and Nextdoor for ongoing preparedness tips and interactive polls about home safety practices.
Resources provided include Ready.gov’s National Preparedness Campaign (https://www.ready.gov/september), the Travis County Office of Emergency Management’s National Preparedness Month page (https://www.traviscountytx.gov/emergency-services/office-of-emergency-management/national-preparedness-month), Warn Central Texas emergency alerts (https://warncentraltexas.org/), National Weather Service updates (https://www.weather.gov/), FEMA’s guide “Are you Ready?” (https://www.ready.gov/are-you-ready-guide), U.S. Fire Administration guidance on home fire safety (https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/home-fires/safety-tips/), American Red Cross advice on first-aid kits (https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/anatomy-of-a-first-aid-kit.html), TexasReady.gov disaster supply kit resources (https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/build-your-disaster-supply-kit-2023) as well as FEMA recommendations for safeguarding critical documents (https://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/efsp.pdf) and financial first aid kits (https://www.fema.gov/emergency-financial-first-aid-kit).
“Preparedness doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Small steps add up to big results.”
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