A New Year’s Resolution You Can Achieve: The Promise of Preparedness | Office of Emergency Management | News

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December 29, 2015

‘Tis the Season for Good Intentions.

For many, holiday traditions include making New Year’s resolutions, some of which don’t last longer than the stroke of midnight.

Resolutions are made, and surveys show are broken within only a few weeks into the new year. Researchers at University of Scranton say 40% of those surveyed for a study make resolutions, but only 8% are successful in keeping their promise to themselves.

The University of Scranton study also lists common resolutions, the top three being the obvious “Lose Weight, Get Organized, Spend Less and Save More”. The top types of resolutions all have to do with self-improvement or are education related.

Making a resolution to be better prepared for emergencies of any type falls within both self-improvement and education and is easier to achieve and keep.

Ask yourself this: Are you and your family prepared for an emergency? If you had to stay in your home for a few days, would you have what you need to stay safe, comfortable and healthy? If you had to leave your home suddenly, without time to pack anything, would you be ready to go? The time to start planning for an emergency is not in the middle of one. In an emergency, you’re either Ready, or Not.

Being prepared for emergencies is easy to do by following four steps:

Make a Family Emergency Plan.
Prepare a Go Bag and Shelter-in-Place Kit.
Be informed about the types of hazards and risks in your area and how you will respond to an emergency situation.
Sign up for ReadyPhiladelphia to get important and meaningful weather related and emergency information to your smart-phone, email or home phone.

In 2013, a FEMA survey titled “Personal Preparedness in America” revealed that on 43% of respondents said they made a household emergency plan and only 52% said they had disaster supplies in their home. Being knowledgeable and prepared for any type of emergency is one of the most essential and easiest promises you can make to yourself and you family.

Resolve to be Ready in 2016 and keep this Resolution.

An easy, essential way to be prepared is to stay informed. Get emergency alerts from OEM’s ReadyPhiladelphia program sent to your phone or email to keep you informed prior to and during an emergency. Also, look for PhilaOEM on Twitter and Facebook.