Fenty, Homeland Security Unveil New Emergency Preparedness Campaign

(Washington, DC)  Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Darrell Darnell, Director of the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) today unveiled a new emergency preparedness campaign to help residents better anticipate their needs in the event of an emergency.  A new website, 72hours.dc.gov, allows District residents to create a customized plan to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and disasters of all types.  Several types of new emergency preparedness guides have also been published, including ward-specific evacuation guides and guides for families and children.  

72hours.dc.gov is the new home of the Emergency Information Center (EIC) website. The site has been redesigned with new interactive features to make it easier for users to access information about preparedness, protective actions and local police, fire and health care facilities.  The site helps citizens answer the question, “What would you do if a major disaster hit the District?” and advises them to take four simple steps to prepare for an emergency:
•    Get informed
•    Make a Plan
•    Make an emergency kit
•    Be aware

“72hours.dc.gov allows all residents to create an evacuation and safety plan that addresses the needs of their family,” said Fenty.  “The Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency has done a great job creating ward-specific evacuation guides that give citizens the tools they need to plan for all types of emergencies.”

HSEMA developed ward evacuation guides to help residents of each of the city’s eight wards easily determine the closest and most direct route to use to evacuate their homes in the event they are directed to do so by city officials.  In addition to evacuation routes, the Ward guides also contain information about the location of schools, hospitals, police and fire facilities and designated shelter locations in each ward as well as basic protective actions for common emergencies such as severe weather.

The new preparedness guide for children Be Ready! An Emergency Guide for Kids is designed to educate and engage children ages 5 – 13 in emergency preparedness. The guide for kids will distributed through D.C. Public Schools as well as private, parochial and charter schools.

HSEMA has updated its flagship publication the Family Preparedness Guide. The updated guide expands on the information found in previous versions of the publication and includes more information about the types of emergencies that frequently occur in the District.  The guide also has sections for children and people with special needs, along with information about volunteer opportunities during emergencies, including CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) and Neighborhood Corps.  The new family preparedness guide will be distributed to each D.C. household in February 2008.