FEMA Region 6 Supports National Severe Weather Preparedness Week

DENTON, Texas – Spring storm season is just around the corner, so now is the time to prepare. With that in mind, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Region 6 office is proud to support National Severe Weather Preparedness Week which runs from March 2-8, 2014.

National Severe Weather Preparedness Week is sponsored by FEMA and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Agency (NOAA). It is designed to increase awareness of potential severe weather events and to encourage people and communities to know their risks, take action and be an example.

“Region 6 states – Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas – see a variety of spring weather threats from tornadoes to flooding,” said FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Robinson. “That’s why it’s so important to be prepared ahead of time on an individual and family basis, as well as at the community level.”

Know Your Risk: The first step to becoming weather-ready is to understand the type of hazardous weather that can affect where you live and work and how the weather could impact you and your family. Check the weather forecast regularly, get a NOAA Weather Radio and learn about Wireless Emergency Alerts.

Take Action: Before storms strike, develop a family communication plan, create or buy an emergency supplies kit and participate in a local event on April 30 through America’s PrepareAthon!

Be an Example: Share your preparedness story with your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter. Letting others know that you’re prepared could prompt them to prepare as well. Studies show that many people use social media in the event of a disaster to let relatives and friends know they are safe.

Learn more at www.weather.gov, www.ready.gov/severe-weather, www.fema.gov/americas-prepareathon or the Spanish-language web site www.listo.gov. Follow the National Weather Service @nws and FEMA @readygov on Twitter.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.  Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/femaregion6 and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.