Riverside County’s Emergency Management encourage people to prepare for a disaster
September is National Preparedness Month and residents of Riverside County are encouraged to prepare for disasters by registering with an alert program.
With the latest string of deadly hurricanes, wildfires across California and the massive 8.1 magnitude earthquake that just struck Mexico, It’s a good reminder to be prepared…
News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2’s Lauren Coronado asked locals if they were prepared for a natural disaster.
“No. I should, but I don’t,” said Josephine Daniels when asked if she had an emergency kit at home. And she wasn’t alone.
“No. Not at the moment,” replied Lateara Henderson.
B rian Daly says those responses are common. He’s an employee of the American Red Cross and took the trip to Houston. After seeing, firsthand, what items someone should prepare with, he gave us some tips.
“We all kind of think, ‘It’s not going to happen to me,’ and I think that’s why a lot of people in Houston stayed in their homes and didn’t leave when they were invited to do so. If we were to have an earthquake large enough, maybe some of the roads wouldn’t be passable. I faced that getting into Houston. That can be the case here. You might not be surrounded by water, but perhaps first responders would have a difficult time reaching you. At the minimum you should have enough water for everyone for three days, canned food, and any first aid items in the event that someone is hurt,” Daly said.
Shane Reichardt advises people living in Riverside County to register for the new Riverside County Emergency Management alert system.
“When there is important information to convey, this will be one of the tools we use. They can get that message on their cellphones, so even if they’re not at home to receive that, they will get notified and know that maybe there is something going on in their neighborhood. Maybe they won’t be able to get home if they need to,” Daly said.
Reichardt says their agency has home contacts but few cellphone numbers or emails. When registering, you can customize whether you prefer a text message, phone call or email.
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
Find us on Facebook: KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2
Follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates: @KESQ & @Local2
We’re on Instagram! @KESQ_News_Channel_3 & @CBSLocal2
Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
