Coachella Valley Disaster Preparedness Network hands out packets to families so they can prepare for an unexpected disaster

With the potential of wildfires, earthquakes and flooding on top of living in a pandemic, now more than ever we all need to be prepared.

Drop, cover and hold on! Do you know what to do in case of an emergency or natural disaster?

“We sit on the San Andreas fault line and many people think it’s not going to happen, well how about Ridgecrest Fourth of July weekend,? It happens,” Carla Sullivan-Dilley said. She is on the board of directors for the nonprofit Coachella Valley Disaster Preparedness Network (CVDPN).

On Tuesday, July 28, CVDPN handed out about 500 Spanish and English packets to families in Cathedral City helping educate them on personal preparedness.

“The first responders as we know them with 911, they’re not going to be able to come to us so you’re going to need to rely on your neighbors, your family members and yourself," Sullivan-Dilley said.

What should you do to be prepared for a disaster?

“Well, the first thing is have a plan,” Sullivan-Dilley said.

What will you do if a disaster happens while you’re at work and your kids are at home? Play out different scenarios.

“And then in the Coachella Valley especially make sure you have water,” Sullivan-Dilley said.

Stock up on extra water and keep water in your car.

"And then for nighttime issues, make sure you have flashlights around,” Sullivan-Dilley said.

You can find more information and a disaster preparedness checklist on their website: https://www.cvdpn.org/

Be sure to compile your own list based on your own personal needs.

“We don’t try to scare people," Sullivan-Dilley said. "What we do is ask them to take personal responsibility so that they can best care for the ones that they love and be successful in riding out whatever disaster comes their way," she added.