As the year goes by, the temperature gets colder and the nights grow longer, so remember to stay safe and prepare for the unexpected. September is National Preparedness Month (NPM), and we are here to provide some helpful publications you can use to get ready. NPM was established in 2004 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It was created in response to the 9/11 attacks and is meant to reach out to citizens and help them plan for any disaster, man-made or natural, that could strike.
GPO has a handful of different guides from our U.S. Government Bookstore, and each covers steps to help prepare for a wide variety of different situations. The publication Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Lightning, Nature’s Most Violent Storms: A Preparedness Guide, Including Tornado Safety Information for Schools focuses on the many different weather-related disasters that can occur, the damage and destruction each could cause, and the best plans for preparing before such a catastrophe happens.
Another notable guide is Are You Ready?: An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness; it offers tips on anything from terrorist disasters to flash floods. Focusing on the before, during, and after, this manual is a great asset in creating some comprehensive safety techniques for yourself and family in the months to come.
For those looking for a piece oriented more towards the best options to take in the case of a tornado or hurricane, GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications has an extremely in-depth guide online for free! Safe rooms for tornadoes and hurricanes: guidance for community and residential safe rooms provides excellent background on the science of high-speed wind disasters and offers up some great advice to those living with the threat of such an event occurring. From the structural engineering of homes and buildings to the design of state-of-the-art safe rooms, this guide, developed by FEMA, outlines the best direction for creating a safe room for your home or community.
If you are more interested in hearing about the history and Federal side of National Preparedness Month, GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) has stored all of the proclamations made by the President to make this month official, as well as any Congressional Hearings or other related documents. For complete, free access, and to take your search further, click here.
If you just want more info on the entire month of September, and any events related to National Preparedness Month, we have a website for you to visit and browse, click here for access! You can also head over to the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration websites, which have steps and services to keep you updated on the weather around you. For those with disabilities who want to become better prepared, there is a website designed with helpful tips and steps for you in case of almost any emergency. Click here to get started. Feel free to go through all the links above and discover the best ways to prepare yourselves and your families for any situation. Stay safe!
HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?
You can obtain the resources mentioned in this blog by clicking on the links above or through any of these methods:
Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.
- Click here to purchase Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Lightning, Nature’s Most Violent Storms: A Preparedness Guide, Including Tornado Safety Information for Schools
- Click here to purchase Are You Ready?: An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness
- Click here to purchase Ready…Set…Prepare: A Disaster Preparedness Activity Book for Ages 8 to 11
- Click here to purchase Ready… Set… Prepare: A Disaster Preparedness Activity Book for Ages 4 to 7
- Click here to shop our Disaster Preparedness collection
Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.
Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.
Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.
About the author: Giovanni Salvatori is a Summer Intern in GPO’s Library Services & Content Management office.
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Trudy Hawkins
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