Ready Tips

Practice Earthquake Drills with the Great ShakeOut

Earthquakes can occur anytime and anywhere without warning. Now is a perfect time to practice earthquake safety. To help you prepare, one easy and safe step is to participate in the Great ShakeOut earthquake drill on October 15, 2020. Each year, on the third Thursday of October, millions of people participate to learn how to stay safe during earthquakes. Register here to join the event!

While learning to stay safe and prepare for earthquakes amid COVID-19, please follow the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Below are steps to help you prepare for earthquakes while staying safe during COVID-19:

• Practice the drop, cover, and hold on steps with your family and coworkers.
• Ensure items such as televisions and objects that hang on the walls are secured and store heavy and breakable objects on low shelves.
• Create an emergency plan with the whole family and practice it regularly. This should include what is needed to protect you and your family from an earthquake and other disasters, including COVID-19.
• Build an emergency kit that includes essential items such as water, non-perishable food, and prescription medicines for at least three days for the whole family, including pets; and a flashlight, a fire extinguisher, and a whistle.
• Consider obtaining an earthquake insurance policy. A standard homeowner’s insurance policy does not cover earthquake damage.
• Consider fixing structural issues that could cause your building to collapse during an earthquake.

Please visit www.ready.gov/earthquakes to learn more about what to do before, during, and after an earthquake.

Are You Prepared for a Wildfire?

Emergency plans are vital to ensuring your health and safety in wildfire areas. Only 29% of people living in wildfire areas have emergency plans that include how to evacuate. While we are enduring the COVID-19 pandemic, the most important protective action for a wildfire is evacuation. When planning, review multiple evacuation routes from locations you and your family frequent as this can be an important factor in surviving a wildfire. Due to COVID-19, public evacuation shelters may not be the safest choice for you and your family. Have you made plans to shelter with friends or family? Emergency plans should include locations for you and your family to shelter and stay safe.

The pandemic has caused serious supply shortages across the country, including N-95 masks. This means that people living in wildfire risk areas should make plans to protect themselves and limit smoke exposure by evacuating early. If you do need to evacuate, having supplies already packed and ready to go can help you evacuate more quickly. Only 52% of those living in wildfire areas have supplies already packed and ready to go. Are you prepared to evacuate?

Learn more about wildfire preparedness at and how the public is preparing for disasters by checking out the following resources:

• Ready.gov/wildfires
• Wildfire Information Sheet
• When the Fire Starts (YouTube video)
• 2020 NHS Data Digest: Wildfire Safety

Children & Disasters

Kid’s Korner: New York City Selects its First Youth Commissioner for a Day

What’s it like to oversee the emergency management activities for the country’s largest city? High school student Katerina Corr was curious. So, she entered—and won—New York City’s first “Commissioner for a Day” essay contest to find out.

Corr, who finished her two-year term in FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Council (YPC) earlier this year, has long been interested in emergency preparedness. “I’m excited about NYC emergency management [and] how it’s such a big city with so many groups collaborating,” she says.

The event, originally scheduled for March, was postponed due to COVID-19. As a follow-up, Corr attended a virtual commission meeting in June, where city officials recognized her for being the first Youth Commissioner for a Day.  

During the virtual meeting, Corr said she was particularly impressed by Deanne B. Criswell, Commissioner of the New York City Emergency Management Department. “I was very much inspired by Commissioner Criswell’s dedication to preparedness and her breadth of experience in homeland security and emergency response,” Corr says. “Although I am no longer a member of the National YPC, this attitude will continue to inspire my engagement in community emergency preparedness and my college education.”

Corr asked what effect COVID-19 will have toward attitudes on emergency planning in the future during the meeting. “Overall, I think the pandemic has taught me how many different stakeholders are involved in emergency response,” she says. “Between agencies, non-government organizations, elected officials, and health experts, there are many different voices playing a part. Seeing how these different groups have coordinated has been very interesting.”

To learn more about how youth can participate in preparedness, please visit https://www.ready.gov/kids.

Financial Resilience

October 15: The Great ShakeOut

October 22: #ThinkLikeASaver: Simple Strategies To Help You Save Virtual Town Hall

November 5: #ThinkLikeASaver: How Do I Pay Off Debt? Virtual Town Hall

November 19: #ThinkLikeASaver: Saving For Major Life Milestones Virtual Town Hall