Letter to the Editor: With Spring Storm Season Around the Corner, Now is the Time to Prepare for Potential Disaster

Flooding and tornadoes are nothing new for Kentucky. Over the last five years alone, the Commonwealth has been home to ten Presidentially declared disasters, most coming in the form of severe storms, flooding and tornadoes.

March is the start of another Kentucky storm season and while we can hope for good weather and a season free from disasters, if history tells us anything it is that disasters can happen anytime and anywhere without notice. I’m not writing today to scare you, but rather to urge you to prepare.

Disaster preparedness begins at home. Choices and actions you take now could save you time, money and headaches in the event of a disaster. They may even save your life.

Ask yourself these questions: If you need to leave your home quickly due to severe flooding, do you have an evacuation plan? If you need to shelter in a saferoom during a tornado, do you have food, water and emergency supplies to last three days? What about your pets? Do you have a plan for your furry family members too? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, now might be the best time to make a disaster plan and build an emergency kit. These are two of the simplest and least costly methods of preparing for disaster. They’re also some of the most important.

Luckily, there’s a place we can go to learn how to plan and prepare. That place is Ready.gov. Here you’ll find practical tips on making a plan specific to your household needs. You can also find out how to build an emergency kit with basic items you may need in the event of an emergency.

Once the disaster passes, and your family is safe, having personal, financial, medical and other critical documents can help you start the recovery process on the right foot.

There’s still time to gather important documents you may need in the event of a disaster, and once again Ready.gov has your back. Here you can find a checklist of important documents you may need following a disaster.

Now that you’re prepared to keep yourself safe during a storm and start your recovery process after a storm, next comes the process of rebuilding. This too is something we can prepare for — by purchasing and updating our insurance policies.

Purchasing insurance is the best option to make sure you will have the financial resources you need to repair, rebuild or replace damaged property. But it’s not just homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance. In areas of Kentucky where flooding is possible, buying flood insurance is a good option as well.

To learn more about insurance and how to make sure you are adequately insured in the event of a disaster, visit — you guessed it — Ready.gov and read the fact sheet Document and Insure Your Property.

Disaster preparation, response and recovery are the responsibility of everyone. I urge all Kentuckians to take the time to prepare now, so if the unfortunate happens, you’ll be ready.

Myra M. Shird, Ph. D.

Federal Coordinating Officer, FEMA (Region 4)