Ready, Georgia?

For once, an article I can't find much wrong with: Time to Shift Focus to Emergency Preparedness, as posted on the Athens Banner-Herald website.

"The conga line of tropical storms and hurricanes that in recent days have either threatened or lashed Georgia and much of the rest of the East Coast, along with the states along the Gulf of Mexico, has focused considerable public attention on the need for emergency preparedness.

Thankfully, there are emergency services professionals in Georgia and across the rest of the nation who work tirelessly to make certain local firefighters, police and emergency medical personnel are ready and able to see their communities through hurricanes, tornadoes and myriad other natural or manmade disasters.

However, the work those professionals do should not lull the people they serve into a false sense of security, a feeling that help will be available immediately in the event of a disaster. In fact, a group of emergency services professionals from the University of Georgia, Athens-Clarke County, Oconee County and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency who met recently with the Banner-Herald's editorial board stressed that individuals and families must recognize their responsibility to plan for their safety and survival in an emergency.

According to those experts, people should have a plan in place in advance that will allow them to sustain themselves for a minimum of 72 hours in the event of an emergency. A host of possibilities, from blocked roadways to inoperable communications lines, and other contingencies that could delay emergency response professionals, make it imperative for people to have their own emergency preparedness plan.

To help people meet that responsibility, emergency response professionals are using September, which has been designated National Preparedness Month, as an opportunity to help people plan for sustaining themselves in an emergency.

Ready Georgia, a project of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, is aimed at helping residents of the state to plan, prepare for and stay informed about potential disasters.

In pursuit of that goal, Ready Georgia has established a Web site, http://www.ready.ga.gov/, supported by the state Department of Human Resources Division of Public Health. The Web site includes checklists of supplies that might be needed in an emergency, and also helps individuals and families to create communications plans to get in touch and stay in touch with others in the event of an emergency. Hispanic residents can access a Spanish-language version of the site at http://www.listo.gov/.

Hurricane season, which began June 1 and will continue through Nov. 30, and can mean both direct and indirect threats to the people of Georgia, is a good time to think about emergency preparedness.

And with the Ready Georgia campaign and the http://www.ready.ga.gov/ Web site providing valuable assistance, there's no excuse for Georgians not to take some time to prepare themselves and their families for emergency situations."

I think it is great that somebody finally said, "Hey, you're on your own. You better figure it out before it's two late." Because, well, we all know, deep down, that this is really the case.

*Note: This would have pretty much been a perfect article except info is also available in Spanish. Ugh. Learn English already.