NEWS RELEASE

PHILADELPHIA – The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Region III office in Philadelphia is encouraging the whole community to take action to prepare! It’s the end of National Preparedness Month and time to move from awareness to action on National PrepareAthon! Day, September 30^th.

The Ready Campaign established four building blocks of preparedness − Be Informed, Make a Plan, Build a Kit and Get Involved − and raised awareness about the importance of preparing. America’s PrepareAthon! builds on this foundation by adding a focused national call to action for individuals and organizations to take simple, specific actions to increase their preparedness for a potential disaster.

“Anyone and everyone can make the choice to be informed and be better prepared,” said FEMA Region III Administrator MaryAnn Tierney, “We encourage everyone to simply take action – any action – to better prepare yourself, your family and your community.”

FEMA Region III has been working and supporting many organizations that will be taking action for America’s PrepareAthon! and on National PrepareAthon Day! Below are highlights of only a few of the many events occurring

FEMA Region III Promotes Action for America’s PrepareAthon!

around the region.​​

·         Louisa County Virginia’s PrepareAthon! TAKE ACTION AGAINST EARTHQUAKES! Louisa County (VA) Public Schools is leading the PrepareAthon action by having 6 schools take part in a preparedness drill on the 30^th. The main event will be at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School with school wide earthquake dill with FEMA staff during the day. In addition, the county Administration Building and Fire and EMS will be involved and participate in drills. Over 5,600 students and staff will be participating in a drill for Louisa County’s PrepareAthon!

·         Delaware’s PrepareAthon! TAKE ACTION AGAINST FLOODS on September 20^th  from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., take action against flooding at the Fall in to Action Community Preparedness Day in Dover, Delaware. Residents can learn about flooding and protective measures in addition to the numerous organizations that will provide fun, food, and preparedness activities for the whole family.

·         Marion County West Virginia’s PrepareAthon! TAKE ACTION AGAINST WINTER WEATHER on September 27^th from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the Marion County Preparedness Expo hosted by the Greater Fairmont (WV) Council of Churches. Over 40 organizations will be participating to help the families increase their preparedness. Additionally on September 26^th, the Small Business Administration will be conducting a workshop for local small businesses to increase their preparedness to support Marion’s PrepareAthon! You can sign-up at SBA.gov/content/sba-score-host-disaster-workshop-fairmont.  

·         National Capital Region’s PrepareAthon! SIGN-UP FOR ALERTS AND HOLD A DILL on September 30^th. Led by Brookfield Properties, private sector businesses in the greater Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maryland will be encouraged to participate in a drill to help increase their individual preparedness. Sixteen Commercial Real Estate companies and other organizations have committed their employees to participate in National Capital Region’s PrepareAthon!, at Brookfield Properties; over 6,140 employees and tenants will be taking action by holding drills and signing up for alerts.

·         Team Rubicon’s PrepareAthon! TEST YOUR PLANS! From September 17^th – 20^th Team Rubicon will be in Philadelphia, PA testing their ability to activate and communicate for a 3 day event. While they are working to build six homes in three days, they will be exercising their command structure and ability to respond quickly and affectivity to a disaster.  Anyone can Join Team Rubicon and help spread the word.

·         Amtrak’s PrepareAthon! SIGN-UP FOR ALERTS! On September 30^th at their Harrisburg, PA station, Amtrak will be encouraging train riders to sign up for emergency alerts and download the FEMA App. Look for FEMA staff at the train station to talk about alerts and other great ways to get prepared.

Want to join and take action on September 30^th ? Here are some simple ways you can get involved:

• Fill out a Family Communication Plan
• Download the FEMA App
• Sign-up for Community Alerts
• Take steps to protect your critical documents
• Hold a preparedness dill at home or in your workplace

Learn more and register your actions at Ready.gov/prepare to be join the 14.5 million taking action for America’s PrepareAthon!

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. FEMA Region III’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.  Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts are available at fema.gov/medialibrary and youtube.com/fema. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion3.

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Media Contact

FEMA News Desk: 215-931-5597

FEMAR3NewsDesk@fema.dhs.gov