Before An Emergency

Emergency Preparedness Plan image

In the event of an emergency or disaster, preparation plays a vital role in ensuring the health and safety of you and your family. 


Make A Plan

Creating a plan in advance helps ensure that everyone knows what to do in the event of an emergency. When developing a plan, it is important to consider which types of disasters could affect your area, and tailor your plan to your families' specific needs and considerations. 

Use the Ready.gov Family Plan Form to create a Family Emergency Communication Plan which can be emailed as a PDF file once complete.




Additional Resources: 
Red Cross 
CDC - Prepare Your Health 
Ready.gov/plan


Build A Kit

After any type of disaster, individuals and families need to prepare to be self-sufficient for several days.  This includes necessary food, water, medications, first aid, and other emergency supplies. Pack your supplies in portable, waterproof containers that are easily accessible and transportable. Because you don't know where you will be when disaster strikes, it is important to have supplies available for at home, at work, and in your vehicle. 

Emergency Supply Kit Checklist
For Your Vehicle

For Kids
Ready.gov/kids has resources, including tools, games, and curriculum available for the whole family to be involved in the preparedness process. 

For Pets
Ready.gov/pets
CDC Pet Disaster Preparedness

For Livestock

Stay Informed: 

Signing up for citizen alert systems, learning about types of disasters that could impact your community, and understanding terminology used in weather briefings are all types of ways you can stay informed before, during, and after an emergency. 


Alert Systems
Citizen Alert (1)
Walla Walla County Citizen Alert
The Walla Walla Emergency Management Citizen Alert System can alert residents about severe weather, fires, floods, and other emergencies. Messages can be sent to residents via cell phone, home phone, email, text, pager, and more. 

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)
Wireless Emergency Alerts are short emergency messages from authorities that can be sent to any WEA enabled device in a locally targeted area. This can include national alerts, imminent threat alerts, public safety alerts, and amber alerts.