Online ‘Prepare Kansas’ Challenge Can Help Individuals, Families Get Disaster Ready
by Nora Rhoades, Family and Youth Development Agent
Sometimes, life in the heartland is not for the faint of heart. At least that’s the way it seems when homes and communities experience tornadoes, flooding, drought and other disasters like Kansas communities can.
For every disaster that makes the news, there are many more fires, storms and others that we don’t hear about. Each disaster can be just as devastating to an individual, a family, or a neighborhood and recovering from any disaster is difficult.
Take the #PrepareKS Challenge!
Prepare Kansas is a new K-State Research and Extension online challenge designed to help individuals, families and businesses become better prepared ahead of disasters, in order to make recovery easier. The free program focuses on a few activities every week during September, coinciding with September’s designation as National Preparedness Month by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
A little work now can make recovering from a disaster less difficult. The Prepare Kansas challenge is broken down into a few activities to do every week, which makes the tasks easier than if you are trying to complete them from a long list. Weekly tasks include: Developing a Household Inventory, Checking for Adequate Insurance Coverage, Putting Together a Grab and Go Box, and Recovery Tips for After a Disaster.
Each week, K-State Research and Extension will be sharing disaster preparedness resources with registered participants directly via email. You can also stay connected to the challenge at the Post Rock Extension Facebook Page or by following Nora Rhoades, Family and Youth Development Agent, on Twitter.
Register for the Prepare Kansas online financial challenge!
Take the challenge on as a family or worksite; don’t put the pressure on just one person to do the work. Working on each activity (inventory, insurance, grab and go, recovery) gives families an opportunity to not only work together on becoming better prepared, but can spark discussions about preparedness in general and the best ways to handle future emergencies.
For more information or to register for Prepare Kansas, contact your local Post Rock District Office in Mankato 378-3174, Beloit 738-3597, Lincoln 524-4432, Osborne 346-2521, or Smith Center 282-6823. You can also email Nora Rhoades at nrhoades@ksu.edu.
Disaster Preparedness Resources:
- The Prepare Kansas Blog
- Get Financially Prepared: Take Steps Ahead of Disaster Fact Sheet
- Further information is available at http://www.ready.gov/are-you-ready-guide
