August is FEMA’s Disaster Resilience Month. But what exactly is disaster resilience?

In our work, we define it as “the ability to prepare for threats and hazards, adapt to changing conditions, and withstand and recover rapidly from adverse conditions and disruptions.”

A few tips to help foster disaster resilience in our community:

1 – Prepare

 •Creating an emergency supply kit is an easy way to be prepared before disaster strikes. (English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Tagalog, Korean) This goes for individuals, households, and pets too.

• Having an emergency communication plan allows individuals to reach key people in their lives.

 

2 – Adapt

• Being in the know about weather, road hazards, and emergency alerts helps everyone stay ready. Residents can look to reliable sources for updates about changing conditions in the area, like local news outlets and the free FEMA App.

 

3 – Withstand and Recover

• Staying safe could mean sheltering in-place or evacuating to withstand a disaster. Alerts and warnings from local emergency management can help residents decide their best option.

• Whether it’s for individuals and households or for small businesses there are programs available to support survivors on the road to recovery. If someone is affected by a disaster they may be able to get assistance from FEMA or from state partners and local agencies.

 

Please find more resources in the National Preparedness Month Toolkit. Resilience is a process and a collective effort - the more we share, the more we support our nation to be resilient before, during, and after disasters.