Ready- Plan Ahead for Disasters: Resources for Individuals with Disabilities and Multilingual Resources

Launched in February 2003, Ready is a National public service campaign designed to educate and empower the American people to prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies, including natural and man-made disasters. The goal of the campaign is to promote preparedness through public involvement.

Ready asks individuals to do four key things: (1) stay informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses (2) make a family emergency plan and (3) build an emergency supply kit, and (4) get involved in your community by taking action to prepare for emergencies.

This site includes resources in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Haitian-Creole, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

September is National Preparedness Month and this year’s theme is “Disasters Don’t Plan Ahead. You Can.” In the wake of Hurricane Harvey and the devastation that emergencies like this can cause, it is a timely moment to remind everyone to make their emergency preparedness plans and to also share helpful resources. Emergencies can happen anywhere and without warning so with a little advance thinking and actions, people and their communities can be better ready to cope when a disaster occurs. Advanced preparation is especially important for older adults and people with disabilities because there may have additional needs to consider, including medical issues, accessibility, transportation, and more.