Tomorrow is National PrepareAthon! Day, an opportunity for individuals, organizations, and communities to prepare for specific hazards through drills, group discussions, and exercises. The goals of the campaign are to help people understand which disasters could happen in their community, know what to do to be safe and mitigate damage, take action to increase their preparedness, and participate in community resilience planning.
As a part of the National Response Framework (NRF), the Federal government established Emergency Support Functions that help the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) prepare for and respond to emergencies that affect the Nation. DOE is the lead agency for Emergency Support Function 12 – also known as ESF-12 – for Energy, when activated by FEMA. In the event of an emergency, we coordinate the response among Federal, State and local agencies, help facilitate the restoration of energy systems, and provide situational awareness. After a disaster strikes, ESF #12 and the energy community focus on ensuring critical infrastructure such as power plants, medical facilities, and response facilities have the energy supplies needed to operate. Earlier this month, we exercised our emergency response capabilities with our private and public partners. Conducting such exercises is vital to being prepared for the next disaster.
Our community guidelines for energy emergencies offer information and resources that can help you, when possible, recover power, fuel, and natural gas more quickly, and protect your homes, businesses, and communities from future energy disasters. Because every emergency is different, it is important for your safety that you follow the directives of your state and local emergency management authorities and local utilities. The information provided on the OE website is intended for general informational purposes only and is not an endorsement of any particular material or service. Before engaging in any activities that could impact utility services such as electricity or natural gas, contact your local utility to ensure that the activities are done safely.
To learn more about how to be better prepared and how to protect your family during emergencies, visit the PrepareAthon website.