In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

2. Make preparedness part of 21st-century citizenship. Being prepared may be the most significant contribution many citizens can make to their nation’s security. Not only are civilians likely to be the first first responders at any disaster scene, but the nation’s response will also be only as strong as that of the weakest link. And a new commitment to public preparedness would give the country a nonpartisan, substantive way of re-tapping the reservoir of post-9/11 goodwill. “We don’t ask enough of people,” says one city emergency manager. “Everyone asks me, ‘How are you going to take care of us in a disaster?’ You have a big role in taking care of you.”

3. Don’t laugh at “duck and cover.” The nation’s Cold War civil defense campaign is often parodied, but it offers helpful lessons for the present. “We threw the baby out with the bathwater,” says R. David Paulison, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “We need to get back the preparedness ethic from our past.” In the 1950s, U.S. air defense had more than 100,000 civilian volunteers and thousands of observation posts (including my grandmother, Jeannette, an observer in the Bronx). We don’t need that many people looking up at the skies, but we could use that type of citizen interest and engagement.

4. Knowledge is power. Just about every emergency official I’ve interviewed says that public education could help mitigate the impact of a catastrophic disaster. The idea isn’t to overwhelm the citizenry with too much information but to tell people what they really need to know — so that, for example, they’ll understand the difference between a “dirty bomb” and a nuclear bomb with even a fraction of their ability to differentiate between Britney and Paris. In fact, experts believe that a “dirty bomb,” a traditional explosive laced with radiation, is a likely terrorist weapon in part because it could have a psychological impact far beyond its actual physical damage — particularly if people haven’t been briefed in advance.

5. We should tell the children. Like fire safety and seat belts, emergency preparedness may ultimately take a generation to take hold. So we need to include young people in the effort. We could make preparedness education part of the school curriculum by piggybacking on the successful fire or earthquake programs already in place. Going through kids makes it more likely that adults will follow. When my 5-year-old came home from school asking whether we were going to save the environment by getting new compact fluorescent bulbs, it sent me to the hardware store faster than any public service announcement.

6. Try the carrot and the stick. The government uses the bottom line when it wants to influence behavior. During hurricane season, the state of Louisiana provides a “tax holiday” for residents to purchase emergency supplies. Virginia will hold its first such holiday May 25-31. This could be replicated nationwide. Every year, I have to sign a form certifying that I have guards on my apartment windows. Could there be a similar form for having a family emergency plan? There are laws and insurance benefits for installing burglar and fire alarms; we could expand that to preparedness.

7. Bring in business to help make the sale. Marketing isn’t the public sector’s forte, and preparedness needs to be marketed as a consumer brand. A number of major corporations distinguished themselves in response to Katrina. It’s time to engage the private sector in advancing civilian preparation.

8. Use 21st-century technology to prepare for 21st-century emergencies. The use of camera phones, Twitter and Google map mash-ups after the Chinese earthquake and during last year’s Southern California wildfires are just the most recent examples of personal technology’s growing role in public emergency preparation and response. We need to make Americans more aware of the capabilities of the technology at their fingertips and integrate it better into disaster planning. Social networking sites, for instance, could help in finding family members in an emergency, but only if everyone in the family is networked and knows how to use them. Though I’m a 40-something who didn’t know “BFF” from “LOL,” I’m beginning to learn (with the help of my 8-year-old). My wife and I now know how to send text messages, which can sometimes get through when voice calls can’t (e.g., after the 2005 London subway bombings).

9. Everyone should learn the drill. The CERT hurricane drill in which I played a victim helped me think about what I’d do in an emergency. Drilling would help all Americans focus on and work through the questions everyone should ask in advance. (How will you get information and communicate with your family? Do you know the emergency plan of your children’s school?)

10. Create a National Preparedness Day. September was made National Preparedness Month in 2004, but sometimes more can be accomplished in 24 focused hours than in 30 diffuse days. Let’s have a day when we focus on this need — briefing citizens, conducting drills, filling emergency kits. A helpful model is Japan’s Disaster Prevention Day, held on the anniversary of the catastrophic 1923 Tokyo earthquake. Sept. 11 could be the official U.S. Preparedness Day: It would honor the memories of those who died by making sure that the United States is never so unprepared again.

History has shown that individuals will rise to the occasion in an emergency. But offering them the information, training, technology, support and encouragement to prepare in advance means that they’ll be in the best position to help themselves, their families and their community if — but probably when — that emergency arrives.