National Preparedness Month: Suggested posts to share to help your community prepare

September is National Preparedness Month, and it’s a great time to empower your neighbors with tips on how to keep themselves safe from the hazards they face.

Why this Matters

1. Almost three million people (1.6% of the U.S. population) were displaced because of a natural disaster in 2022
2. One in three U.S. adults report being personally affected by an extreme weather event in the past two years
3. In 2017-2022, the average time between billion-dollar disasters was only eighteen days

We encourage you to share one or two weekly polls on your Nextdoor page throughout September to educate your community and encourage them to prepare for the hazards they face.

Weather awareness

1. Poll: Do you have MULTIPLE ways to stay Weather Aware?
2. Poll: Do you understand the difference between a weather Watch and a Warning?
3. Poll: Do you have an NOAA weather radio in your home?

Insurance

1. Poll: When did you last check your insurance deductible?
2. Poll: Did you know most homeowners insurance policies do not cover flooding?
3. Can you afford to pay out of pocket to fix damages or replace your home if it floods? 

Evacuation

1. Poll: Have you developed an evacuation plan?
2. Poll: Do you know your nearby neighbors who might need help evacuating in an emergency, and have you agreed to help them?
3. Poll: If you need help evacuating, do you have nearby neighbors who have agreed to help?
4. Poll: Have you identified multiple ways to leave your neighborhood in an emergency?
5. Poll: Do you have a go kit?

Flooding

1. Poll: Did you know flooding is the second-leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S.?

Pets

1. How to plan for a disaster when you have a pet.

Wildfire

1. Poll: What have you done to protect your home from wildfires?
2. Poll: Did you know you can use Nextdoor to ask for and offer to help your neighbor prepare for wildfires?

General

1. Poll: Have you uploaded important documents to the cloud and made physical copies?
2. Poll: Do you have enough battery power or the ability to generate power to stay safe and healthy during an outage lasting more than seven days?
3. Poll: Do you have at least a three-day water supply for each person in your household?
4. Poll: Do you have enough nonperishable food to feed your household for a week?
5. Poll: Do your family members know how to contact out-of-state contacts?
6. Poll: Is your address number visible?

Measuring indicators of protective actions

1. Poll: Since participating in our recent discussions and polls, which option best describes your actions to prepare yourself and your household better?

Thank you for your service to your communities, and stay safe out there!

Joseph and the Nextdoor for Public Agencies team