How many of us know what essential items we need in case of an emergency or natural disaster, and what are the preventive measures we can take? For those things you should do to prepare, visit the web site of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Extensive listings of emergency contacts are also available by county.
Additionally, a "Basic Preparedness Guide" is available from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This guide contains preparedness strategies that are common in all disasters.
The West Virginia Bureau of Public Health publishes many excellent brochures relating to emergency preparedness. Particularly helpful is information about being prepared for a pandemic flu outbreak. Another brochure of interest is targeted to West Virginia health care professionals and others who are willing to assist during a health emergency that exceeds routine response capacity: WV REDI (Responder Emergency Deployment Information) provides a web-based registration and credentialing system for those volunteers. Go to www.wvredi.org for more information.