Emergency Preparedness

Tomorrow, September 23, several places around the metro Denver area will be conducting large-scale emergency preparedness drills. While these drills will focus on preparing for terrorism-related incidents, Colorado residents should be prepared for all kinds of emergencies, both man-made and natural (e.g. tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, epidemics). The Colorado Division of Emergency Management has put together an informative blog with everything you need to know to prepare for a Colorado emergency. The site gives information on preparedness, training, mitigation/recovery, and much more. The state also sponsors Ready Colorado, an emergency preparedness agency. Their website can help you make a disaster plan, and find classes and materials that can help you learn more.

Be sure to check out some of the state documents, available from our library, that can help you with Colorado-specific disaster planning, including: State of Colorado Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan and Emergency Preparedness in Colorado. We also have many publications that deal with specific disasters, too many to list here, that cover everything from bomb scares to bird flu. Our library has quite a bit of information for farmers and ranchers regarding what to do with their livestock when disaster strikes; helping children, pets, and the elderly during and after disasters; emergency treatment of water supplies; and how to use emergency equipment such as masks and respirators. Search our web catalog for our many resources on disaster planning and response. Many of these documents can be accessed online.