September marks National Preparedness Month, an annual opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time.
Emergency preparedness can often be an afterthought for people, as emergencies don’t happen every day. But when major weather events or other potential disasters occur, a few small steps taken ahead of time could be lifesaving.
At KPUB, safety is an integral part of our culture. We’d like to remind our community about a few of the ways they can stay safe when an emergency strikes.
Prepare an emergency kit
Emergency preparedness experts recommend keeping enough food, water and other essential items on hand to last your family at least 72 hours or longer during an outage. A few things to include are:
- First aid kit
- blankets
- flashlights
- lanterns
- batteries
- matches
- cell phone charger,
- power bank/power station
- all-weather battery-operated radio
- pocket heaters or hand warmers.
Be stocked up on essentials
Emergency preparedness experts recommend keeping enough food, water and other essential items on hand to last your family at least 72 hours or longer during an outage. A few things to include are:
- Food: Store food that does not require cooking, such as canned goods, crackers, dehydrated meats and dried fruits.
- Bottled water: Keep an ample supply of bottled water on hand. Ready.gov recommends 3-5 gallons per day.
- Medication: Be sure to maintain adequate supplies of prescription medicine in the event of a major winter storm or extended power outage.
- Heat Source: Stock up on kindling and dry firewood for an additional heat source if you have a fireplace or woodstove.
- Phone: If you have a telephone system that requires electricity to work, such as a cordless phone, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready as a backup.
- Pets: Don’t forget your pets’ needs and have supplies on hand for them, too.
Consider a generator for medical needs
While KPUB encourages customers with medical needs to make sure that our utility is aware of their situation, you still need to have a plan in place for an alternate power source in the event of an outage. We cannot guarantee power for any customer—even those with medical needs—and there is no guarantee that customers with medical conditions will have their power restored immediately, especially during emergency outage events.
Those who rely on medical equipment need to be extra prepared. Your emergency preparedness kit should include additional oxygen tanks, equipment batteries or other backup equipment, and if possible, a stand-up generator or a portable generator as an alternate power source. Learn more here.
Sign up for text alerts
KPUB now offers a two-way text messaging service to report and receive updates on an outage. Sign up today to receive these messages from KPUB by adding your mobile phone number to SmartHub or call 830.257.3050 and verify your mobile phone number to ensure you receive these important messages. Learn more here.
Download KPUB’s SmartHub app
When a storm hits, you’ll have quick access to report your outage 24/7 right at your fingertips with our KPUB SmartHub app—and it’s completely free!
Get more safety tips at kpub.com/safety.