Be a Force of Nature: Take the next step during National Severe Weather Preparedness Week.
Severe Weather Preparedness Week started in 2012 with the previous year during the same week, spawning more than 300 tornadoes, claiming hundreds of lives and ranking as one of the largest tornado outbreaks in US History. In 2011 ServiceMaster restored a local high school that was damaged during a tornado as well as many homes that were also affected. Also, in 2012 we had a hand in restoring a popular department store, chocolate factory and a famous tourist attraction in New York City after Hurricane Sandy.
ServiceMaster supports National Weather Preparedness week and believes that you can never be too prepared. Contact us today to get some information regarding Pre-Loss planning for your business or facility. We are prepared 24/7/365.
This year, we recommend taking the time to learn how to prepare for severe weather during this week, March 2-8, 2014, sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration(NOAA).
Being prepared to act quickly could be a matter of survival. This is especially evident during the threat of severe weather. The deadliest and most destructive tornado of 2013, an EF-5 on May 20 in Moore, OK and caused more than $2 Billion in property damage. Even though the severe weather was anticipated days in advance, many in the impacted areas said they did not have a plan and were caught unprepared.
Severe weather could happen anytime, anywhere. Even though the Oklahoma tornado outbreak was forecasted for days in advance, and warning lead times for the tornado outbreak averaged nearly 20 minutes, there were still many people in the impacted areas that stated that they were unprepared.
Here is what you can do to prepare:
Knowing your risk, taking action and being an example by sharing your knowledge and actions with your social network are just a few steps you can take to be better prepared and save your life and others.
Know Your Risk: Hurricanes, tornados, storms-every state in the United States experiences severe weather. Visit weather.gov to get the latest on weather threats.
Take Action: Take the next step in severe weather preparedness by creating a family communications plan, putting an emergency kit together, keeping important papers and valuables in a safe place, and learning about wireless emergency alerts. To learn more about taking action, participate in a local event on April 30 through America’s PrepareAthon.
Be an Example: Once you have taken action to prepare for severe weather, share your story with family and friends on Facebook and Twitter. Your preparedness story will inspire others to do the same.