Emergency Preparedness

September is National Preparedness Month!


Preparedness Starts at Home. Here are four key actions to prepare for any disaster: National Preparedness Month is a great time to take small steps to make a big difference in being prepared. Getting yourself, your family and your home ready for emergencies like home fires, power outages and local floods means you’re more prepared for disasters like wildfires, flash flooding, hurricanes and more.

We all have responsibilities for our families, pets, neighbors and communities. By taking steps now, you can be in control of both your safety and those you care about before, during and after a disaster. Think about what you’ll need and how the people in your social circles can help each other. A great place to start is by knowing the risks where you are. Then, make a plan and build an emergency supply kit to help keep yourself and those you love safe and comfortable during and after a disaster. Finally, get involved by keeping up to date with your community’s emergency and disaster plan and working with neighbors to prepare.

When making your plans, make sure you consider any unique needs of those you care for, whether it be medical conditions, loved ones with disabilities, your pets, and any neighbors who might need help getting prepared.


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Visit this link for tips on how to create an emergency plan. 



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Visit this link for tips on what to include in your emergency kit. 




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Prepare yourself, your family and pets for emergencies! Check out these excellent resources from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Together We're Ready Initiative.

Preparation & Response Tips

Please review the following websites that provide excellent storm preparation and response tips and lists of items to have on hand in your home and car:

Emergency Preparedness Stay calm and reassure children that you are here to help them and keep them safe. Talk about your family’s emergency plan together so they will know what to do if an emergency happens. Explain that an emergency is when something happens that we don’t expect, and we have to act quickly to keep ourselves safe. Team up. Let children know that you can work together to get ready for emergencies, just like you get ready for a car ride by wearing your seat belts, or by wearing helmets on a bike ride. Look for helpers. Remind your child that there are so many helpers we can trust to keep us safe in an emergency: teachers, firefighters, emergency responders, doctors, and police officers. Even if a parent is not around, other special helpers will be there for them. Encourage questions. Ask children if they have any questions, and answer simply and honestly. If you don’t know an answer to a question, say, “I don’t know. Let’s find out.”

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Taking Shelter

Should you be directed to a shelter, Wellesley High School has been designated as the primary shelter location in Wellesley. Here is a fact sheet (PDF) describing what you need to take with you if asked to relocate to a shelter.

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Medical Reserve Corps

Interested in helping in an emergency? Join our Medical Reserve Corps! Click here for more details.