September is National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month, and KLC wants to remind our members of the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies. As Kentucky has seen over the past year, disasters happen. They happen in cities of all sizes where citizens look to their local governments to lead the immediate response. Are you ready?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created the National Preparedness Goal which focuses on the following five core capabilities:

1. Prevention

Pre-disaster planning helps a community be better prepared to undertake an organized process in response to a disaster.

2. Protection

Allocate resources to carry out your plan effectively. Prepping your employees and citizens is critical to ensuring the safety of your community and effective response and recovery.

3. Mitigation

Community leaders can more effectively address issues as they arise by working in advance to identify vulnerabilities and locate resources. This also includes a review of insurance coverage to guarantee that city property is adequately protected in the case of a loss.

4. Response

In an emergency, the city will need to assemble and coordinate the operations to support the safety and security of the community. The response to a disaster should also include tracking all disaster-related expenditures so that your city can apply for reimbursement by FEMA, if applicable.

5. Recovery

The disaster recovery process focuses on restoring, redeveloping, and revitalizing communities impacted by a disaster. This includes financing, expediting long-term housing recovery, supporting the recovery of businesses and the local economy, and ensuring local government facilities and services recover smoothly.

Kentucky League of Cities is working on disaster recovery tools to help cities plan for the worst. Join us at the Disaster Recovery Planning session at the 2022 KLC Conference & Expo to learn more. Please contact the Municipal Law Department or your loss control consultant with any questions.