WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – As summer wildfire season winds down, and before fall storms and winter weather sets in, September is the month to begin preparations to endure and recover from these natural disasters. Not all emergencies are weather-related. On June 10, 1999, a leaking pipeline exploded on Whatcom Creek, killing three young men.

During National Emergency Preparedness Month, residents are encouraged to take steps to become prepared – not only to avoid potential harm, but also to respond and recover when disaster strikes. The first step is to find out what hazards are most likely where you live, via the County’s NATURAL HAZARDS EXPLORER. And then:

Tips to prepare your own household

• Sign up to receive alerts and warnings;
• Bookmark the Whatcom Ready Facebook page and org for updates;
• With one task a month, you can Prepare in a Year (information available in Spanish, Russian and Punjabi as well as English);
• Get Two Weeks Ready, for when help is delayed;
• Become a trained volunteer with Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Search and Rescue, Medical Reserve Corps, Project Lifesaver, Volunteer Mobilization Center, or as an amateur radio operator;
• Check out the County’s Emergency Preparedness website to locate natural hazards nearest you; and,
• Learn about the “Ready-Set-Go” pre-evacuation protocol used regionally (information available in Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian and Punjabi.)

Become ready to respond in your own neighborhood

In a major disaster, residents are often their own “first responder.”  After an earthquake, tsunami or other major catastrophe, police, firefighters and EMTs will be called in many directions. It could take days, even weeks, before help arrives.

There are local opportunities to learn what to do first and how to respond safely following an emergency. Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training is one. Now in its 26^th year locally, CERT has offered its eight-week course in communities throughout Whatcom County – from Point Roberts and Lummi Island to Sudden Valley, Lynden, Western Washington University, and soon for Chuckanut Bay.

The community may never again experience devastation similar to the 1999 pipeline explosion; however, some emergencies are inevitable. September is the month to prepare for power loss, floods, extreme cold, falling trees or possibly an earthquake. Personal preparedness will help ensure we can survive, rebuild and recover.