Entry bubble Are You Prepared for a Major Emergency?

By: Stephanie | September 04, 2009 | Category: General

pedestrians with red background “There’s smoke coming from the Pentagon!” one of my coworkers shouted. I ran to his office window where we worked at the top of the Old Post Office Building in downtown Washington, DC, to witness black ribbons flowing from the Department of Defense building. This, after just watching the Internet’s news about the attack on the World Trade Centers that morning, September 11, 2001.

We were allowed to leave work—but I was at a loss as to how to get home since I had heard that the subway was closed. I had just moved from DC to a suburb in Maryland, and didn’t know an alternate way to get home. I ended up stuck on a gridlocked bus for four hours because I didn’t have another plan.

Are you prepared for a natural disaster, potential terrorist attack, or other major crisis? September is the sixth annual National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The companion website, Ready.gov, gives you tips on what to include in a basic emergency supply kit, and suggests ways to contact and regroup with family members in an emergency. It also offers information on a variety of emergency situations, such as influenza pandemics, wildfires, chemical threats, and winter storms, and recommends preparations for businesses as well.

Interactive features help you personalize a family emergency plan, and links take you to sign up for free emergency alerts from your local government. You also can follow Ready.gov on Twitter, or take the Readiness Quotient quiz.

USA.gov offers information on preparing for emergencies for specific groups, including people with disabilities, kids, and pets, and links to federal information on disasters and emergencies.

Since 9/11, I’ve maintained an emergency supply kit and made it a point to learn a variety of ways to get home. Do you have an emergency kit and plan?

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Entry bubble Remembering Together

By: Nancy | September 11, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

Seven years ago today, most of my coworkers and I huddled around the office television, trying to make sense of what we pentagon flag were seeing on the screen: New York City. The World Trade Center. Gone. A couple other colleagues went onto the roof of our building, looked into that bright, blue sky and saw a plume of smoke rising from the Pentagon, three miles away.

September 11, 2001 immediately changed daily life, from what was covered on the evening news, to the way we traveled to how we marked history.

It stirred us as a nation. We hung flags from highway overpasses and front porches, car windows and our lapels. We stopped to thank those who served and protected us.

And it drew us closer as people. We were nicer to each other on the subway and in the line at the supermarket. And we found ways to help those who were hurting and those left behind. Our shared experience helped us understand a little better about the price of freedom, and what it meant to love our neighbor.

Where were you on that morning, seven years ago today?

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