American Red Cross Wants You Prepared For Disasters

The American Red Cross of Wisconsin is urging everyone to prepare for worsening extreme weather events during National Preparedness Month which is September.

The Red Cross says the trend for extreme weather is increasing as it has responded to nearly twice as many large disasters across the country as it did a decade ago.

As rapidly intensifying, weather-related events pose serious challenges to its humanitarian work and the people it serves, the Red Cross has announced an ambitious national plan to take urgent action. With more climate-driven disasters upending lives and devastating communities, the organization is racing to adapt its services and grow its disaster response capacity across the country.

Here in Wisconsin, this includes recruiting and training more volunteers to respond to disasters locally and across the country.

According to the organization, In the first half of 2023, the nation experienced an above-average 15 billion-dollars in disasters. They go on to say the U.S. is just now entering its typical peak time for hurricanes and wildfires.

For National Preparedness Month, The Red Cross asks that you do three things to be prepared for an emergency in your area. Get an emergency kit, make a plan and be informed.

The Red Cross has made a webpage to help you get prepared for an emergency at redcross.org/prepare. And if you are interested in learning how to volunteer during
an emergency, go to redcross.org/VolunteerToday.