National Preparedness Month: 5 Ways Agencies Can Help Communities Stand Ready

Residents cannot act on information they never receive. Use National Preparedness Month to remind the community how and why to enroll in local emergency notifications.

Promote enrollment through multiple community touchpoints, including:

• Agency websites and social media accounts
• Utility bills and municipal newsletters
• Schools, libraries and community centers
• Local businesses, faith organizations and neighborhood groups
• Preparedness fairs and other public events

Encourage residents who already receive alerts to review their contact information, communication preferences, and address. This helps agencies reach them through the right channels and send location-specific information when an incident affects their area. 

An emergency should not be the first time someone sees an alert from your agency. Help residents understand who send alerts, the channels they use, and where to find verified updates.

Share examples of official messages and explain how residents can identify the sender. When possible, use consistent language and branding across alerts, websites, and social media. Familiarity helps the public recognize trusted information and reduces uncertainty when rumors or conflicting updates begin to circulate. 

Every community includes people with different communication needs. Review whether your alerts can effectively reach older adults, people with disabilities, residents with limited English proficiency, rural households, visitors and people who may not use smartphones.

Messages should use plain language and clearly communicate:

• What is happening
• Who is affected
• Where the alert applies
• What action people should take
• When they need to act
• Where they can find verified updates

Using multiple channels, including voice, SMS, email, mobile app notifications, and IPAWS, gives agencies more ways to reach people with time-sensitive information. 

Preparedness depends on both the system and the people operating it. Review who is authorized to send alerts, how approvals work, and who can step in if a primary user is unavailable.

National Preparedness Month is also a good time to refresh common message templates and practice realistic scenarios. Include dispatchers, emergency managers, public information officers, IT staff, and other departments involved in public communication. Regular practice helps teams act with greater speed and confidence when every second counts. 

Schools, utilities, healthcare providers, transportation departments, and local media can help amplify important information. Before an emergency, confirm how these organizations will receive updates and what role they will play in sharing them.nationa

Aligning terminology, instructions and official information sources helps the community receive consistent guidance across the channels it already trusts. 

National Preparedness Month creates a valuable moment to focus attention on readiness, but strong emergency communication requires year-round effort. Continue promoting enrollment, reviewing procedures, practicing scenarios and educating residents about trusted sources of information. 

CodeRED by Crisis24 helps public safety agencies deliver fast, targeted alerts at scale through voice, SMS, email, mobile app and IPAWS, with real-time visibility into message delivery. Learn how CodeRED can help your agency strengthen preparedness and keep your community informed when it matters most.  

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