Joy Peterson posted on August 13, 2010 13:52
Floyd County Emergency Management is holding its 3rd Annual Emergency Preparedness Night with the Rome Braves Saturday, August 28 at State Mutual Stadium. The event has been organized by the Rome/Floyd County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and EMA.
“September is National Preparedness Month and to kick off this event, we’re holding Emergency Preparedness Night at the Stadium,” said Scotty Hancock, Floyd County EMA Director. “The Rome Braves have graciously offered again to partner with us on this event and we feel like we’ll be able to reach a large number of people in hopes of educating them about personal preparedness.”
The theme of this year’s event is centered on Pet & Personal Preparedness. Floyd County Animal Control will be there with animals up for adoption, as well as educating game attendees on the importance of pet preparedness.
“While we hope that every family is prepared for a disaster, we know that most families with pets aren’t prepared,” said Hancock. “The total animal population in Floyd County is estimated at 21,579, which is based on the percentage of U.S. households owning pets which is 58 percent. Since most human shelters do not allow pets, pet owners requiring sheltering must choose between deserting their animals, refusing to evacuate, or evacuating their animals to a predetermined site. The 10-25% of individuals who will refuse to evacuate, or attempt to return to the evacuated areas because of their animals risk injury, exposure to hazardous materials, and their own lives, as well as those of emergency response personnel who must rescue them. The most effective and efficient way to minimize human and animal health and safety risks is for individuals and responding agencies to be properly prepared to address animal issues well in advance of a disaster.”
Local public safety agencies will be at the stadium before the game to pass out information and educate people on the equipment on display and how it is used in certain situations. The CERT team will be on site with program information and the LEPC will be distributing materials as well.
Many items, including pet disaster kits for dog and cats, family preparedness kits, individual preparedness kits and lots disaster preparedness material for the kids, will be given away at the event for game patrons.
For more information, please contact Emergency Management at 706.236.5002 or visit www.romefloyd.com.
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