Preparedness & Recovery

Are You Prepared?

Marin County is exposed to a wide variety of hazards, both natural and man-made. Earthquakes, fires, severe storms, power outages, and tsunamis are just some of the potential emergencies we may encounter. Following a disaster, it may be several days before vital services are restored. Imagine there is no electricity, no gas, no water, and no telephone service. Imagine that businesses are closed and emergency services are overwhelmed. What will you do until help arrives?

Current Emergency Information

Individual & Family

Individual And Family

You should begin a process of learning about potential threats to become better prepared to react during a natural or man-made disaster or other emergency. While there is no way to predict what will happen, or what your personal circumstances will be, there are simple things you can do now to prepare yourself and your loved ones.

Some of the things you can do to prepare for an emergency or disaster, such as assembling a supply kit and developing a family communications plan, are the same for both a natural or man-made emergency. However, there are important differences among disasters that will impact the decisions you make and the actions you take. With a little planning and common sense, you can be better prepared for the unexpected.

Links

  • Get Ready Marin – This free two-hour disaster preparedness course trains Marin residents on how to prepare for, survive through, and recover from any type of disaster. Classes are held throughout Marin County.
  • SF 72 – Online information on how to prepare yourself and loved ones for any major emergency or disaster.
  • American Red Cross – Learn how to prepare yourself or loved ones for any disaster with an online or in-person disaster preparedness course or materials.First Aid, CPR, AED, Pet First Aid and other classes also available.Multiple languages.
  • Community Emergency Response Team — Public safety agencies may not have the resources to be everywhere at once and some residential areas may be isolated.The CERT training program provides you with the skills to take care of yourself, your loved ones, and help your neighbors following a disaster.CERT is a series of classes that covers general emergency preparedness, disaster first aid, hazardous materials, light search and rescue, fire prevention and suppression, working as a team, basic Incident Command System, and includes a disaster simulation. Classes are offered throughout Marin County.
  • Marin County Fire Department — Provides disaster preparedness, fire safety, evacuation, CPR, and defensible space trainings or materials. Also conducts school fire safety drills.
  • Marin County Office of Education — Preparedness materials are available for parents/guardians and school staff.
  • Marin County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services — Provides emergency preparedness guidance through brochures and pamphlets on all hazards that can affect the county including earthquake, tsunami, wildland fire, flooding, landslides, hazardous materials, mass casualty events and terrorism. Hazard explanations, effects that will result, mitigation efforts to reduce the hazard’s results, and measures to be taken to survive are covered in these materials. Multiple languages.
  • Mill Valley Emergency Preparedness Commission — Free two-hour fire class for residents to learn about fire risk in your area and what you can do about it (fire safe landscaping, evacuations, etc.). Offered August through October.

Access & Functional Needs Populations

Access And Functional Needs


Business & Organizational

Business And Organization
  • American Red Cross — Ready Rating Program guides organizations, businesses, and schools in preparing for emergencies and creating an agency emergency plan. Also offers free preparedness courses on-site and online to prepare your employees, as well as CPR/First Aid and shelter classes. 
  • Center for Volunteer and NonProfit Leadership of Marin — facilitates a year long organizational preparedness program called PrepareNow for nonprofits. Includes review of organizational plans, business continuity, staff preparedness skills, and mitigation.
  • Community Emergency Response Team — CERT is a series of classes that covers general emergency preparedness, disaster first aid, hazardous materials, light search and rescue, fire prevention and suppression, working as a team, basic Incident Command System, and a disaster simulation. Some of the CERT programs offer classes to businesses and organizations.
  • Marin County Fire Department — provides disaster preparedness, fire safety, evacuation, and defensible space trainings or materials.
  • Marin Interagency Disaster Coalition — The mission of the MIDC is to foster effective service delivery to those affected by disasters in Marin through the collaboration of community agencies throughout the disaster cycle—preparedness, response, and recovery. The MIDC offers disaster trainings and annual conferences for agencies (non-profits, faith, government, and private) that may play a disaster response or recovery role in the community. For more information on the MIDC, contact Ursula Hanks email link.
  • The Salvation Army — Provides an introduction to disaster preparedness program tailored specifically to places of worship. Also offers food safety trainings to groups
  • Emergency Preparedness Resources for Businesses

Schools

Schools
  • Marin County Office of Education — provides training seminars and preparedness materials to parents/guardians, school administrators and staff, including nurses. Provides guidance and resources to schools on how to prepare and respond to a disaster. Example trainings include: H1N1 flu prevention and school response, Introduction to the National Incident Management System, Incident Post Stress Management, School Safety Plans, School Hazard Assessment, and Special Needs Individual Preparedness. Multiple languages.
  • American Red Cross — Ready Rating program guides schools in preparing for emergencies and creating an agency emergency plan (funds available to participating schools). Conducts age-appropriate disaster preparedness trainings at school assemblies or to staff, provides standards-aligned disaster curriculum (K-12), and offers a list of one-minute preparedness PA announcements. CPR, First Aid, shelter trainings and youth leadership development programs available. Multiple languages

County Employees

County Employees

Disaster Service Workers: BE AWARE – PREPARE

Do you know when the next big disaster will strike? It is difficult to predict what the disaster will be or where you will be when it happens. As a county employee, you along with other public service employees are in a unique position because you are designated as a Disaster Service Worker or DSW. Should a disaster occur not only will you have responsibility for your own personal safety and for that of your family by law, you will also be responsible to help in the response and recovery efforts of the County of Marin government. Thus, it is essential that you be prepared for both.

Animal Preparedness

Animal Preparedness
  • Marin Humane Society — The Marin Humane Society Animal Services Department has organized a countywide animal disaster plan in the event of a disaster or emergency. Together with the Marin County Sheriff’s OES, the American Red Cross and other key agencies, The Marin Humane Society provides food, shelter, medication and transportation for those families who need help with their pets in the event of an emergency. The Humane Society also offers information on creating a pet emergency plan and what to include in a pet emergency supplies kit.
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