After a summer filled with natural disasters, New York City officials are kicking off “National Preparedness Month” by urging residents to plan ahead for catastrophe.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate joined city officials in Times Square on Thursday. He said families need to create backup communication plans in the event of an emergency. Fugate said his own family used Facebook to communicate during the earthquake that rattled Washington, D.C. two weeks ago.
Joseph Bruno, commissioner of the city’s Office of Emergency Management, says more than 150 city businesses — including New York University and the New York Mets — have signed up for the new Partners in Preparedness program.
Bruno is asking New Yorkers to register for Notify NYC, the city’s free emergency notification system.