Santa Cruz County is vulnerable to a variety of disasters, including storms, earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, power outages and more.
Residents are encouraged to download the Code Red app to make sure they receive emergency notifications, and the County Office of Emergency Services maintains a number of preparedness resources for residents and their families at www.santacruzcounty.us/OES.
To assist in preparedness, individuals and families should consider the following:
- Signing up for alerts and warnings
- Plans for alternative shelter
- Evacuation routes
- Family communication plans
- Age-specific family member needs
- Special medical, prescription and dietary needs
- Pets or service animals
- Emergency preparedness kits, including food and water
- Practicing emergency plans, including household evacuation
In addition, all homes should consider a disaster preparedness kit with some or all of the following:
- Water — one gallon of water, per person, per day for a minimum of three days
- Food — a minimum three-days supply of non-perishable food
- Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
- Flashlight
- First aid kit
- Extra batteries and cell phone chargers
- Whistle to signal for help
- Dust masks, plastic sheeting and duct tape
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
- Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
- Manual can opener for food
- Local maps
During the next month Santa Cruz County Public Health and the Office of Emergency Services will be very active on social media and we invite you to visit those websites sites for information on preparedness tips for families, pets, people with disabilities and planned power shut-offs.
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Additional preparedness resources are available at www.santacruzhealth.org/emergencyplan.