Columbus, Ohio- (AVC News) – September has been designated as Ohio Preparedness Month by the State of Ohio and coordinated by the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (Ohio EMA).
Ohio Preparedness Month (OPM) is a month long campaign aimed at enhancing public awareness and providing education for effectively preparing for emergencies, disasters, or unforeseen circumstances that may arise.
Ohio’s 2026 Preparedness Month theme is “Prepare Your Family,” broken down into weekly topcics, which aims to encourage Ohioans to take steps now to help their family and households be prepared in the event of an emergency or disaster.
Week 1: Preparedness Kits for the Family
Week 2: Plan for your Family
Week 3: Family Communication
Week 4: Youth Preparedness
Week 5: Livestock/Pet Preparedness
Each week, AVC News reporter, Mike McKay will break down each topic into a separate article.
This week’s topic; Emergency Family Communication
FAMILY COMMUNICATION
During an emergency or disaster, the critical nature of communication cannot be understated.
Do you know where you and your family will get emergency communications before, during and after disaster strikes?
Disasters can happen anywhere and at any time of the year. Know ahead of time, where, and how to receive timely, accurate, and reliable emergency communications before disaster strikes.
Emergency warnings and information can, and should come, from several sources.
Including;
- Outdoor Warning Sirens
- Local TV and Radio along with their apps
- NOAA All Hazards, Weather Radio
- Emergency Alert System (EAS) broadcasts including Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) via cellphones and some other wireless devices such as smart watches.
Communication between family members is also critical. Plan ahead.
Many families also include in their plans small hand held two way radios or walkie talkiess for family communications.
Your emergency supplies should include spare batteries of various types, a hand crank/battery powered radio and a battery bank or some method to recharge your cell phone including solar. Keep in mind that during a disaster cell phone service may not be available or very limited. However, sometimes a text message may be possible when a cell phone’s voice signal is not possible.
Other possible communication devices could include CB radios or HAM radio devices.
