Kentuckians have experienced firsthand how natural disasters can occur any time and often with little warning. Disasters take many forms, and we can feel their impacts across most areas of family life. Because there is no “one-size-fits-all” disaster model, planning community outreach can be challenging, and Cooperative Extension is often involved in disaster preparation and response at the local level. 

As a result of local needs, the County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences in Estill County along with the Family and Consumer Sciences agent in Madison County conducted a Disaster Preparedness program. The focus of this event was on preparing for a natural disaster, such as building an emergency kit, food and water considerations for the whole family Binders with medical information sheets, county agencies contact information, “In the Face of Disaster” publications, as well as publications from Ready.gov, The American Red Cross, and FEMA were given to each participant. Several community partners were engaged in this event and included Estill County Emergency Management, the Estill County Health Department, and Mercer County Healthy Department Medical Reserve Corp.  Participants were recruited by local newspaper advertisement, newsletter, and social media post.  Seventeen adults and three youth participated in the program.  

Following the event, adult participants completed evaluations. One hundred percent of participants gained a better understanding of steps they could take in preparation for natural disasters.  of participants increased their understanding of how to find reliable resources on disaster preparation and/or response. Further, one hundred percent of participants can better identify what items they should include in a disaster kit. Most importantly, one hundred percent of participants reported they intended to assemble a disaster kit that fits their needs, and one hundred percent of participants shared they intend to create a disaster response plan. Seventeen kits were purchased at a discounted rate. 

Participants specifically shared the most significant things they learned from the event were what to have in an emergency preparedness kit, ways to keep documents safe such as external hard drive or putting them on the cloud, and food and water safety.  One person stated that all the information was significant.  Participants enjoyed the program and said that it was very helpful.