Be prepared! Following a disaster or large scale emergency, you may be on your own and need to take care of yourself and your family. Emergency responders and relief personnel will come, but it may take hours, or possibly days, for them to reach everyone!

Prepare an Emergency Go Bag!
When an emergency or disaster happens, you may need to leave your home suddenly, and have only a few minutes to leave safely (such as a fire or explosion). Each person in your home should be prepared with a portable Emergency Go Bag that contains the items that you’ll need while you are unable to return to your home – especially prescription medications, eyeglasses, etc. When minutes count, it’s important that your Emergency Go Bag is ready for you to “grab & go” quickly. Use this checklist and tips document to prepare your Emergency Go Bag.

Get a kit for your home!
Local, state, and federal emergency officials stress that you should be prepared to be self-sufficient for a MINIMUM of 72-hours. You should have at least a 72-hour supply of non-perishable food, water (1 gallon/day per person), and supplies, including medications, for each person and animal in your home.

You can build your own, or purchase a ready-made kit:

• Build your own kit
  To get a list of recommended items and quantities, visit www.ready.gov.
• Purchase a ready-made kit
  To purchase a kit and additional supplies, please visit www.redcross.org.

Get a kit for your car!
An emergency may happen while you're driving, or you may be required to evacuate when you are away from home.

A list of items to include in your car kit can be found at www.ready.gov/car.

Get a kit for your pet!
If you have pets and/or service animals, it is important to include them in your emergency preparedness planning.

For more information regarding pet preparedness planning and kits, please visit www.ready.gov/animals

One of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family is plan!

What will you do? Where will you go? How will you reunite if you and your family are separated?

You’ll find a list of simple and practical steps at www.ready.gov/make-a-plan.

As much as possible, involve all family members in the planning process. Once the family emergency plan is complete – be sure to give a copy to all family members AND practice your plan!

Keep in mind – developing and practicing an emergency plan will:

1. Improve your family’s confidence in their ability to handle an emergency, and
2. Help them be better prepared, if you’re separated when an emergency occurs.

BUSINESS OWNERS & ORGANIZATIONS: If you need assistance getting your business or organization prepared, please visit the Business Continuity Planning Suite, found at www.ready.gov/business-continuity-planning-suite

Timely information during emergencies is important. Protect yourself and your family by knowing what disasters and hazards could affect your area, and what to do before, during, and after each type of emergency. Visit www.ready.gov/be-informed

You can stay updated on incidents and warnings affecting your community by visiting the following websites:

• NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from the nearest National Weather Service office. NWR broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


• The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national public warning system. It is used by state and local authorities to deliver important emergency information, such as severe weather and AMBER alerts. EAS participants include radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and video providers. Each of these participants deliver local alerts on a voluntary basis.


• The Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system delivers critical warnings and information to the public on their wireless devices via their wireless providers. Participation by wireless providers is voluntary, but those that offer the service must adhere to the technical and operational requirements established by the FCC. Authorized public safety officials send the alerts through FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) to wireless providers, which then push the alerts from cell towers to mobile devices in the affected area. The alerts appear like text messages on mobile devices.

Support disaster preparedness and response efforts in our community. Get trained and volunteer with one of the following:

• Allentown Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (AVMRC)
  Health professionals, as well as non-medical personnel with various skills and experiences, fill important roles during the response to public health emergencies. AVMRC is made up of community members who volunteer with the Allentown Health Bureau (AHB) and disaster response professionals during emergencies, and at other times throughout the year to address the public health needs within the City of Allentown.
  
  For information about AVMRC, visit www.allentownpa.gov/avmrc or call AHB at 610-437-7660.


• Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
  CERT is about “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” during an emergency. Following a disaster, volunteer CERT members use their training as part of a neighborhood team to help others when professional responders are overwhelmed or not immediately available. When emergency responders arrive, CERT members provide useful information to responders and support their efforts. CERT members can also volunteer to assist with non-emergency projects that improve the safety and welfare of the community.
  
  For more information about free CERT training opportunities, contact Tanya Hook at Lehigh County Emergency Management Agency via 610-782-4604 or tanyahook@lehighcounty.org.


• American Red Cross: Give back to humanity. Become a Red Cross Volunteer.
  As you may know, the mission of the American Red Cross is to alleviate human suffering. What you may not know, however, is that 90% of the work done by the Red Cross is done and led by volunteers! Our volunteers touch lives every day and are as diverse as the populations we serve. In fact, it takes all kinds of people to make this organization work – different ages, different backgrounds, and different skills. We want your experience to be rewarding—for yourself and for the grateful people you will be helping. Along the way, you will meet new friends, learn new skills, and become an active & respected part of your community. With so many volunteer opportunities – across multiple lines of service – we are confident you will find something that matches your time, your interests, and your availability. Remember, it truly is up to you. To learn more, please contact Ned Bloom, Senior Volunteer Services Specialist at 484.403.4721 or Ned.Bloom@redcross.org.

For additional information and suggestions of way to become involved in your community, please visit www.ready.gov/get-involved.

What if the 9-1-1 Center knew about an emergency in your neighborhood and it affected the health and safety of your family? Wouldn’t you want to know as soon as possible? Good news! City of Allentown Emergency Management coordinates CodeRED, a community emergency notification system to alert residents and visitors of an emergency or incident that has occurred, AND during situations that may warrant community notification (e.g. chemical spills, gas leaks, missing person alerts, emergency evacuations, shelter in place recommendations, weather events, etc.).

How it works:
City of Allentown Emergency Management officials use the CodeRED system to deliver geo-targeted, time-sensitive notifications via phone, text and email.

• The CodeRED notifications are provided via a telephone notification system that will dial each telephone number registered in Allentown’s CodeRED system.
• That means that if:
  1. you registered in the CodeRED system, AND
  2. your address is located in the affected area, AND
  3. there is important safety and well-being information
  then you will be notified via the phone number(s) / email that you registered.
• Landline phone numbers are already registered in the CodeRED system.
• Allentown's CodeRED alerts are available in:  English, Spanish, Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean and Russian.  Select the preferred language to receive your emergency alert messages when you register for Allentown's CodeRED.

IMPORTANT: If you want to receive CodeRED alerts on your cell phone and e-mail then you need to create a CodeRED account.

Creating a CodeRED account:
Please create an account to register your cell phone number(s) and email address(es) with both your home and work addresses.
Suggestion: Register the cell phone and email address of all family members who reside at your home address.

• Text ALLENTOWNALERT to 99411
• or, Go to allentownpa.gov/ema  and click on the CodeRED Weather Warning icon.
• If you have a home and/or work address within the City of Allentown, create an account to register your cell phone number(s) and email address(es). 
• Create a username and password, click “Continue” to create your account.
• Once registered, if there's an emergency then emergency management officials have the phone numbers and email addresses to notify you.

Download the CodeRED App on your cell phone

The CodeRED App uses the GPS location of your mobile device. If you’re traveling through a community that uses CodeRED, then you will receive their emergency alerts.

The CodeRED App and the Allentown CodeRED account are NOT connected.

You must complete a separate registration for the CodeRED app.

Get the CodeRED App:

• Download the free CodeRED App, available in both the App Store for ios devices and Google Play Store for Android devices.
• Open the CodeRED App and click on the “Register” button.
• The CodeRED App requires a separate registration, but you can use the same username and password for both the CodeRED app and your CodeRED account.

The free CodeRED app is available in both the App Store for ios devices and Google Play Store for Android devices.

Register Today!  Start receiving alerts from CodeRED - Allentown's Emergency Notification System.

Download this informational page.