Ready for Anything: September is National Preparedness Month

Published on September 04, 2025

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September is National Preparedness Month and the City is encouraging residents to plan ahead to prepare their homes and families against potential emergencies. FEMA’s theme for this month is "Preparedness Starts at Home." 

Each week in September, we will focus on a different aspect of preparedness for individuals, families and communities in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time.  

View the Emergency Preparedness Page

 

Week 1: Know Your Risk

Start preparing by knowing what could happen where you and your family live. While floods, home fires, and power outages can happen anywhere, other disasters like wildfires and winter weather are more likely in the Rogue Valley.  You can find specific preparedness tips here.  

When disasters strike, public safety officials will use emergency notification systems to alert you. Make sure you know where you can sign up to receive Jackson Alerts, which is the City's primary emergency notification system. 

Jackson Alerts will only be sent to individual contact information provided in registered accounts. When you verify your account, please keep the following in mind: 

  • Each family member should have their own account. 
  • You can select up to five addresses per account (home, work, school, etc.). 
  • Add Jackson Alerts to your contacts! Add 541-897-8556 and 88911 (text message) to your phone’s contacts so you know when you’re receiving an alert from the City of Medford or Jackson County. 

Sign up or review a Jackson Alerts account.

Week 2: Have an Emergency Plan

Knowing what to do before an emergency or disaster strikes can reduce stress and save both time and money. Don’t wait until the last minute to create a plan - your family may not be together when an emergency or disaster strikes. Completing a family emergency plan can help you keep track of important information like your family’s doctors or medical providers, insurance information and contact information to help you stay connected when an emergency or disaster strikes. 

  • Know your evacuation zone and routes!  This is critical to the evacuation process. Find your evacuation zone here and make sure you write it down somewhere you'll remember.

  • Know where you can go. Sometimes it’s best to stay home, but going to a different place may be the best way to stay safe. This could be a friend or relative’s house, or a community shelter in your neighborhood. Pay attention to directions from your local police, fire department or elected officials if you are told to evacuate.  

  • Make and practice a fire escape plan. You could have fewer than two minutes to escape a home fire once the smoke alarm sounds, so it's important to have a plan in place and practice it with everyone in your household. Check out these tips from FEMA’s U.S. Fire Administration for more ways to stay safe from a home fire: USFA.fema.gov. 

  • Quickly access important documents. Consider uploading important documents such as insurance policies, rental agreements or mortgage statements, driver’s licenses and medical records and banking information to a secure, password-protected external drive or in the cloud. Having important documents at your fingertips can help you recover faster after a disaster. Visit CISA.gov for steps you can take to keep yourself and your information safe online. 

  • Don't forget your pets in your plan! This includes knowing a safe place you can take them when disaster strikes, having your pet microchipped with up-to-date contact information and making a kit that includes items like food, water, leashes and any medication they take. Visit Ready.gov/Pets to learn more!

Week 3: Make an Emergency Kit

Being prepared for an emergency means being equipped with at least two weeks' worth of food, water and critical supplies. Make sure you have the items you need in case of an emergency. Here's an emergency go bag checklist from the Red Cross: 

Keep your supplies in an easy-to-carry backpack, bucket or bag that you can use at home or take with you in an emergency. Please keep in mind that everyone's kit will look different. There is no one correct way to put together two weeks' worth of supplies since everyone has individual needs. 

More resources:  

  • Visit Ready.gov/kit for a list of basic supplies you can keep in your home and car to stay safe and comfortable when an emergency or disaster happens. 

  • Find a list of supplies for a go-bag with all the essentials at Build A Kit. 

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