’14 Gallon Challenge’ spotlights National Preparedness Month

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey and now Hurricane Irma, and with more than a dozen wildfires burning in Oregon, the importance of emergency preparedness is evident. September is National Preparedness Month and a good time to think about the many things you can do to make sure you and your family stay safe during an emergency.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown has issued a state proclamation in support of National Preparedness Month recognizing the efforts of Oregon’s Office of Emergency Management and partners to work with communities across the state to train, educate, prepare and equip residents for emergency preparedness.

Disaster preparedness is a priority for the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM). This year, OEM is partnering with the Regional Water Providers Consortium to promote the #14Gallons Challenge as part of its 2 Weeks Ready campaign (www.oregon.gov/oem/2WeeksReady) to have food, water and other materials in an emergency kit.

The campaign, #14Gallons Challenge, (bit.ly/14GallonsPromo) provides a call to action for families, neighborhoods and individuals to have a minimum of one gallon of water per person, per day set aside in the event of an emergency or disaster.

The #14Gallons Challenge encourages the public to “Fill it up. Ham it up. Get social!” That is, get 14 gallons of water per person in your household. Take a photo with your emergency water supply and then post your picture and the hashtag #14Gallons on social media. Get three friends to do it, too.

Photos will be entered in a drawing to win a 7-gallon emergency water storage container from the Regional Water Providers Consortium, or an emergency kit from the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. For more information about the #14Gallons Challenge, visit http://www.regionalh2o.org/14Gallons.