National Preparedness Month

It's National Preparedness Month!

Cheryl Nelson joins us on Good Day Kentucky with some tips on how we can stay ready!

A lack of coverage beautiful leather for the holiday weekend in derby ... lisa: each september is national preparedness month.

This year provides more challenges than ever as the nation has already experienced hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods, and a pandemic.

Joining us today is cheryl nelson, an instructor for fema's national disaster preparedness training center, a meteorologist, and the founder of prepare with cher.

Welcome to the show, cheryl.

Cheryl nelson: hey lisa.

Thanks for having me.

Lisa: well, let's talk a little bit about this.

Why is it more important than ever to recognize national preparedness month?

Cheryl nelson: i've been studying natural disasters for about two decades, and extreme weather events are on the rise.

Look at the 2020 hurricane season, it's off to a historically active start.

So it's crucial that you have your preparedness kit at home, in your vehicle, and because it's 2020, make sure you have your mask and hand sanitizer.

Lisa: absolutely.

Now, what is something that can make a huge difference in a disaster?

Cheryl nelson: a portable generator is a convenient and possibly life-saving tool for your family, but if not used properly, they do pose risks.

To prepare for hurricane season and help keep your family safe, always take your portable generator outside.

The portable generator manufacturers association has important safety tips to ensure proper use.

To avoid the dangers of invisible, odorless carbon monoxide build-up, always take it outside, which means never running your generator indoors, in a garage, basement, crawlspace, shed, or other partially enclosed space.

Visit takeyourgenera toroutside.com to learn more.

Lisa: good advice.

What is the one essential item everyone should keep on hand during a national disaster?

Cheryl nelson: i always recommend having a good working flashlight.

I love the maglite ml300l 4 d-cell led, because it offers more than two weeks of continuous light on one set of batteries in eco mode.

According to popular mechanics magazine, it's the last flashlight you'll ever need to buy.

Manufactured in america, it gives the right amount of light for any situation and offers legendary durability.

You want a quality flashlight that works when you need it.

Lisa: now, do you have any tips or ideas to stay powered up during this severe weather?

Cheryl nelson: absolutely.

With flashlights, you need batteries, of course.

Batteries plus bulbs has everything you need to keep your home and business powered up during severe weather and disasters.

They have backup power units, lanterns, generators, and alkaline batteries.

Also, jump packs, some pump batteries, and generator batteries.

It's important to have uninterruptible power supplies and surge protectors to protect your data and keep you connected during a power outage.

Batteries plus bulbs really has it all.

Lisa: you can never have enough batteries, can you?

It's really something.

Cheryl nelson: no.

I know, they're everywhere, which is a good thing.

Lisa: that's right.

Now, what else should we have for extreme weather emergencies?

Cheryl nelson: make sure you know if you have flood insurance.

This is crucial.

The national association of insurance commissioners recommends that you have a typical homeowners' insurance policy, and you want to check it though, because it typically does not cover floods.

You need flood insurance for that.

Flood insurance is available through the nfip or private insurance companies.

Regarding your vehicle, comprehensive auto insurance covers your car for weather related events like floods and tornadoes, as well as theft, fires, and animal accidents, but that kind of insurance is optional.

So you want to check your policy to make sure you're covered.

Visit naic.org for more info on that.

Lisa: all right.

Where can we go for more information in general, cheryl?

Cheryl nelson: visit tipsontv.com.

Lisa: awesome.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

We really appreciate it.

Cheryl nelson: