With September being National Preparedness Month, Snohomish County 911 centers would like to remind everyone to prepare ahead of time for a sudden emergency, disaster, or when calling 911. Below are some tips to help:

Make a Plan: What are your family’s unique circumstances? Do you have pets? Older family members? Special needs? Plan to meet those needs. Have a household communications plan.

Build a Kit: Gather supplies like food, water, basic first aid and tools, prescriptions, a flashlight, radio, and batteries for at least seven days. Collect your important documents.

Be Informed: Know the hazards that affect you. Make sure you have a way to monitor media and receive important messages from local emergency services. Get a NOAA weather radio.

Know Your Location: When contacting 911, it’s not always possible for 911 to determine your location. Be aware of your surroundings. Describe the location using a street address. If you don’t know the address, use mile markers, intersections, or building landmarks.

Help Us Help You: Help us keep 911 resources available during an event.
• Know when to call 911: During weather events, 911 centers can become inundated with phone calls, including those from people seeking information such as how to report power outages.
o To report a life-threatening situation or a hazard to public safety, such as a downed power line or a tree across the road, 911 is the number to call.
o If you need to report a power outage, call the PUD directly at 425-783-1001 or 877-783-1001, 24 hours a day.
o Please remember, 911 is not for directory assistance. If you need a phone number, please use other methods or call directory assistance.

• Stay on the line: If you call 911 by mistake, stay on the line so 911 can confirm there’s no emergency. If you hang up, 911 staff will spend time attempting to make contact with you.

Help Each Other Out: Plan with your neighbors and coworkers how you would respond and share resources in a disaster. Get trained in first aid and CPR.