In the wake of heavy rains that knocked out power and caused flooding throughout portions of the Central Coast last weekend, emergency services are taking the opportunity to remind people of the preparedness resources San Luis Obispo provides.
The City of San Luis Obispo has an emergency services department overseen by the fire department. It's there that they build plans and coordinate all emergency preparedness activities for the city. This includes staff training, development of an emergency operations center, community preparedness information, and coordination with the San Luis Obispo County Operational Area.
To protect yourself and home, the key to being prepared is having a plan.
"One of the biggest things we recommend is creating a preparedness kit. A 72-hour kit making sure everyone in your household can be self-sufficient for at least three days. That’s making sure you have enough water, food, medication, so that way when emergency services are taxed and can't make it to every home or call, that families can be self-sufficient for three days," said James Blattler, Emergency Manager for the City of San Luis Obispo.
In the most recent rain incident, many areas of San Luis Obispo County lost power, but that is a possibility with several different weather events.
On the Prepare SLO webpage, they have links to prep for winter weather, floods, fires, earthquakes, and more.
As an extra layer of preparedness, the City of SLO recommends you sign up for the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office's Reverse 911 program. Opting into the program will put you on a list of phone numbers that will receive calls during an emergency situation, offering the most up-to-date information on an active situation.
