LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Have you and your family sat down and discussed what your emergency plan is in the event of an earthquake, fire or natural disaster?
8 News Now caught up with Katie Belfi — the lead attorney for FEMA during Hurricane Sandy.
“The way I like to teach emergency preparedness and readiness and resilience is you’re never going to be prepared for every specific emergency,” Belfi said. “What matters is you have a strong foundation and understanding of the basics.”
Belfi owns a consulting business. She works with companies, colleges and cities on preparedness and how to respond to emergencies.
After working with them, she realized without resilient individuals, these organizations did not stand a chance, and she has expanded her efforts to individuals and families.
“When you start down this road for yourself, you can start to identify things that might classify as emergencies for your family, that wouldn’t for somebody else,” Belfi said. “Say you have an elderly family member whose is living with you and falls when you are not home, that’s what you would want to address.”
She has an e-book that introduces you to the basics of emergency preparedness.
She adds, the global pandemic was the perfect illustrators for all of us that federal resources are being stretched to a level never imagined and the more we cultivate resilience on an individual level, the more we will be able to help our friends and families within our own communities.