Get Ready Day

Get Ready Day, observed on September 16, is a reminder to prepare for unexpected situations before they happen. The day encourages people to think ahead about emergencies, including severe weather, power outages, natural disasters, and other disruptions that may affect their homes or communities.

Use Get Ready Day as an opportunity to create or review an emergency plan, gather essential supplies, and make sure important contact information is easy to find. Even small steps—such as checking flashlights, storing water, or discussing meeting places with loved ones—can build confidence and help everyone respond more calmly when preparation matters most.

Get Ready Day is observed annually on September 16 as a public-awareness occasion focused on emergency preparedness. Its purpose is to encourage individuals, families, workplaces, and communities to think ahead about possible hazards—including severe weather, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and other disruptions—and to take practical steps before an emergency occurs. Rather than commemorating one historical event, the observance developed from the broader public-health and emergency-management principle that preparation can reduce confusion, prevent avoidable harm, and support faster recovery.

The observance is associated with the American Public Health Association’s *Get Ready* initiative, a campaign created to help the public prepare for disasters and public-health emergencies. The campaign emphasizes accessible actions such as making an emergency plan, assembling a supply kit, learning about local risks, keeping important information available, and considering the needs of children, older adults, people with disabilities, and pets. In this context, Get Ready Day serves as a concentrated reminder of preparedness messages that public-health and emergency officials promote throughout the year.

Over time, the meaning of preparedness has broadened. Earlier emergency guidance often concentrated on immediate supplies and responses to specific disasters, while modern preparedness also addresses public-health emergencies, misinformation, communication challenges, continuity of work and school, and the importance of community networks. This evolution reflects the understanding that resilience depends not only on individual readiness but also on cooperation among households, health agencies, first responders, schools, businesses, and local organizations.

Culturally, Get Ready Day presents preparedness as a shared civic responsibility rather than a purely governmental task. Its September 16 observance provides a recurring opportunity to turn general concern into concrete action: reviewing an emergency contact list, checking supplies, learning first aid, or discussing a household evacuation and communication plan. In that way, the day links personal responsibility with community resilience and keeps emergency readiness visible in public life.