September is National Hurricane Preparedness Month

MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. – September is National Hurricane Preparedness Month and typically peak season. Don’t wait until there’s a storm in the Gulf of Mexico to begin preparations.

Mobile County Commission and Mobile County Emergency Management Agency urge local residents to make time to get ready: know your risk, make a plan, build a kit, gather important documents, and generally be prepared.

Should an evacuation or a stay at a local shelter be necessary, one of the well-documented challenges is the lack of access to important documents. Experts recommend having these in a handy grab-and-go file.

“Whether a person has identification, financial, legal and other important documents can make all the difference in accessing services quickly after natural disasters and other emergencies,” said District 1 Commissioner Merceria Ludgood. “The time it takes to gather these items in advance is truly time well spent,” she added.

To help make it easier to grab-and-go important documents, the Mobile County Commission has distributed 15” by 10” vinyl Important Documents envelopes, which are free and available for pickup at various locations throughout the Mobile County while supplies last.

Residents may find the Important Documents envelopes at local public libraries, community seniors, and senior centers, as well as at offices of the Revenue Commissioner and License Commissioner or Mobile Government Plaza’s Information Desk.

Each Important Documents envelope comes with a card explaining the types of information it should hold, such as:

• Household identification like driver's licenses, state IDs, passports, Social Security cards, etc.

• Medical information like health and dental insurance cards, lists of medications, disabilities documentation, etc.

• Financial and legal documents like lease/mortgage/deed, insurance policies, loan documents, wills, vehicle titles, bank accounts, etc.

• Emergency contact information for the household like employers/supervisors, daycares, churches, service providers, home repair services, etc.

For more information on preparedness, go to the recently updated mcema.net or FEMA’s Ready.gov.

Mobile County EMA’s recently updated app is available from the Apple Store and Google Play. The app gives weather updates and has interactive features. The recently upgraded app now streams NOAA’s weather radio.

For more information about these Important Papers envelopes, please contact publicaffairs@mobilecountyal.gov or 251-574-5077.