Camp Pendleton service members and their families are encouraged to be prepared for natural disasters that could occur in Southern California.

September is designated as National Preparedness Month and this year, President Barack Obama has declared Sept. 30 as America’s ‘PrepareAthon Day,’ a day of action for individuals, organizations and communities to prepare for all types of natural disasters.

Be prepared, be informed

Jerry Vanlancker, the Marine Corps Installations-West base emergency manager, suggests that planning for a disaster or emergency means taking your family’s unique needs into consideration so that everyone will know what to do and where to go during a crisis. It is also important that you keep your personal information in a secure location and readily available.

“Everyone should have a ‘go-bag’,” said Vanlancker. “It’s important to have things like important documents and medications prepared; and if you have kids, make sure you have diapers, baby food and sanitary wipes ready to go.”

According to the school liaison, service members and their families are encouraged to stay informed by familiarizing themselves with Camp Pendleton’s social media sites to receive accurate and timely information

“During the last fire we had here, the parents actually relied mostly on the information they saw posted on the Camp Pendleton Facebook page,” said Rose Ingersoll, a school liaison officer here. “The public affairs office posted status updates frequently on important information like where students were being evacuated to and who they could contact to reach their children.”

Base officials also encourage families to add power supplies, radios and water to their survival kits in the event that those resources become inaccessible, or if the communication network goes down.

“There are many great resources people can use to put together a kit for rapidly vacating their residence,” said Vanlancker. “Ready.gov is a great source for information that can assist our base residents on their preparedness.”