Maricopa County Shares Assets For National Preparedness Month • Maricopa County, AZ

September marks the tail-end of the Monsoon in addition to National Preparedness Month, which serves as an essential reminder to remain alert, plan forward, and shield what issues most if an emergency state of affairs arises

As the primary line of protection for unincorporated areas and a key emergency administration chief for cities and cities, Maricopa County works carefully with companions year-round to assist maintain the general public out of hurt’s manner. Several departments, together with the Flood Control District, Public Health, and Emergency Management develop and execute complete plans to watch doable emergency conditions, mitigate their impacts, and talk pressing alerts with residents.

“When the Boulder View Fire burned over 2,500 acres in Scottsdale in June 2024, the Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management issued real-time fire updates while the Sheriff’s Office helped evacuate residents in danger,” stated Thomas Galvin, Chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, District 2. “I am so grateful for the selfless and hard-working public servants who confront dangerous situations head on and go above and beyond to keep our communities safe.”

Watch Video: How Maricopa County Keeps Communities Safe in Emergency Situations

Storms & Flooding

During the Monsoon, Maricopa County usually experiences torrential rain, large clouds of mud, and flash floods. Successful campaigns like Turn Around, Don’t Drown and Pull Aside, Stay Alive encourage residents to take security precautions like staying away from rising flood waters and avoiding driving in inclement climate.

The Flood Control District retains an in depth watch on incoming storms to guard Maricopa County residents from bodily damage or property injury as a consequence of flooding. Flood Control provides all kinds of assets to make sure residents are knowledgeable, together with:

The day by day Weather Outlook for climate updates

The Floodplain Viewer Map to see if your own home could also be situated in a floodplain

Real-time, interactive Rainfall Maps to measure quantities and timing of rainfall throughout the County.

Their dam cams are additionally recognized for capturing some fairly intense mud storm footage just like the one beneath!

Extreme Heat

Triple-digit warmth is a actuality in Maricopa County, posing a critical danger to weak populations like older adults and folks experiencing homelessness. To stop heat-related deaths, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health works via the Heat Relief Network—a collaboration of companions together with 211 Arizona, Maricopa Association of Governments, municipalities, and lots of neighborhood organizations—to coach residents in regards to the early warning indicators of warmth sickness and join them with very important assets.

Maricopa County acknowledges that deaths attributable to environmental warmth are a critical public well being subject and believes that each heat-related dying is preventable. The Heat-Related Death Dashboard has been created to trace confirmed or suspected warmth deaths reported by the Office of the Medical Examiner, establish tendencies, inform future outreach efforts, and in the end stop additional tragic lack of life.

Wildfires

With the warmth comes a dry local weather that gives a flamable setting for fires began by lightning, fireworks, cigarettes, or improperly extinguished campfires. The Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management proactively companions with hearth districts and municipalities to replace an Emergency Zones Map that residents can reference to see if they’re in an lively emergency or evacuation zone.

During an incident, Emergency Management deploys a READY, SET, GO protocol for planning for and initiating evacuations:

READY: Have an emergency plan created and a go bag full of important gadgets your loved ones wants most (bottled water, non-perishable meals gadgets, a battery-powered radio, essential paperwork, drugs, and so forth.)

SET: Have your go bag prepared by the door and be ready to go away as quickly as you’re notified to.

GO: Evacuate instantly together with your family members and pets to keep away from a life-threatening state of affairs.

While County departments work laborious to take care of situational consciousness and alert residents of doable threats, it is essential to keep in mind that preparedness begins at residence. By proactively making a plan with your loved ones and having a go bag packed, you’re doing all your half to save lots of lives.

Preparedness begins at residence. Follow MCDEM at @MaricopaPrepared for real-time updates on emergencies and go to Maricopa.gov/Preparedness to start out planning forward.