Josephine County, OR

Personal and Family Preparedness

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Personal and Family Preparedness 5385

Where to start?

The prospect of “getting prepared for emergencies” can seem like a huge undertaking. Do you prepare for three days? For a week? A month?

Here are some easy steps to get you started:

Which emergencies concern you and your family the most? Identify these first, then make a list of the disasters and how they would impact your family. Talk about how you could overcome the impacts of each disaster.

For example, a disaster that involves a power outage may cause you to be without water if you are on a well. A way to overcome this would be to find an alternate water source, or an alternate way to power your well pump.

Decide as a family when you would evacuate, and when you would shelter in place.

For example, you might choose to weather a winter storm in your house, but would choose to evacuate if a wildfire threatened your neighborhood.

Decide as a family the duration for which you want to prepare. 

Identify for whom you are making preparations (humans, pets and livestock).

Make a list of the things you’ll need during a disaster. There are many lists of suggested items on the internet.

Then, assess your current level of preparedness:

Take inventory of equipment and supplies you already have (i.e. camping gear)

Talk about what you need to do in order to overcome the impacts of disaster to your family, and see how many solutions you can implement right now.

Using the example from above, a generator may be the best solution to the problem. If you don’t currently have a generator or the means to get one, a temporary solution might be to store water in plastic jugs or drums until you are able to get a generator.

Finally, make a list of steps you need to take in order to achieve the level of preparedness you and your family identified. Make a weekly or monthly commitment to work on these steps with your family. Develop a monthly budget and shopping list.

Common steps include:

1. Build 72-hour kits for your home and vehicles

2. Create an emergency plan for you and your family:

a) A plan for how you and your family members will contact each other when a disaster occurs
b) A plan for how to get out of your home quickly and safely if the need arises
c) Phone numbers for your doctors and veterinarians
d) Names and phone numbers of people you can stay with temporarily, both locally and out of the area, in case you have to evacuate your home
e) Names and phone numbers of people who can house your animals if you have to evacuate your home

3. Teach family members how to turn off gas, electrical and water services to your home

4. Create a defensible space around your home by clearing brush and trimming trees

Be sure to test your plans! Preparing and having a plan can help you to feel less vulnerable to disasters.  Training and testing can be positive experiences that help alleviate anxiety over the unknown.

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Josephine County
Emergency Management
500 NW 6th Street
Grants Pass, OR 97526
em@josephinecounty.gov
541-474-5300

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Josephine County Emergency Management
3/17/2025
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Josephine County Emergency Management
3/16/2025
21 1
The weekend's excessive rainfall in Southern Oregon has created widespread road-related impacts on county-maintained roads. Nearly all areas of the county road system are being impacted. Known problem areas as of 1:30PM Sunday - Lower River Road @ Hunt Lane is closed due to high water. Gene Brown Road, O'Brien, closed due to high water Pleasant Valley Road, between Merlin Road and Tavis Road, closed due to high water Upper River Road @ Ft Vannoy School, high water 7000-8000 block of North Applegate Road, near Noble Dairy, significant debris across road, proceed with caution. This is NOT an all-inclusive list, as conditions continue to change. Drivers are reminded to limit travel to essential activities and allow themselves extra time to get to their destination. Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm related hazard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that over half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water. The next highest percentage of flood-related deaths is due to walking into or near flood waters. People underestimate the force and power of water. Many of the deaths occur in cars swept downstream. Many of these drownings are preventable. Never drive around the barriers blocking a flooded road. The road may have collapsed under that water. A mere 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult. It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away most cars and just 2 feet of rushing water can carry away SUVs and trucks. It is NEVER safe to drive or walk into flood waters. Residents can get information on sandbag suppliers at www.rvem.org/News/sandbags-faq" target="_blank">https://www.rvem.org/News/sandbags-faq For other safety tips www.rvem.org Turn Around Don’t Drown, National Weather Service: https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-turn-around-dont-drown
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Josephine County Emergency Management
3/16/2025
22 1
The weekend's excessive rainfall in Southern Oregon has created widespread road-related impacts on county-maintained roads. Nearly all areas of the county road system are being impacted. Known problem areas as of 1:30PM Sunday - Lower River Road @ Hunt Lane is closed due to high water. Gene Brown Road, O'Brien, closed due to high water Pleasant Valley Road, between Merlin Road and Tavis Road, closed due to high water Upper River Road @ Ft Vannoy School, high water 7000-8000 block of North Applegate Road, near Noble Dairy, significant debris across road, proceed with caution. This is NOT an all-inclusive list, as conditions continue to change. Drivers are reminded to limit travel to essential activities and allow themselves extra time to get to their destination. Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm related hazard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that over half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water. The next highest percentage of flood-related deaths is due to walking into or near flood waters. People underestimate the force and power of water. Many of the deaths occur in cars swept downstream. Many of these drownings are preventable. Never drive around the barriers blocking a flooded road. The road may have collapsed under that water. A mere 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult. It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away most cars and just 2 feet of rushing water can carry away SUVs and trucks. It is NEVER safe to drive or walk into flood waters. Residents can get information on sandbag suppliers at www.rvem.org/News/sandbags-faq" target="_blank">https://www.rvem.org/News/sandbags-faq Other information about floods and safety tips www.rvem.org Turn Around Don’t Drown, National Weather Service: https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-turn-around-dont-drown
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Josephine County Emergency Management
3/16/2025
4 0
UPDATE: 2/25/25 10:00am: Wayne has been located safely. * Date of Report: 02/24/2025 Case: 25-4214 Name: Wayne David Morris Age: 76 Sex: Male Race: White Height: 5'5" Weight: 180 Hair: Gray Eyes: Blue Information: Wayne was reported missing late Monday night. He was last seen on Vine Street around 3:00pm on 2/24/25. He was driving a gray 2020 Chevrolet Silverado with OR license plate 593MMB. The OnStar app shows the vehicle's last known location to be in the Hog Creek area around 4:30pm later that day. SAR has been activated. Please contact the Josephine County Sheriff's Office with any information. Phone: 541-474-5123
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Josephine County Emergency Management
2/25/2025
15 0
Update 02/03/2025 12:30pm: ODOT: SW Oregon: I-5 NB, MP 66: UPDATE - Crews have cleared stalled trucks in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5, 8 miles north of Grants Pass. Expect continued delays throughout the area due to winter conditions. Avoid travel until conditions improve. Visibility is limited; turn on headlights. Check road conditions at https://tripcheck.com/" target="_blank">https://tripcheck.com/ . More Info ODOT: SW Oregon: I-5 NB, MP 66: Expect delays in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5, 8 miles north of Grants Pass while crews work to clear stalled trucks blocking the road. Visibility is limited. Postpone travel until conditions improve. Do not detour on local or forest roads. Expect delays throughout the area due to winter conditions. Check road conditions at https://tripcheck.com/" target="_blank">https://tripcheck.com/ . More Info
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Josephine County Emergency Management
2/3/2025
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