Charley English is Prepared.

What are three unique items you plan to include in your Ready kit in addition to the suggested items?

When a disaster threatens Georgia, I go to work. So, it’s important that my family is prepared: Knowing they’re safe enables me to do my job more effectively. We keep our NOAA Weather Radio plugged in at all times. This is the best indoor warning system out there, and it will give my family the critical minutes they need to take shelter when a warning is issued by the National Weather Service. We have designated a safe room – an interior closet on the lowest level of our home -- and keep Ready kit with a three-day supply of food and water, including my favorite canned boiled peanuts, along with a flashlight and other supplies. We also have a portable battery-powered television/radio combo -- it’s important to keep everyone entertained as well as informed if we can’t leave home for a few days. Finally, my wife keeps a stack of cookbooks in the safe room. Some of her best dinner ideas have come after waiting out a storm!

What would you say to fellow Georgians about preparing for a large-scale emergency?

Georgia runs the gamut of disasters. We experience everything from chemical spills on the Interstate to hurricanes. My advice is to prepare for smaller emergencies first, like power outages from storms, then work on being Ready for the bigger ones. Start small, than expand.

Why do you think emergency preparedness is important?

In my 13 years with GEMA, there have been 18 federally declared disasters. Every season brings a new threat: snow and ice in winter, tornadoes in spring, wildfires in summer and hurricanes in the fall. If you and your family are prepared, you will know what to do in any emergency. Even better, you will then be able to help your extended family or a neighbor who may lack the resources or need assistance preparing.

Have you or a loved one experienced an emergency where a Ready kit would have come in handy?

My wife and I found ourselves homebound without electricity for several days during a pounding snowstorm in 1993. Not only were we stuck, but Ronda was pregnant with our first child. Fortunately, we had everything we needed to survive -- except labor and delivery items! Our porch became our refrigerator and freezer when we packed our perishable items in snow and ice and stored them out there. Luckily, Chandler waited until the storm passed to join us.