Is Your Neighborhood Prepared for a Severe Emergency?

The City of Knoxville's Office of Neighborhood Empowerment encourages every resident to consider the possibility that you may be on your own for some period of time following a widespread disaster. Here is what you can do to BE PREPARED as a neighborhood.

1) The Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Plan can be adopted by and adapted to the needs of any city neighborhood. The basic idea is for neighbors to work together and to think through how the community will survive if emergency responders are unable to reach you in the first 24-72 hours following a widespread disaster. See the program guide for developing a neighborhood-level plan.

2) The Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Guest Speaker Series arranges for officials from emergency response agencies to attend your neighborhood meeting to present information and/or conduct training sessions. See the Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Guest Speaker Series for more information about how to schedule a speaker. Emergency Preparedness Neighborhood Guest Speaker Series. 

Participating agencies include:

• American Red Cross of Tennessee Mountain Valley
• Knox County Health Department (KCHD)
• Knoxville Emergency Management Agency (KEMA)
• Knoxville Fire Department (KFD)
• Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB)

3) The Neighborhood Emergency Contact Network is a group of individuals -- strategically situated in neighborhoods all across the City -- who are available to report real-time, on-the-ground information to emergency services as those agencies work to determine the extent of damage from storms and other natural or man-made disasters.

If you are interested in working with your neighbors on emergency preparedness planning, would like to schedule an Emergency Series Guest Speaker, or wish to volunteer for the Contact Network, please contact Office of Neighborhood Empowerment at 865-215-3232.

Neighborhoods that complete the Emergency Preparedness Program will be awarded at the annual Neighborhood Awards Dinner in the spring.