Personal and Home Disaster Preparedness

Getting Prepared

Seattle’s emergency preparedness efforts have two essential goals: protecting lives and restoring essential services. Cities are the frontline in preparedness. In any disaster, people would first call police or fire departments for assistance. To help us help you, make sure you’re personally prepared. There are a number of simple things you can do to ensure you and your loved ones are ready should disaster strike.

This page serves as a basic checklist for emergency preparation. For more in-depth information, visit the Emergency Management Web site.

Note: these preparedness tips are presented as a series of Adobe Acrobat documents (pdf format). These files are between 1.5MB and 2MB and will take 3 to 5 minutes to download over a 56K modem. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files.

• Your Family's Disaster Supply Kit (PDF)
• How to Develop a Family Reunion Plan (PDF)
• Work and School Emergency Supply Kit (PDF)
• Car Emergency Supply Kit (PDF)
• Storing Emergency Water (PDF)
• Hanging Your Wall Furnishings (PDF)
• Controlling Utilities After a Disaster (PDF)
• Securing Your Water Heater (PDF)
• Cabinet Safety (PDF)
• Pet Preparedness (PDF)
• Preventing and Preparing for Household Fires (PDF)
• Garage and Storage Safety (PDF)
• Retrofitting Your House

City of Seattle Viaduct Prepardeness Drill - October 2005

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This MyNeighborhood mapping guide features Seattle Police Department crime data for Seattle.

Seattle Municipal Jail
Seattle is looking at building a municipal jail because the City is going to lose all of its municipal jail beds when its nonrenewable contract with King County ends in 2012.

Decreasing Youth Violence
Mayor Greg Nickels announces a new initiative geared to decrease youth violence.

Emergency and Earthquake - Personal and Family Preparedness Video
Created to help Seattle residents prepare for disasters. Available in English, Amharic, Cambodian, Cantonese, Oromo, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya and Vietnamese.

Emergency Training Classes
Seattle Emergency Management offers classes on the topics of Home Retrofit, First Aid Training and more; pre-registration for classes is required.

Amber Alerts
Check the latest and past Amber Alerts in Washington and other participating states.

Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy Program
"Making Seattle the most Prepared City in America"

Pay a Parking or Traffic Ticket Online
The Municipal Court of Seattle accepts payments for misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, infractions and civil violation tickets issued in the City of Seattle.

Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound is a partnership of concerned citizens, law enforcement, and media serving the communities of King, Kitsap, and Snohomish Counties in the fight against crime.

Guide to Maps - Staying Safe
City maps to assist you in the event of an emergency.