Ready Your Neighborhood
Story and images courtesy Anthony Aguinaga, EMD
The City’s Emergency Management Dept. (EMD) has developed a program called Ready Your LA Neighborhood (RYLAN) to help your family and neighbors prepare for disasters.
RYLAN gives LA residents the steps to take immediately after a disaster, keeping you and your family safe. It provides the tools necessary to organize the neighborhood’s response plan within that first critical hour, reducing injuries, protecting property and saving lives.
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EMD offers walkthroughs, orientations, workshops and drills. A walkthrough enables the Emergency Management Coordinator to assess the area and develop a comprehensive plan taking approximately one hour. Orientations are generally 15 to 20 minutes long and give the viewer a summarized version of what RYLAN offers. Workshops take a minimum of 90 minutes and go over the nine steps immediately after a disaster. They also identify a gathering site and care center, cover neighborhood skills and equipment inventory, roles and response teams, and complete a map/contact list.
Finally, EMD offers drills for those who have completed a workshop. Neighbors can practice what they learned by responding to lifelike scenarios. Those interested can register on our website (www.emergency.lacity.org), or call (213) 484-4800.