Last month, NOVA’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) introduced you to Do 1 Thing – a web-based, 12-month preparedness program that makes preparing easier by helping people take small steps each month toward becoming better prepared for emergencies or disasters. January’s topic was Make a Plan and it challenged you to think ahead of what you and your family would do during a disaster.

February’s topic is one that can easily be overlooked, but is one you can’t survive long without – Water.

THE GOAL: Have enough water on-hand for your family to last 3 days (72 hours). This should be about 3 gallons per person.
Choose one of these things to do to be ready for an emergency:
1. Buy 3 days of water at the store.
2. Bottle a 3 day supply of water at home.
3. Learn how to provide a safe supply of drinking water for your household in a disaster.

Each month on this blog, OEM will post Do 1 Thing’s monthly topic and we encourage you to follow the program at http://do1thing.com.

NOVA’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) wants you to be better prepared for emergencies and disasters. Emergency preparedness at home is a big job, and many people never get started because they don’t know where to begin.

To help get you started, OEM challenges you to follow ‘Do 1 Thing’ (http://do1thing.com) each month in 2015. Do 1 Thing is a web-based, 12-month preparedness program that makes preparing easier by helping people take small steps each month toward becoming better prepared for emergencies or disasters.

It’s as easy as this:

1. Click on the current month’s topic.
2. Select one of the easy “things to do.”
3. Do that one thing!

If you follow along for an entire year, you will be better prepared to handle most disasters and emergencies. You can jump in anytime and you don’t have to do things in any order (all 12 things are in the little yellow box on the left). You can choose whatever topic you like.

Each month on this blog, OEM will post Do 1 Thing’s monthly topic and we encourage you to follow the program. January’s topic is: Make a Plan.

If you would like additional information about how to make a plan, you can also visit:

http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia/makeaplan

Whether an emergency happens at home, work, or on-campus, NOVA’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) wants you to be prepared and know what action to take to stay as safe as possible.  Take a moment to be informed while on campus and read the Emergency Procedures Posters found in each office and classroom.  You can also be informed by locating the two nearest exits to your classroom or office so that, if an evacuation occurs, you can get out of your building as quickly as possible. 

Another way you can be prepared for an emergency is to make an emergency kit.  This can include items like a flashlight, extra batteries, bottled water, first aid kit, cash, and a list of emergency contacts.  You can find out what else you should have in your emergency kit by going to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management’s website. 

OEM will be hosting two events in September to promote emergency preparedness for students, faculty, and staff.  The first will be September 24th from 11 AM to 1 PM on the Upper Plaza of the Annandale Campus.  The second event will be September 25th from 11 AM to 1 PM outside the LC Building at the Loudoun Campus.  We welcome everyone to stop by, even if just for a couple of minutes! 

For more information on National Preparedness Month and how you can be prepared, go to FEMA’s website or VDEM’s website. 

NovaAlert is the College’s system used to contact you with urgent information about emergencies, weather related closings, delays, and other critical information.  All student, faculty, and staff college email addresses have been added to the new NovaAlert system.  However, all cell phone users were deleted from the old system and, in order to get text alerts on your cell phone from the new system, you must complete the following steps:

1. Login to https://alert.nvcc.edu
2. Go to the USER LOGIN on the left side of the page
3. Enter your college email address (FOR STUDENTS use the one ending in @email.vccs.edu; FOR FACULTY/STAFF use the one ending in @nvcc.edu)
4. Your PASSWORD is your emplid

(If you do not know your emplid, Check your NOVA ID card or Go to MyNova from the college homepage.  STUDENTS click SIS, SELF SERVICE, STUDENT CENTER, DEMOGRAPHIC DATA.  FACULTY/STAFF click HR, SELF SERVICE, CAMPUS PERSONAL INFORMATION, DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION)

5. Click Log in
6. If, for some reason, the system does not recognize you; go ahead and register as a new user
7. You can add a cell phone number or other email addresses under the DEVICES tab

Since this is a new system, you must enter your cell phone number to get text alerts, even if you had been receiving text alerts in the past.

If you have a problem, you can contact the NOVA IT Help Desk between 8:30am – 5:00pm, Monday-Friday by calling 703-426-4141 or by email at ithelpdesk@nvcc.edu.