When it comes to disasters like Hurricane Harvey, one expert on preparedness says it's up to individuals to be ready for weather events like this that are becoming more common.
"Another new normal that we should be paying attention to and working toward normalizing is the role that the average citizen really needs to be playing in their own preparedness and community preparedness," said Dr. Keith Tidball from Cornell Cooperative Extension.
He runs the Extension's Disaster Education Network, which he says is heavily engaged with other partners in educating around preparedness for almost any kind of hazard, or potential storm or disaster.
Tidball says we've been lulled into a false notion that technology or government will take care of us in such storms, but he maintains individual preparedness is key, and people can learn plenty from cooperative extension on best practices when it comes to storms and disasters.
"Let's just say we have a notification that a hurricane is coming. There's a suite of resources there for preparedness. There's a suite of resources gathered from the entire land grant system, on what to do when the storm hits and then the recovery phase. There's all kinds of questions that will be arising now as flood levels first rise then recede. What do we do with moldy items in the home, flood damaged items, and what do we do with agricultural issues?" he said.
Tidball says there are many questions that the cooperative extension can help to address.
He says they stand ready to help.
Click herefor more information on the Disaster Education Network.