FEMA has announced that the theme for National Preparedness Month in September of 2024 will focus on empowering Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities to act today to prepare for future risks and disasters.

This focus responds to trends that show the importance and the barriers of connecting with this community. According to census data analyzed by the Pew Research Center, the Asian population in the U.S. grew 81% from 2000 to 2019, from roughly 10.5 million to a record 18.9 million people and according to FEMA’s 2023 National Household Survey, 65% of the Asian Americans and 58% of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders surveyed reported that they don’t believe that taking a step to prepare will make a difference and were not confident in their ability to prepare.

FEMA will develop materials for AANHPI communities and host summer long activities and webinars to help people prepare for extreme weather events. Through coordination with the Ad Council, research and analysis and direct feedback from the community, FEMA will develop creative ads to further ensure culturally competent resources are available to help motive Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities to take steps to prepare.

Materials to help communities incorporate and promote the theme locally will be posted at https://www.ready.gov/september.

If your local health department or Medical Reserve Corps unit is planning activities to promote National Preparedness Month, NACCHO would like to feature your work through its publications. Please let Senior Communications Specialist Beth Hess ([email protected]) know if you have activities planned.