Have you ever considered what you would do if you were out and about and severe weather struck? Where would you find shelter?  Would it be safe to try to go home? 

Photo courtesy Atlanta-Fulton County EMA

You can’t control where you will be during an emergency.  In March 2008, a tornado struck downtown Atlanta damaging several buildings and interrupting an SEC game at the Georgia Dome and an Atlanta Hawks game at Phillips Arena.  In April 2011, a tornado hit Lambert-St. Louis International Airport sending passengers scrambling for cover as debris swirled in the air around them.  Planes, with passengers in them, were damaged, windows were knocked out, and the terminal was shut down for temporarily for repairs. 

Disasters can strike any place at any time and it’s important to learn how to be safe wherever you are.

CDC’s Prep Check! takes preparedness into the community.  Each episode features a venue that many people visit regularly – large businesses, airports, churches, and more – to learn about how each of them prepares for a disaster. At the venue, we talk to emergency planners about their preparedness activities to protect employees and visitors, and experiences they have had with emergency situations.

In our first episode, we visit Lockheed Martin, one of the world’s largest defense contractors with more than 100,000 employees.  Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company with a heavy footprint in research, design, development, manufacture, and sustainability technology systems and products.  In this episode we talk to three of their emergency planners about their preparedness activities.  Go behind the scenes with Prep Check! and you’ll probably discover that you know more about this company than you realize.

Stay tuned to see how other locations prepare for emergencies and learn what you can do to keep yourself and your family safe.