It’s never too early to start thinking spring storms in Texas and Oklahoma! Preparing for a tornadoes, high wind, hail, flooding and power outages now can help speed up the disaster recovery process later. 

Visit the following sites for more information on how to prepare, what you’ll need and what to watch for this spring.

The Texas Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) is a collaborative educational network dedicated to educating citizens about disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Texas EDEN is a part of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and is affiliated with National Extension Disaster Education Network. They offer fact sheets, workbooks and post-disaster recovery sources for ranches, farms and homesteads. at https://texashelp.tamu.edu/browse/by-type/agriculture-disasters/farm-ranch/.

AgriLife Extension also recommends the ReadyAG© workbook designed to help farm and ranch owners be better prepared to deal with disasters that can occur on their farm or ranch. The intent of ReadyAG© is to help farmers and ranchers become better prepared for all disasters, so they can continue to be viable even in the face of disastrous events. See more at https://texashelp.tamu.edu/browse/disaster-preparedness-information/farm-ranch/

The Texas Animal Health Commission has information on emergency preparedness plans for your livestock and pets at www.tahc.texas.gov.

Be sure your ranch workers are also prepared! Preparedness involves a continuous process of planning, equipping, training and exercising. Planning for tornadoes requires identifying a place to take shelter, being familiar with and monitoring your community’s warning system, and establishing procedures to account for individuals. Employers may need to obtain additional equipment and/or resources (e.g. Emergency Supply Kits) identified in the plan. In addition, workers need to be trained and plans need to be practiced to ensure that personnel are familiar with what to do in the event of a tornado. Visit the Department of Labor’s website about workplace preparedness for resources, checklists and more at https://www.osha.gov/dts/weather/tornado/preparedness.html.

Don’t miss this FEMA fact sheet on preparing for a tornado: https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1409003506195-52740fd2983079a211d041f7aea6b85d/how_to_prepare_tornado_033014_508.pdf

Preparedness is Key to Surviving Tornadoes with Horses at TheHorse.com: https://thehorse.com/116017/preparedness-is-key-to-surviving-tornadoes-with-horses/.

Two weather resources to keep an eye on this spring: The National Weather Service at weather.gov for watches and warnings, plus the Texas Emergency Portal at emergency.portal.texas.gov.

Be sure all your important documents are in a safe place and easily accessible, including emergency contact information. Stay safe and stay aware!