The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted on Tuesday to declare September 2012 National Preparedness Month. 

The month is a time to "raise awareness about the importance about emergency preparedness and to encourage all Prince William County employees and residents to prepare for disasters in their homes, businesses and communities," the declaration reads. Click on the .PDF file to the right to read the entire document. 

Patrick Collins, Prince William Count's Emergency Services Manager, gave a few brief remarks at the board's meeting and urged residents to be prepared for an emergency. He recommended that households keep an emergency supply kit and one gallon of water per person on hand, and be prepared to be self-sufficient for 72 hours after an emergency. 

Collins said another good tool is to sign up for emergency text messages from the county. He recommended buying a weather radio, which is available for purchase online and in a number of retail stores. 

"It's not a terribly expensive piece of equipment and every home should have one," he said. 

Chairman Corey Stewart noted that it was just one year ago this month that a number of Prince William County encountered a devastating flood.