The City of Roanoke Stormwater Utility and Emergency Management are hosting Roanoke’s 2023 Prepareathon, an initiative with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that encourages local organizations and individuals to be prepared for flooding and other natural disasters that affect our local area. Prepareathon will be held on Saturday, September 16, 2023, from 10 AM – 2 PM at the Berglund Center Coliseum and will focus on aspects of emergency preparedness and response.

This free, family-friendly event provides participants knowledge about risks of local hazards, opportunities to practice preparedness actions, the confidence to help everyone stay safe during a disaster, and access to FEMA preparedness resources. This event will be both fun and informative, so residents can connect to the resources before a disaster happens. We want everyone in Roanoke to be prepared in case of disaster. Disasters don’t plan, but you can!

Here are several fun things coming to Prepareathon:

• Meet your local rescue team
• ake pictures with and explore state of the art rescue equipment and vehicles
• Learn about your local hazards
• Build confidence in and connection with local resources
• Enter chance to win preparedness kits and other prizes
• Food and ice cream