TL;DR: On September 14, 2026, California issued a statewide public notice proclaiming September as Preparedness Month and urging every resident to make an emergency plan.
Public Notice Answers: What California Asked Residents to Do
On September 14, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom marked Preparedness Month by highlighting the state's readiness work and calling on Californians to take basic steps that can save lives, according to the Governor of California announcement titled "Ready is how California leads, and every Californian has a role to play."
The notice framed preparation as work done before smoke, shaking, or evacuation alerts. It stated that the most consequential disaster work often happens before anyone sees smoke, feels shaking, or hears an evacuation order, when resources are positioned, warnings reach families, and neighbors check on vulnerable residents.
Governor Newsom said the first duty of government is to protect its people by acting before disaster rather than only responding afterward, with earlier preparation, larger investment, and use of science and technology.
State emergency leaders joined the notice with the same message. Cal OES Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs described preparedness as a shared responsibility built through partnerships and informed communities that know what to do, where steps taken today matter when seconds count. CAL FIRE Chief and Director Joe Tyler pointed to historic investments in tools and personnel while adding that resilience depends on every Californian recognizing a personal role.
Why September Became the Focal Point
September is recognized nationally as preparedness month, and California used the September 14 notice to connect statewide systems to household action.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency marked the September observance with the theme "Americans Stand Ready," according to the VA News report "Veteran and VA Ready: Leading preparedness this September." That theme was also listed by the City of Chicago in its September 9, 2026 notice "Chicago Stands Ready for National Preparedness Month," which described the month as an annual effort to promote family and community planning.
California's notice fit that national timing but focused on state-operated warning, prevention, and pre-positioning systems. It presented readiness across earthquakes, heat, storms, and fire, then asked residents to complete personal plans.
Earthquake Ready: Seconds of Warning Before Shaking
For earthquake risk, the September 14 notice pointed to Earthquake Warning California, launched in 2019 as the nation's first public statewide early-warning system.
The system uses ground-motion sensors to detect earthquakes and can deliver alerts through the MyShake app, compatible Android devices, and Wireless Emergency Alerts before shaking is felt. The notice reported more than 4.7 million downloads of the app across all platforms as of that day.
It cited a 2024 earthquake in Kern County as an operational example, saying the system alerted millions of Californians, with some people receiving up to 35 seconds of advance notice.
For households, the planning lesson is direct: install an available alert pathway, keep phones charged and able to receive Wireless Emergency Alerts, and decide in advance what to do during those seconds — drop, cover, hold on, and avoid waiting to confirm shaking.
Heat Ready: ZIP-Level Risk and Multilingual Outreach
The notice made extreme heat a statewide priority and described a sequence of tools and summer actions.
In 2025, California launched CalHeatScore, described as a first-in-the-nation tool providing ZIP code-level information on heat health risks. In July 2026, the state mobilized ahead of extreme heat and elevated fire risk across the West, pre-positioning fire crews and equipment in eight counties and delivering heat-safety messaging statewide in 17 languages through Ready California.
In August, Governor Newsom announced an updated Extreme Heat Action Plan organized around four tracks — public awareness, community response, resilient infrastructure, and nature-based cooling solutions — aimed at protection as extreme heat becomes more frequent and severe.
For residents, the notice's implication is to check local heat-risk information, plan cooling options before a heat event, identify people who may need checks during high temperatures, and follow official heat-safety messages in the appropriate language.
Storm Ready: Sandbags, Personnel, and Pre-Positioning
For flood and winter-storm threats, the notice emphasized preparing earlier and placing materials before storms arrive.
Before a 2025 atmospheric river event, the state pre-positioned more than 3.7 million sandbags and 162 flood-fighting material containers across 25 counties. Caltrans deployed 2,500 personnel and 1,253 pieces of equipment, including snowplows, backhoes, and storm-drain clearing equipment.
The notice also described longer-term capacity. Since 2015, the California Department of Water Resources has trained more than 7,000 local first responders in flood fighting. California maintains a stockpile of more than 6.1 million sandbags, 400,000 tons of rock, and other flood-fighting materials at 70 locations statewide.
Household planning should mirror that approach on a smaller scale: learn whether a home is in a flood-prone area, keep drainage paths clear, store essential documents and medications where they can be carried quickly, and follow evacuation guidance rather than waiting for water to rise.
Fire Ready: Aircraft, Satellites, Cameras, and Staffing
Wildfire readiness received the most detailed operational inventory in the September 14 notice.
The state now operates the nation's first state-owned fleet of C-130H airtankers, launched three FireSat wildfire-detection satellites in June 2026, and expanded the ALERTCalifornia AI camera network to more than 1,200 cameras statewide. Those cameras have detected over 900 fires before 911 calls were made.
CAL FIRE has expanded its workforce over the past five years by adding an average of 1,800 full-time and 600 seasonal positions annually — described as nearly double the staffing available when Governor Newsom first took office.
Since January 1, 2025, Cal OES has pre-deployed 1,132 fire engines, 154 water tenders, 80 helicopters, 142 pieces of heavy equipment, and more than 9,900 firefighters and support personnel to 41 counties ahead of critical fire weather.
Residents in fire-prone areas should treat pre-deployment season as a signal to maintain defensible space where required by local rules, prepare a go-bag, plan multiple exit routes, and leave promptly when told to evacuate.
What District Officials Told Households to Do
A second public notice reinforced the same household actions from a city perspective. On September 9, 2026, the Bowser Administration officially proclaimed September as "DC Preparedness Month," according to the HSEMA release "Bowser Administration Recognizes September as DC Preparedness Month."
The District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency encouraged Washingtonians to take simple steps that help families and communities stay safe when emergencies happen. It cited hazards including extreme heat, severe storms, power outages, and other disruptions.
HSEMA Director Clint Osborn said preparedness does not have to be complicated or expensive, adding that knowing local risks, having a plan, keeping supplies, knowing where to get trusted information, and looking out for neighbors can make a difference.
The District notice listed five starting actions:
Know risk, make a plan, and keep supplies
Residents were urged to learn about hazards that can affect the District and consider effects on households and neighborhoods. Plans should cover communication, meeting places, evacuation, or staying home, including needs of children, older adults, pets, and people who may need additional assistance.
For supplies, the guidance was to start with items already owned and add over time, including medications, water, food, flashlights, chargers, and copies of important information.
Stay informed and check on neighbors
Washingtonians were encouraged to sign up for AlertDC at alert.dc.gov for emergency alerts and information from District public safety officials and to decide in advance where they will turn for trusted information.
The final step was community connection: get to know neighbors, discuss mutual help, and check on people who may need additional support before, during, and after an emergency. Preparedness information was posted at ready.dc.gov, with ReadyDC administering the campaign on behalf of Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Federal Notices Published September 14: Recovery Help Remains Open
September 14 also brought federal recovery notices relevant to households and nonprofits planning after storms.
A Federal Register notice published September 14, titled "Presidential Declaration of a Major Disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of South Dakota," gave notice of the presidential major-disaster declaration for Public Assistance Only for South Dakota, designated FEMA-4938-DR and dated September 1, 2026. The incident was severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding, with an incident period of June 28, 2026 through July 3, 2026.
It listed primary counties as Beadle, Bennett, Buffalo, Day, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, and Stanley, plus the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation and the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation. Private nonprofit organizations providing essential governmental services could apply through the MySBA Loan Portal. The physical loan deadline was November 1, 2026, and the economic injury deadline was June 1, 2027, with listed interest rates of 3.625 percent.
A separate September 14 Federal Register notice, titled "Presidential Declaration Amendment of a Major Disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of Indiana," amended the Indiana declaration FEMA-4933-DR, dated August 25, 2026, to update the incident period to August 11, 2026 through August 24, 2026 for severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding. The physical loan deadline was October 25, 2026, and the economic injury deadline was May 25, 2027.
The broader federal context was summarized in the "FEMA Bulletin Week of September 8, 2026," which said President Donald J. Trump had approved 12 federal declarations the prior week, including 11 major disaster declarations and one emergency declaration, and that more than $345 million in recovery and resilience funding had been approved.