English: Cyndi Rilling, a public health program specialist in the CDC Office of Terrorism, Preparedness, and Emergency Response, has always taken emergency preparedness seriously—and not just on the job. Here (https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/stories/) she tells how her family learned first-hand the importance of disaster readiness when tornadoes passed through their Georgia community in the spring of 2011.

Although Rilling and her husband had conducted emergency drills with their sons repeatedly, the young men never thought they were necessary because, as they said, "Nothing ever happens around here." But feeling the ground shake as tornadoes passed their house and seeing the destruction the next day helped them finally understand the value of "those crazy drills." Rilling hopes that this story will inspire others to be ready for disasters before they happen by assembling an emergency kit, creating a shelter plan and conducting emergency drills to protect the health and safety of their families. To learn more visit: http://emergency.cdc.gov/

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This video can also be viewed at https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/stories/videos/tornado_preparedness.mp4