Virginia Department of Emergency Management

08/30/2026

🏖️🌊 HAPPY NATIONAL BEACH DAY, VIRGINIA!

With 3,315 miles of coastline, Virginia has plenty of places to enjoy the sun, sand, and water. 🌞🏄‍♀️🛶

But a great beach day starts with making safety part of the plan.

🌊 Know the water. Check conditions before getting in and pay attention to posted warnings and flags.

👀 Keep an eye on children. Stay within arm's reach of young children in or near the water.

🏊 Know your limits. Ocean swimming is different from swimming in a pool. Don't take chances with rough surf or strong currents.

🚩 Respect the flags. They aren't decorations—they're there to tell you about water conditions.

🛟 Swim near a lifeguard when possible. Know where to find help if you need it.

☀️ Beat the heat. Drink plenty of water, take breaks from the sun, and protect yourself from excessive heat.

🌊 Caught in a rip current? Don't fight it. Stay calm, float, and swim parallel to the shoreline until you're out of the current.

Virginia's beaches are meant to be enjoyed. Make sure safety comes along for the ride. 🏖️❤️

📸 by: T. Van Kirk with VDEM

08/28/2026

Building resilience starts with all of us.

Emergency managers know that preparedness doesn't happen through one plan, one exercise, or just one person. It grows when preparedness becomes part of the way people, organizations, and institutions think about the risks they face and the decisions they make every day.

The work can happen in a school, around a conference table with business leaders, during a staff training session, in a conversation with community leaders, or through a simple reminder shared with the people you serve. Every one of those conversations can help move preparedness forward. The more people who understand their risks, know how they can contribute, and see preparedness as part of their everyday work, the stronger our collective resilience becomes.

While National Emergency Management Awareness Month may be coming to an end, it's critical that we keep these conversations going year-round. Keep talking about preparedness, keep sharing what you know, and keep finding ways to bring more people into the work.

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

🌩️If a severe thunderstorm or tornado 🌪warning is issued while your child is at school.🏫

Where do you get your information?🤔

If your first answer is, "I'll check Facebook,” we need to talk. 😉

During severe weather, go directly to trusted, official sources for information and instructions.

📱 Your child's school or school division: Know how the school communicates emergency information to parents and make sure your contact information is current.

🌦️The National Weather Service: Get the latest watches, warnings, and forecasts for your area. Sign up for weather alerts in your area.

🚨 Local emergency management and government officials: Follow their official social media accounts and alerts for local information and instructions.

📻 Local news and weather outlets: These can provide helpful updates, but always look for information from authoritative sources.

And remember:
🛑 Don't rush to the school during severe weather unless school officials instruct you to do so. Your child's school has emergency procedures designed to keep students and staff safe.

The best time to figure out where you'll get emergency information is before the storm arrives.

Know your sources. Know the plan. Stay informed.

08/28/2026

🔋 YOUR PHONE IS AT 1%. WHAT'S YOUR BACKUP PLAN?📱

For students and parents, a cell phone can be an important way to stay connected during an emergency. But what happens when the battery dies?

Don't let your communication plan depend on a battery.

As the school year gets underway, parents and students should talk about what to do if they can't reach each other.

📋 Have a family communication plan. Know who to contact, where to meet, and what to do if normal plans change.

👨‍👩‍👧 Have backup contacts. Make sure students know how to reach another trusted adult if a parent or guardian can't be reached.

📍 Choose a meeting place to meet once it has been deemed safe by the appropriate authorities to leave school grounds. Pick a safe location where family members can reconnect if phones aren't working.

🔋 Keep devices charged. Students who are allowed to carry portable charging banks can consider keeping one in their backpack, as long as it complies with their school's safety rules and policies. Keep a charging cord in your back pack as well.

📝 Know important numbers. Don't rely entirely on your contacts list. Make sure your child knows, or has access to a parent's phone number and other important emergency contacts. Write down the numbers on a card.

And remember: during an emergency, follow instructions from school officials and emergency responders and use official sources like VDEM and your local public safety agencies for information.

A dead phone shouldn't mean a dead communication plan.

📱🔋 Have a plan before you need one.

08/27/2026

🚨 WHAT'S IN YOUR CHILD'S BACKPACK?🎒

Pencils? ✏️
Notebooks? 📓
Snacks? 🍎
Emergency preparedness? Maybe. 😉

Your child doesn't need to carry a full emergency kit to school. But depending on their age, a few simple items can help them be better prepared for the unexpected.

Consider adding:

🔦 A small flashlight
📱 A portable phone charger
📞 A laminated card with emergency contact information
💧 A bottle of water
🧴 Small personal hygiene essentials they may need
🌦️ Weather-appropriate items for the season

Most importantly, make sure your child knows the family emergency plan, who to contact, where to go, and what to do if plans suddenly change.

🎒 A prepared backpack is great. A prepared kid is even better.

Back-to-school preparedness doesn't mean expecting an emergency. It means being ready just in case.

08/27/2026

Emergency management is built on people who are willing to show up, solve problems and keep working when the path forward isn't always clear.

Today, we’re recognizing the emergency managers, partners and professionals who give their time, knowledge and energy to this work every day. Much of what they do happens long before an incident and often goes unnoticed, but it matters.

To everyone who contributes to emergency management, whether you're planning, preparing, responding, recovering, coordinating, or supporting the work in ways others may never see, we see you and the difference you make.

08/27/2026

🏫THE SCHOOL YEAR MAY BE STARTING, BUT SUMMER ISN'T FINISHED WITH US🌡️

September may be approaching, but Virginia's summer heat isn't necessarily ready for the sidelines yet. 🥵

High heat and humidity are expected to return to much of Virginia next week, and that means heat safety still matters, even after the calendar says it's almost fall.

For students heading back to school, heat can be a factor during:

☀️ Walking or biking to school
🏈 Football practice and games
⚽ Soccer and other outdoor sports
🎺 Marching band practice
🏃 PE and outdoor activities
🚌 Waiting for the school bus

Parents, coaches, teachers, and students should:

💧 Drink plenty of water before, during, and after outdoor activities.

🌡️ Know the heat. Check the forecast and heat index before heading outside.

⏰ Take breaks. Don't wait until you feel sick to cool down.

👀 Watch for signs of heat illness, including dizziness, headache, nausea, weakness, or confusion.🥵

🏠 Get indoors and cool down if you begin feeling overheated.

The first bell of the school year doesn't mean the heat has left the building. 😉

Stay cool. Stay hydrated. Stay prepared.

08/27/2026

👟 Have you ever thought about your child’s shoes as emergency equipment?

Another school safety tip that you might not have thought of...
We think about school shoes in terms of comfort, style and dress codes.

But what if your child suddenly had to walk or even run farther than expected during an evacuation?

Wet grass. Gravel. Mud. Uneven ground. Debris.

Those brand-new shoes that looked great on the first day of school might not be so great for walking or running a distance.

It’s a small detail that’s easy to overlook, but preparedness is often about the little things we don't think about until we need them.

So as you’re checking the backpack, lunchbox and school supplies this year, take a look at those shoes, too.

Can they comfortably walk in them?🚶‍♀️‍➡️🚶‍➡️
Can they handle more than the trip from the classroom to the car?🏃‍♀️‍➡️🏃‍♂️‍➡️

Because sometimes, being prepared starts from the ground up.

08/26/2026

🙋‍♀️“I’m looking for Mom.”....“I’m looking for Dad.”🙋‍♂️

A school safety tip you might not have thought of...
If something unexpected happens at school, a child’s first instinct may be to find the person they trust most. That’s completely natural.

But in an emergency, the safest place for your child may be right where they are.
Teach your children that if something happens at school, they should:

➡️ Stay with their teacher, or classmates, or with a first responder who is there to help keep them safe.👩🏽‍🏫👪👮‍♂️

➡️ Listen for instructions.👂

➡️ Wait until they are officially released to a parent, guardian or authorized caregiver.🖐️

➡️ Even if they see you, or think they see you, don’t leave the group.🏃‍♀️‍➡️🏃‍➡️🏃‍♂️‍➡️

Because sometimes being prepared isn't just knowing what to do...It’s knowing what NOT to do!

Have that conversation with your kids before they ever need it. ❤️

*Please note. Photo is from an active shooter TRAINING EXERCISE, NOT a real emergency incident.*
📸 by: T. Van Kirk with VDEM