{"id":17652,"date":"2026-03-06T15:32:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T20:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=17652"},"modified":"2026-03-06T15:32:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T20:32:36","slug":"rhhd-encourages-severe-weather-awareness","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/rhhd-encourages-severe-weather-awareness\/","title":{"rendered":"RHHD Encourages Severe Weather Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>March 9, 2026<br \/>\n<strong>Media Contact:<\/strong> Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov<\/p>\n<h1><strong>RHHD Encourages Severe Weather Awareness<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><em>March 9 \u2013 13 is Severe Weather Awareness Week<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>RICHMOND, Va.<\/strong> \u2014 Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) encourage residents to protect themselves and their families by making preparations for severe weather. March and April are traditionally the most active months for tornadoes in Virginia. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/akq\/SevereWeatherAwareness\">Severe Weather Awareness Week<\/a> is March 9 \u2013 13.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSevere weather can happen with little to no warning, said Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Acting Local Health Emergency Coordinator Alyssa Lewis. \u201cWhile we can\u2019t control the weather, we can control how prepared we are! It\u2019s never too late to make sure you, your family, friends, and neighbors are signed up for trusted community alerts, have an emergency plan, and have well-stocked emergency kits. Taking a little time now to prepare can give us peace of mind year-round!\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>RHHD recommends the following tips for preparing for <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ready.gov\/severe-weather\"><strong>severe weather<\/strong><\/a><strong>:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Locate safe shelters in the places you spend the most time. In each location, find a small room or hallway with no windows, preferably in a basement or first floor. Once you\u2019ve identified your shelter, communicate that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ready.gov\/plan\">plan<\/a> with family members or coworkers so everyone knows where to go when a tornado warning sounds.<\/li>\n<li>Choose a reliable news source and stay up to date on the weather.<\/li>\n<li>Consider participating in <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.office.com\/pages\/responsepage.aspx?id=qeUKYsFOoE-GQV2fOGxzCWFzE6VfU3BNkyWIhixbQ-dUM01DVlBEQVIwR1hMTU8xVFNZVUNaR0M3Wi4u&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery&amp;route=shorturl\">Virginia\u2019s statewide tornado drill<\/a> March 10 at 9:45 a.m.<\/li>\n<li>Register for an in-person or online <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/akq\/SKYWARN\">SKYWARN<\/a> class to learn how to spot and report dangerous storm systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>RHHD recommends the following tips for staying prepared for emergency situations:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Store important family documents, such as copies of insurance policies, identification documents, and bank account records, in a waterproof, portable container or save them electronically.<\/li>\n<li>Keep medications in a central location for easy evacuation if needed.<\/li>\n<li>Prepare a \u201cgo-bag\u201d with clothes, toys and toiletries for five days.<\/li>\n<li>Know, and practice, your safe spaces and exits.<\/li>\n<li>Identify friends, neighbors, and relatives who might need extra help during an emergency, including older adults, people with disabilities, and those without transportation. Create a phone tree or contact strategy to check in on them.<\/li>\n<li>Choose a central spot to reunite with your family if separated.<\/li>\n<li>Richmond residents should sign up for <a href=\"https:\/\/rva.gov\/richmondreadyalerts\">Richmond Ready Alerts<\/a>. Henrico County residents should sign up for <a href=\"https:\/\/henrico.gov\/services\/henrico-alert\/\">Henrico County Community Emergency Notifications<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Update your insurance yearly and consider flood insurance. Most insurance companies do NOT pay for flooding damage through a standard homeowner\u2019s policy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/ready.gov\/\">ready.gov<\/a> for more emergency preparedness tips. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/rhhd.gov\/\">rhhd.gov<\/a> for more health and safety information. Follow RHHD on Instagram (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/richmondcity_hd\">@richmondcity_hd<\/a>) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RichmondHenricoHealthDistricts\">Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"># # #<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>March 9, 2026 Media Contact: Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov RHHD Encourages Severe Weather Awareness March 9 \u2013 13 is Severe Weather Awareness Week RICHMOND, Va. \u2014 Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) encourage residents to protect themselves and their families by making preparations for severe weather. March and April are traditionally the most active months [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":258,"featured_media":0,"parent":16853,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[393,681,1570,682,1569,858,1568,1567],"class_list":["post-17652","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-emergency-plans","tag-emergency-preparedness","tag-henrico-county-community-emergency-notifications","tag-richmond-and-henrico-health-districts","tag-richmond-ready-alerts","tag-severe-weather-awareness-week","tag-skywarn-class","tag-virginias-statewide-tornado-drill"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>RHHD Encourages Severe Weather Awareness - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/rhhd-encourages-severe-weather-awareness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RHHD Encourages Severe Weather Awareness - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"March 9, 2026 Media Contact: Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov RHHD Encourages Severe Weather Awareness March 9 \u2013 13 is Severe Weather Awareness Week RICHMOND, Va. \u2014 Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) encourage residents to protect themselves and their families by making preparations for severe weather. 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