As we paused to acknowledge the 15th anniversary Sunday of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and honored those who lost their lives that day, we also likely spent a few moments recalling where we were that morning when news stations first reported a plane had hit the World Trade Center (WTC).

I was here in the Lehigh Valley Press office, working with the rest of the staff on deadline. I had dropped off my children at their day care school about an hour earlier. The day started like any other.

As a second plane hit the WTC, a third struck the Pentagon and a fourth - originally headed for Washington, D.C. - was downed in a Somerset County field, it became very clear that we as a nation were under attack.

Although my family was fairly close by, I felt desperate to hold them even closer.

Many families were not that fortunate. In all, the attacks claimed the lives of 2,996 people and caused injury to more than 6,000. It was the deadliest event ever for law enforcement and firefighters, killing 72 and 343, respectively.

As a nation, we were reminded by our president we are a resilient people and our country would not stand down to such violent acts. It brought to the forefront, though, the idea that we need to be better prepared for emergencies on our own soil. Anti-terrorism legislation was strengthened, and law enforcement and intelligence agencies were given more authority to work to prevent future attacks.

September has since been designated National Preparedness Month, acting as a reminder that, no matter how much time passes, we must be prepared for emergencies that could take place when we’re at home with our families or at work while our children are not with us.

We’ve been encouraged to develop a plan and discuss evacuations and meeting places with family members. We’ve been reminded to request emergency plans from our municipalities, our schools and other places we often frequent. And we’ve been provided with lists of supplies - extra food, water, medications, etc. - to keep on hand.

The lists over these 15 years have remained fairly consistent. You can access the information by visiting ready.gov/prepare. The basic idea of collecting contact information, sharing it with family members and practicing emergency action is detailed there.

The obvious change to the preparation planning involves cellphones, which are in much greater use than in 2001. Some reminders, if a large-scale emergency occurs:

• Text instead of call. A text message might get to the recipient when a phone call won’t.

• Store at least one emergency number under “In Case of Emergency,” or “ICE,” in your contacts list.

• Create a group list on your family members’ cellphones so you can communicate more efficiently.

• Use social media - Facebook, Twitter, etc. - to quickly share information to a large audience.

The way we communicate may change with technology, but the manner in which we prepare should not.

Fifteen years may have passed, but many of us still look to the sky as a plane flies overhead. We watch for unattended baggage when we travel. And we still have emergency plans in place so we can always hold our families close.

We are a resilient people, a protective and patriotic group. It’s important that we also always consider ourselves prepared.

Kelly Lutterschmidt

editor

Catasauqua Press

Northampton Press

Whitehall-Coplay Press