"Earth is not a safe place and we just need to be aware that things are going to happen."  It may sound a bit agoraphobic but Pennington County Emergency Management says Saturday is all about hammering home the idea that a family prepared for disaster will be less reliant on public safety agencies to survive in a catastrophic situation.

Emergency Management Assistant Coordinator Alexa White says, "In a large disaster, you might not get somebody coming to help you out for several days, and so for our office, we talk a lot about making an emergency kit, putting a few things together for your family and so that's what we want to push people to do, and that that's their responsibility and that people are going to come try to help you, but it may not be right away."

She says making an emergency kit is easy just requiring a little foresight and a few basic items.

White says, "Just a little bit of water, food, flashlight, a radio, things like that that you might need if the power went out or if you got stuck at your home or had to leave quickly. You might have a change of clothes for your family or some snacks if you had to stay overnight in your car."

And another booth at 'safety day' is helping to prevent another kind of emergency altogether.  The 'Don't Thump Your Melon' booth was on hand giving out free bike helmets to kids.  Rapid City Regional Hospital says they don't just make sure these kids have helmets they also make sure they're fitting the user properly. 

Shown Powers of the RCRH Foundation says, "Not only wearing the helmet, but having it fit properly is what reduces your chances of getting a head injury. We not only measure the children for the size of helmet, but we're making sure the straps all fit properly so that the helmet's not moving around while the kids are wearing the helmet."

Powers says the booth was on track to give away more than 300 helmets to local youth.  If you have a child needing a helmet you can secure one by going to regionalhealth.com/bike-safety.

And for more information on just what you need for an emergency kit at home you can visit rcpcem.com.

Brendyn Medina