'Red Dirt Ready' Campaign Helps Prepare Oklahomans for Disaster

By Jon Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Recent commercials have been asking "If you're Red Dirt ready?" leaving many Oklahomans wanting to know more.

The 'Red Dirt Ready' campaign is intended to get Oklahomans prepared for something like a devastating tornado.

"We're calling on Oklahoman's with different experiences and backgrounds to pull together, get prepared and be ready," the 'Red Dirt Ready' commercial says.

The commercial leaves viewers with more questions than answers and maybe even leaves them a bit unnerved, but the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security, who's behind the ad, wants to assure Oklahomans that's not their goal.

"We're not trying to scare anybody," said Brook Arbietman, spokesperson for Oklahoma's Homeland Security Office.

Instead the 'Red Dirt Ready' campaign through the airwaves, the computer and informational booths like the one set up at the Home and Garden show is all about making sure Oklahomans are prepared for the unexpected.

"You just have to try and prepare for those kinds of things because you never know what can happen," Arbietman said.

Not only does the Homeland Security office stress that being prepared saves lives, but it can also help first responders to focus on the more critical needs.

"If you can take care of yourself for a few days, maybe a day or even a couple of hours, until they can get there, that really takes the pressure off them we think," Arbietman said.

In addition to the 'Red Dirt Ready' website making sure you're prepared by helping you do things like putting a safety kit together, the site also provides ways you can volunteer.

The money used to fund the 'Red Dirt Ready' campaign comes from a grant Oklahoma received from the Department of Homeland Security.

Learn more about the 'Red Dirt Ready' campaign