PHILO — The village is helping to spread the word about upcoming disaster preparedness events that will be held in the R.E. Franks Meeting Center.

The village board Wednesday agreed to subsidize Philo ESDA for envelopes and postage to mail out promotional flyers to 100 area fire departments and schools. The flyers advertise two programs by Waterloo, Iowa-based disaster preparedness expert Eddy Weiss on Feb. 26 in the Thelma Melohn Gymnasium.

Philo ESDA representative Pat Flynn was inspired to bring Weiss to the community after attending a program by the veteran storm chaser at Longview. Weiss is the founder of Chasing4Life, a network of storm chasers operating in the Midwest.

"He's got some very interesting stories," Flynn said. "He opened my eyes up."

The first program at 4 p.m. Feb. 26 will teach families how to put together home disaster kits and prepare for emergencies. The second program, at 6 p.m., will teach first responders and government officials about lessons to be learned from disasters like the 2011 Joplin, Mo., tornado.