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Rain Emergency Preparedness

You may not think that you need to prepare for rain emergencies, but excessive rain can cause major problems, depending on where you live. In California, individuals were so worried about the effects of heavy rainfall that they evacuated. The Associated Press reports:

Heavy rain tapered off, skies cleared and residents of the Los Angeles area foothills started returning home Sunday, a day after they fled because of fears that heavy rains would cause mudslides.

Public works and fire department officials drove through the wildfire-scarred neighborhoods early Sunday and determined that it was safe for the residents of the 44 evacuated homes in the La Crescenta, La Canada-Flintridge and Big Tujunga Canyon areas to return, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Lillian Peck.

“We’ve been planning for these winter storms since summer, since before the wildfires, coordinating with other agencies,” said Humphrey. “We’re confident that our preparedness really paid off.”

Do you have what you need on hand if you had to evacuate your home because of heavy rain? Something as simple as an emergency poncho, which is included in car and home emergency kits, will keep you somewhat dry and put you one step ahead of most people.

Source:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j-L-8iCEtNjlu8J1N6XKd3NR6ZIgD9CIKHFG0

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Emergency Management’s Take on Preparedness

What advice do emergency management officials have for families regarding emergency preparedness? Jeff Page, an emergency management agent in Nevada, said this to the Reno-Gazette Journal:

If a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Reno happened the community of Dayton would be hit very hard.

That’s one of the reasons he recommends that everyone should be prepared to take care of themselves for seven days. He urges people to buy a weather radio as one of the first things to put in their emergency survival kit. Then put your old corded phone in your emergency kit because cell phones and Internet phones will probably not work if a major disaster happens.

“There’s no excuse today to not be informed,” Page said of people seeking education on how to be prepared.

“Prepare for the worst: have a plan, have a kit, be informed and get involved,” Paige urged.

Page also recommended that you pack items for the elderly, children, and others in your family with special needs. You don’t want to try to remember to gather them when you’re stressed out about an emergency. It’s better to buy extra (if you can) and add them to your kits, and buy special kits when you can, like a children’s survival kit. 

Source:
http://www.rgj.com/article/20091202/DAYTON/912020406/1042/DAYTON

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Disaster Preparedness Drill

Government agencies, non-profit organizations and schools across the United States are holding disaster preparedness drills. Some focus specifically on medical related issues that occur during emergencies and how to effectively deal with them.

During the mass casualty exercises, health care professionals practiced using different skills like decontamination and using personal protective equipment. Palmetto Health Richland spokesman Steve Shelton: “In a true disaster you have to be prepared for the unexpected and this is preparing them very well for that.”

Shelton said there was a lack of national disaster education programs teaching medical disaster preparedness before September 11, 2001, and Palmetto Health Richland wants to be one of the facilities to change that.

What if your city or town was hit by a major ice storm, much like the recent storms in the Northeast? What if you child or spouse fell on ice and cut their leg on the way down? Would you know what to do? It’s horrible to think about this and other scenarios, but being prepared is the responsible thing to do. Make sure you have a first aid and surgical kit as part of your home survival kit, and take classes or read information on what do when faced with various medical emergency. Consider holding a disaster preparedness drill of your own with family members.

Source:
http://www.wistv.com/global/story.asp?s=11664963

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High School Student on Emergency Preparedness

The Laguna Beach Independent in California reports that Brad Itnyre, a local high school junior, wrote emergency preparedness guidelines to help families prepare for disasters if they must live away from their home for three to five days. The guidelines begin with a recommendation to have an emergency survival kit with vital supplies. Next, Itnyre recommends the following:

For those who prepare ahead of time, surviving outside of their home can be easy. If there is access to a car, it can provide good shelter, the engine and heater can be run periodically in areas with a cold climate. Dangerous areas, such as damaged or destroyed buildings and places filled with hazardous items, should be avoided.

Before sleeping, make sure the shelter is not in an area where something could harm its occupants. If possible, stay in one place and do not move around, since you will be easier to find you stay in one place.

These are great tips and advice. It’s important that all children that age and even younger are well versed on what to do when disaster strikes. Don’t just buy and store your children’s survival kit. Pull it out and train them on what’s in it, how to use it, and go into great detail on plans to survive during an emergency.

Source:
http://www.lagunabeachindependent.com/news/2009-12-11/School_(and)_Sports/Students_Guide_Prepares_Residents_for_the_Next_Dis.html

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Culture of Preparedness

Would you say that you have an emergency preparedness mindset? The answer to that question could make a huge difference in the event of an emergency. In fact, Sheriff KC Clark credited the preparedness mindset of the people in Navajo County for a successful response to a recent storm in Arizona.  The White Mountain Independent reports:

“The people of Navajo County are some of the most well-prepared in the state for emergencies,” said Clark, a 22-year veteran of the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office. Attributing the response to a “culture of preparedness” in the County, Sheriff Clark pointed out that in spite of blizzard-like conditions and heavy snowfall, the Sheriff’s Office received only a small number of calls for assistance.

“The Sheriff’s Office was on the ground throughout the county with Sheriff’s deputies, auxiliary volunteers and local police and fire departments ready to respond to emergencies. In the vast majority of cases, local residents were well-prepared for the storm and its aftermath.”

Let it be said of you and your family after an emergency that you were “well-prepared.” You may reap the rewards of a family and home that’s healthy during and after the emergency. You may also be just what your neighbor needs in a time of crisis.

Source:
http://www.wmicentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20394909&BRD=2264&PAG=461&dept_id=505965&rfi=6

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2010 Emergency Preparedness Goals

The Ventura County Emergency Planning Council in California presents awards every year to acknowledge the support of local organizations for disaster preparedness and recovery in Ventura County. During their recent quarterly meeting, they honored 10 organizations and two individuals for their emergency services in 2009. The awards category included:

  • Best Emergency Preparedness Public Information Campaign
  • Best Emergency Preparedness Drill/Exercise
  • Best Emergency Preparedness Plan, strategic national stockpile plan
  • Best Emergency Preparedness Training, countywide CERT training and CERT refresher training
  • Best Emergency Implementation/Enhancement
  • Best Emergency Community Program, countywide CERT training
  • Best Emergency Volunteer Program
  • The Disaster Service Worker Achievement Award

Some (or all) of these awards might serve as a template for your 2010 goals in the area of emergency preparedness. For example, you can plan to hold emergency preparedness drills once a month at your home, at your office and in your car. The drill can be as simple as driving home using a back route, and stopping along to way to use one item in your car survival kit.

Another goal could be to write out your emergency preparedness plan and review it thoroughly with your family. Finally, you might want to attend meetings or classes in 2010 held by your local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Source:
http://www.thecamarilloacorn.com/news/2009-12-11/Community/Emergency_Planning_Council_announces_award_winners.html

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Ice Storm Emergency Preparedness

Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray of Massachusetts announced the release of $5.5 million toward the state’s share of reimbursements for expenses incurred by 165 communities across the state:

“When we woke up on Dec. 12, we were facing an unprecedented challenge,” Mr. Murray said. “In the days and weeks that followed, 350,000 households were without power.” Including, he noted, his own home — for five days.

According to the state, the ice storm of 2008 was Massachusetts’ most expensive disaster. Mr. Murray said the state continues to learn the total costs of the storm, as some repairs are unfinished. He said the total cost of what the 1,500 responding Army and Air National Guard members nicknamed “Big Ice” is expected to be $75 million.

As you can see, ice storms should not be taken lightly. It should be considered a part of your emergency preparedness plans, whether you live in the Northeast or another part of the country. One of the major ways to prepare for ice storms is to have supplies on hand for when the power goes out.

Even the lieutenant governor didn’t have power for 5 days. Could you survive for that long, or even longer, with what you have right now? Do you have the right survival kits to withstand an ice storm?

Source:
http://www.telegram.com/article/20091211/NEWS/912110428/1116

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School Emergency Response Teams

You may have heard about Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs). Now, there are School Emergency Response Teams (SERTs). These groups train monthly to respond to schools in the event of an emergency, much like their CERT counterparts.  For example, in Jenks, Oklahoma a SERT held a drill during their last training session to respond to students on school buses:

“We have the same issues with the students going to hospitals trying to track those students, how many students we have on the bus, so on and so forth, and the same scenario played out yesterday,” Dixon says. 

Will your children be safe on a school bus if there’s an emergency? A children’s survival kit is a must have for every child attending school. If there’s an emergency, they can have easy access to supplies in their book bags to help them and perhaps their classmates. Time is of the essence in an emergency, and there may not be time to wait for their local SERT to show up.

A children’s survival kit includes a N95 mask that your children can wear to prevent them from breathing harmful contaminants in the air, as a result of natural disasters or a terrorist attack.

Source:
http://krmg.com/localnews/2009/12/school-emergency-response-team.html

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BioWeapons Emergency Preparedness

Bioterrorism remains a real threat to United States citizens, and President Barack Obama just announced the country’s new policy to crack down on biological weapons at the International Security and Biopolicy Institute. BioPrepWatch.com reports:

The United States’ goals with its new biological weapons strategy include, “with the international community to promote the peaceful and beneficial use of life sciences,” Tauscher said, “to combat infectious diseases regardless of their cause. We will work to promote global health security by increasing the availability of and access to knowledge and products of the life sciences to help reduce the impact from outbreaks of infectious disease whether of natural, accidental or deliberate origin.

What types of infectious diseases are in mind? The Biological Weapons Convention, which the United States walked out of in 2001, addressed the following:

The 1972 convention bars the development, trade and use of biological weapons, including anthrax, smallpox and other devastating toxins. That treaty, ratified by 163 countries, was not drawn up with enforcement provisions.

If “devastating toxins” were released in your city or town, would you be prepared to protect yourself? You would need an emergency kit with N95 masks for everyone in your family, and the ability to seal at least one room in your home where you can bunker down with your supplies. Do you have enough duct tape for that?

Source:
http://www.bioprepwatch.com/news/211235-us-announces-new-biological-weapons-stance

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Snow Un-Preparedness Leads to High Emergency Room Visits

There have been many snow storms this winter, and the governors of many states have had to declare a state-of-emergency as a result. Several problems arose for residents who were unprepared. Many had to go to area emergency shelters to get food, water, light and warmth. The snow storms also caused many injuries, which drove record numbers of people to the emergency rooms. However, most of those injuries were a result of not being wise:

ER doctors say some patients suffered injuries when they slipped and fell, others over exerted themselves shoveling and have back injuries or cardiac problems.

Others, including Lloyd Gleason, have injuries related to snowblowers. Gleason says he’s embarrassed about putting his hand in his snowblower while it was running. He fractured two fingers and lost a third.

I bring this story to your attention to remind us all that winter preparedness needs to be comprehensive and involve common sense. It’s great to prepare for a major catastrophe and have all the kits and/or supplies you need. However, make sure you also use basic skills and know-how to prepare for the little things like safely removing snow from your driveway. Oh, and don’t stick your hand in a snowblower!

Source:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mn-snowstorminjuries,0,7878476.story