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The Gift of Emergency Preparedness

Not sure what gifts to get family, friends, co-workers, your boss or teachers? Some state governments are recommending that you give the gift of emergency preparedness. For example, the state of Illinois has this suggestion:

The office of the State Fire Marshal and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency released a list Monday of safety-kit ideas. Gifts could include weather-alert radios with extra batteries; home or dorm-room items such first-aid kits, bottled water, nonperishable food, blankets, flashlights and batteries; or automobile accessories such as jumper cables, flashlights, blankets, sand and small shovel.

These are great suggestions for gifts and it’s even better when you can buy pre-made home, school, office and car kits that are ready to go, which we have for sale here at 1800Prepare.com.

Why give kits as gifts as opposed to electronics, books or something else? The truth is that many people aren’t thinking about emergency preparedness, even though they should. They need to be nudged a bit, and you may the only one who can get them to take the first step, to move in the right direction with a kit or two. Your gift could be the most precious one they’ve ever received in the face of a crisis.

Source:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-safetygiftideas,0,6571045.story

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What Jobless Rate Has to Do with Preparedness

Natural and man-made disasters aren’t the only circumstances that should concern you as you prepare for emergencies. A lingering financial crisis should also be factored into your plans for preparedness. As the economy continues to sour, prices on needed medical, food and water supplies may go up dramatically. In an economic depression, these things may become scarce.

The Miami Herald reports that one financial indicator to keep an eye on, to let you know that things may really be getting bad, is the jobless rate in the United States:

One million workers could lose their benefits in January without the extension, according to a new report on the stimulus act unemployment benefits, written by several labor advocacy groups. “This is a lifeline,” said Jim Garner, the secretary of the Kansas Department of Labor.

Garner was one of eight state labor officials who appeared at a news conference alongside labor advocates. Though last week’s economic report showed hopeful signs, “We are facing a real catastrophe,” said Christine Owens, the executive director of the National Employment Law Project, one of the co-authors of the report.

At least you can see the possibility of this catastrophe coming, and therefore act now before things get worse. Emergency preparedness must be grounded in sound financial planning. Get the emergency kits and other items you need while prices are still affordable.

Source:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1370659.html

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Train Derailment Forces Evacuation

If emergency workers knocked on your door and told you that you have five minutes to get out, what would you take with you? Residents in a Canadian community were forced to pick up and run when a train carrying propane tanks derailed. All Headline News reports:

“The CN spokeswoman explained the propane tanks are designed to vent in case of a rail accident to prevent explosion. Local authorities placed a two-kilometer radius safety perimeter fence around the accident site, while Transport Canada placed a six-kilometer no-fly zone. Families around the two-kilometer radius were also evacuated. There are no injuries resulting from the train derailment.”

This is an easy exercise to practice with your family. Start the timer and see how long it takes to load up some essentials and get to a “safe” location. When you arrive, make an inventory of what you should have taken, versus what you actually did take with you. Is there a better to pack certain things so they’re always ready at a moment’s notice, such as important documents? Having a well-stocked emergency kit with enough food and water for several days is another essential to have. That way you don’t have to try to gather individual items on extremely short notice. Remember, if you’re forced to evacuate because of an emergency situation, you don’t know how long it will be before you can return to your home.

Source:
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017195103

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Ham Radio Saves a Life When Cell Phones Didn’t Work

 

What will you do when you can’t make a phone call because the lines are down? What if your cell phone service is no longer available? What are your plans for emergency communications?

Brent Yeates was driving a dairy truck in a remote section of Logan, Utah when he came upon a car crash. Yeates got out of his vehicle, waded through the Logan River, which was cold, and helped the driver get out.

There was no cell phone service for miles. However, Yeates was prepared. He had a ham radio with him and used it to call for help. Another ham radio operator heard Yeates’ call and sent for help immediately. Emergency dispatchers were able to come to the scene and help the driver, all because Yeates made a call on the ham radio which was heard by someone else.

Perhaps we are too reliant on our cell phones, and are counting on it as our only means of communication in a time of crisis. While it’s certainly a helpful tool to contact others and receive e-alerts and updates from your local Emergency Management Agency, you may not be able to get service. At the same time, not everyone can own a ham radio because you need a license, and the equipment can be spendy. You must take the time to solve your communications issues and plan for contingencies, such as no service. A two-way family radio and a phone tree consisting of family members and close friends is a good place to start. 

Source:
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13943897

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Credit Card Crisis and Preparedness

You’ve heard about the mortgage crisis, but what about the credit card crisis? That hasn’t happened on this side of the Atlantic…yet. In the United Kingdom the fear of one is increasing, because recent numbers show that banks have doubled the amount of card debt they’re writing off. Why should Americans care? It’s only a matter of time before the same thing gets repeated here.

The International Monetary Fund warned earlier this year of a potential credit card crisis in Europe. More and more families are defaulting on their debts, and banks continue to write-off those debts. With unemployment numbers as low as they are in the United States, the same trend is likely to repeat itself here.

What does a credit card crisis have to do with preparedness? The credit faucet will have to be shut off or at least slow down during such a credit crisis. Families won’t be able to put items on credit as easily as before. Therefore, part of your emergency preparedness plans should be to get out of debt, and live within your means.

As you’re climbing out of debt, you’ll need more than just life insurance. You need food and water insurance, such as a well stocked supply for at least a month. As you get your financial house in order, you can add to your supplies and stock away even more.

Source:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6694719/Fears-of-credit-card-crisis-as-bank-write-offs-double.html

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The Role of Cell Phones in Disaster Preparedness

It’s important to keep your cell phone charged and have a battery charger ready to go in case of emergencies. Some state and county officials may use it to warn of pending disasters, or to give direction in the midst of a crisis.

For example, the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) in Illinois plans to use an e-notification system for disaster alerts in southern counties. Nixle systems is a new community information service provider that will be used to send messages county-wide or to individual neighborhoods, similar to what you’d get on Twitter. The difference being that Nixle is more secured and residents can have confidence that the messages are authenticated and are actually coming from the EMA. Deputy director Shawn Priddy of the EMA welcomes the new alert system, citing a previous problem the agency had trying to alert residents during a flood:

“It would have been good in the flooding two years ago when we did the recommended evacuations…This service is geographically based, so we could have limited it to that area or when we rescinded the evacuation, there were some problems because we had rescinded it and still, several hours later there were people loading up U-Hauls. We had to send teams out door-to-door to let everyone know.”

If you don’t already own one, find an emergency radio or flashlight that also doubles as a cell phone charger. This will help you to contact family members, and receive e-alerts if you live in an area that uses them.

Source:
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=11617942

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FEMA Strives for Faster Disaster Aid

Let’s face it. At best, the federal government faces challenges when it comes to helping residents in the event of major disasters, as seen with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is trying to improve its response time to victims of storms and other natural disasters, and hopes to do so with a new case program to launch in 2010. Kay Brown, director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), said the following in congressional testimony:

“Case management agencies experienced challenges in delivering federally funded disaster case management services due to staff turnover and large caseloads, limited community resources, federal funding rules, and a lack of coordinated outreach.”

More than $231 million in disaster relief could not be delivered to Louisiana and Mississippi residents who suffered loss due to hurricanes, because the federal and state agencies were unable to share information. As a result, victims did not receive direct financial assistance for clothing, home repairs and other needs.

While the federal and state governments are trying to work out their ability to deliver disaster aid, shouldn’t you take control of your own emergency preparedness and make sure that your own plans are solid? You may be one of the few in your community that can help your family and other residents get by in a crisis.

Source:

http://www.hstoday.us/content/view/11324/128/

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Preparedness Could “Jinx” You?

The Triplicate reports on how Del Norte, California residents are blissfully ignorant of tsunami danger. Residents were surveyed on their knowledge of preparedness in the event of a tidal wave. The area is second only to Alaska in the number of tsunamis that have hit the coast there in the last century. A professor at Humboldt State University was shocked by the survey results she found.

While she said there were many people who were well-informed about the dangers of earthquakes and tsunamis, there are a large number of respondents who didn’t have food and water supplies prepared and didn’t know where to evacuate if they were in an inundation zone.

There were even some people who said they wanted to ignore the issue because they thought that simply talking about earthquakes and tsunamis might jinx the calm and cause the earth to move and ocean to lurch.

I’m speechless. Okay, I’m really not speechless, but I’m trying to be nice about it.

Tsunamis are unique among natural disasters in that you don’t have a choice if one’s headed your way: You have to evacuate. You can’t bunker down in your home and hope to wait it out, because a massive wall of water is bearing down on you. This necessitates a different sort of emergency preparedness. You need to have an emergency kit in your car at all times, and know multiple evacuation routes to get to higher ground if you live in an area that’s prone to experience them.

Source:

http://www.triplicate.com/20091204107635/News/Local-News/Tsunami-ready-Apparently-not

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Practice Makes Perfect

Daring Young Mom blogs about an “unplanned emergency drill.” Some minor flooding in the garage led to a scenario that we can all relate to: Middle of the night repairs that can’t wait until the next morning. Thankfully, everything worked out all right, and they got through it safely.

She brings up a great point in her blog post, though:

He went inside to turn off our computers before turning off the electricity to the house and my job was to stay by the box in case it burst into flames. And what was I to do then? Stop them with my laser vision? I had no idea because we couldn’t find our fire extinguisher. We both totally knew where it was. Only problem being – neither of us could actually locate it.

We can all learn from their experience. Many people who take steps to get prepared for an emergency situation never put their plans into action until a real emergency crops up. If you’re stocking up with an emergency kit and getting ready for the worst case scenario, that’s great. But what happens if you can’t find the fire extinguisher or tool that you need? Or even worse, what if you find the fire extinguisher, but you don’t have the first clue how to use it?

Emergency preparedness is about more than just purchasing supplies and then thinking that you’re all set. You have to put things into practice – learn how to use the supplies you purchase, and have a system in place for storing things where you can always find them.

Source:

http://www.daringyoungmom.com/2009/11/18/unplanned-emergency-drill/

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Schools Step Up Flu Preparedness Measures

School districts across the country are implementing measures to try to prevent the spread of H1N1 flu. Santa Fe Springs in California took delivery of more than a million surgical masks and gloves this week, to try to curb the spread of the illness. The Whittier Daily News reports:

According to federal guidelines, the best way to prevent the spread of viruses is by staying home if sick, covering coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing hands frequently, and getting a flu vaccine.

However, if a student becomes ill at school, the guidelines say the child should be taken to a supervised sick room separate from others and wear a surgical mask if they can tolerate it.

Not to belittle the gift from the federal government, but why aren’t parents taking measures to provide these things for their children? It seems that the expectation of many parents is that the schools should provide everything to protect their children from the swine flu. Not to put it too bluntly, but you’re ultimately responsible for the safety of your children. You should be taking measures to protect your kids in the event of an H1N1 outbreak at your school.

You can purchase an emergency supplies kit for your child to take with them to school (it can fit in their backpack or they can keep it at their desk). For parents who are really on the ball, 1800prepare.com has emergency kits that can outfit an entire classroom, including teacher and students, for an emergency situation.

Source:

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_13929988