In Case of Emergency, Read This Blog

In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

A Citizen’s Eye View of Public Preparedness

Entries from April 2009

CDC Public Webcast Shows Americans Are Curious Why More Isn’t Always More In Dealing With H1N1 — And Government Officials Should Address Reasons For Not Doing Everything Now

April 30th, 2009 · No Comments

Earlier this afternoon, there was a special Centers For Disease Control/Health and Human Services Department webcast for the public on the H1N1 outbreak featuring CDC Acting Director Richard Besser, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (in her first 24 hours on the job) and DHS Secretary Napolitano. It was an interesting event because most of the hour-long [...]

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Tags: Pandemic Flu

H1N1 Flu Outbreak: ‘Never Let A Serious Crisis Go To Waste’ On Emergency Preparedness

April 30th, 2009 · 5 Comments

“Never let a serious crisis go to waste.” When White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel uttered those words in November he wasn’t referring to Swine Flu. But it is applicable to the current situation. Whether or not H1N1 turns into a major pandemic or not, it should be a catalyst for citizens and community [...]

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Tags: Pandemic Flu

Is Twitter Playing A Positive Or Negative Role During Swine Flu Outbreak? I Say Positive But Am Concerned About Governmental Social Media Capability During A Pandemic

April 29th, 2009 · 3 Comments

In an interesting article on ForeignPolicy.com, “Swine Flu: Twitter’s Power To Misinform”, Evgeny Morozov argues that “despite all the recent Twitter-enthusiasm about this platform’s unique power to alert millions of people in decentralized and previously unavailable ways, there are quite a few reasons to be concerned about Twitter’s role in facilitating an unnecessary global panic about swine [...]

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Tags: Pandemic Flu · Preparedness 2.0 · Public Health Preparedness · Red Cross · Risk Communications

Microsoft Launches Vine, “Societal Networking” With A Focus On Helping Public During Emergencies

April 29th, 2009 · 1 Comment

As the nation deals with a health emergency, Microsoft has just released Vine, a new social networking application that could be very helpful to the public — providing information and locating friends & family — during emergencies.  According to Seattle’s Tech Flash, Vine aims to:
connect Facebook, Twitter, text messages, traditional phone calls, email and other forms of communication [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0 · Preparedness Resources

As U.S. Faces Swine Flu, Ad Council Study Finds Citizen Preparedness “Leveling Off”

April 27th, 2009 · 1 Comment

At a webinar promoting September’s National Preparedness Month activities, officials from The Advertising Council and the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Ready.Gov program said that their most recent tracking polls indicate that citizen emergency preparedness is “leveling off”. (The webinar took place earlier this month before Swine Flu was diagnosed in the U.S.) Some of the results that underlie the [...]

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Tags: Preparedness Reports

Military Plane Scare Over New York City Underscores Need To Use Communications Tools To Alert Public In Advance

April 27th, 2009 · 6 Comments

At 10:39am today I received a text message and email from the City of New York’s NotifyNYC alert program saying that: “Planes observed flying over Lower Manhattan were part of an approved federal activity.” I happened to be at a hospital clinic at that moment so I had no idea what that message meant. A [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0

Officials Highlight Public’s “Responsibility” & “Role” In Nation’s Response To Swine Flu Situation

April 26th, 2009 · No Comments

At a White House press conference Sunday, Presidential Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan, Centers for Disease Control Acting Director Richard Besser and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano stressed the responsibility of citizens to help prepare for and deal with the ongoing Swine Flu situation. During the briefing, the officials explained the government’s response thus far and [...]

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Tags: Pandemic Flu

For Latest News & Advice On Swine Flu Situation

April 25th, 2009 · No Comments

To get the latest news as well as advice on the ongoing Swine Flu situation, follow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control/Emergency Preparedness & Response Twitter feed, CDC Emergency, here or check the CDC’s Swine Flu website here. 

There is also a CDC podcast by Dr. Joe Bresee from the CDC Influenza Division which describes Swine Flu – its [...]

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Tags: Pandemic Flu

Radio Show On Public Preparedness

April 25th, 2009 · No Comments

I was a guest this week on an internet radio program, Western Word Radio, hosted by Avi Davis. The discussion on the show, “Are You Prepared For A Disaster,” focused on citizen readiness and engagement as well as general foreign policy issues. The other panelists were  former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, commentator Michael Ledeen, and intelligence expert [...]

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Tags: Media Interviews

State Of California Goes Into The Homes Of “Mommy Bloggers” To Promote WE Prepare Online Emergency Readiness Program

April 24th, 2009 · 2 Comments

CaliforniaVolunteers has just launched an innovative effort to reach out to blogs targeted at mothers in order to promote disaster preparedness. The agency, the lead state office responsible for coordinating volunteer activities, is organizing in-home disaster-preparedness events in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area hosted by bloggers. The sessions focus on California’s online [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0 · Preparedness Ideas · State Preparedness