In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

Mike Tolson from the Houston Chronicle offers an interesting list of “5 lessons we could learn from Hurricane Ike” on the storm’s first anniversary. As I think that Tolson’s lessons are useful for all communities, I’ve reprinted it below in its entirety:
Our success weathering the storm depended on how prepared we were and how much [...]

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The National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB), National Public Radio (NPR), and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in collaboration with three public television stations, and the Integrated Media Association are developing the Station Action for Emergency Readiness (SAFER) project, a plan to help public broadcasters serve their communities when disaster strikes.
SAFER will develop customizable plans [...]

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As the nation marks the anniversary of 9/11, one of the significant homeland security challenges the government still faces eight years later is figuring out how best to communicate the terrorist threat to the public and then engage the citizenry to help in its anti-terror efforts.
Both parts of that challenge involve a difficult balance. On [...]

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I just read an interesting report “Civil Defense and Homeland Security: A Short History of National Preparedness Efforts” which was originally issued by the Department of Homeland Security in September, 2006. I had not seen the study which offers a good, compact 35-page summary of previous public preparedness initiatives. As the Obama Administration starts revamping [...]

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CERT members don’t volunteer for the fringe benefits. But nonetheless it was great that the USS Intrepid Museum offered free admission today to CERT’s as part as their “Safety Preparedness Weekend”. So, I took one of my daughters to the newly refurbished carrier which is docked on the Hudson River in midtown Manhattan. It’s always [...]

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A book with the title The Chaos Scenario seems perfect for this blog. The cataclysm described, however, has not happened to a place or a people but instead to an industry. It does though give me a great segue to recommend the new book — whose subhead is Amid the Ruins of Mass Media, The Choice [...]

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There is an article in the October issue of Popular Mechanics, “How Self Reliance Can Get You Through Any Disaster” by Glenn Reynolds. According to Reynolds, who often writes about citizen preparedness on his blog, Instapundit,
“Here’s a simple truth: It’s better to bend than to break, and it’s best to be prepared for the worst. This [...]

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Via the Twitter feeds of FEMA Region 8 and the Citizen Corps, below are some of the tips from READYColorado’s “Top 10 List For Preparedness On A Budget”:
* Create your own personalized list. You may not need everything included in “ready made” kits and there may be additional items you need based on your personal situation.
* Budget emergency preparedness items as a “normal” expense. Even $20.00 a month can go a long way to helping you be ready. Buy one preparedness item each time you go to the grocery store.
* Request preparedness items as gifts. We all receive gifts we don’t need or use. What if  your friends and family members gave you gifts that could save your life? Don’t forget to protect them by sending preparedness gifts their way, too.
* If you are prepared, you may be able to help friends and neighbors who need assistance. By sharing preparedness supplies, you can help each other.
* Trade one night out to fund your 72-hour kit. Taking a family of four to the movies can cost upwards of $80-$100. Just one night of sacrifice could fund a 72-hour ready kit.
The full “Top 10″ list is here.

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I wanted to post an op-ed piece from today’s New York Times by Eric Sanderson, “After The Storms, An Island Of Calm — And Resilience”:

In September 1609, the beach near the tip of the island was surrounded by thickly wooded hills. Passenger pigeons flew overhead; porpoises hunted in the harbor. Around 600 Native Americans lived [...]

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On the anniversary of 9/11, I wanted to repost some proposals to help raise citizen preparedness. DHS Secretary Napolitano has said that public readiness is a priority and the Department has begun the process of engaging Americans in their own homeland security. The ideas below come largely from discussions I have had with people involved in [...]

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