In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

FEMA has just launched a redesigned Spanish language website, www.fema.gov/espanol. According to the press release:
“The site is focused on individuals and families in multi-hazard disasters. It includes information on what to do before (preparedness), during (response) and after (recovery and mitigation) disasters…
The new design features a simple format with main topics divided in blocks of [...]

[Read more →]

This edition of the blog’s “What Should We Tell The Public?” video series features Allison Cardona, the Director of Disaster Services for the ASPCA. It was shot at a pets’ emergency preparedness event held by the ASPCA and New York’s Office of Emergency Management.
In the short video, Allison explains the steps every pet owner should do to [...]

[Read more →]

A new American Red Cross survey has found that women seem to to be making more of an effort on H1N1 prevention than men, but that most Americans are preparing for a new flu outbreak. The poll also revealed that one in five households includes a member of has gone to work or school when [...]

[Read more →]

In a special web address marking National Cybersecurity Month, DHS Secretary Napolitano said today that the public has the opportunity and responsibility to contribute to the U.S. national security by practicing good cyber habits. In the speech, titled “A New Challenge for Our Age: Securing America Against the Threat of Cyber Attack,” she said:
“Just as with [...]

[Read more →]

Homeland Security Advisory System Task Force Co-Chair Frances Townsend said in an interview last week that even when a final decision is made on the terror color levels there is still work to be done in determining both the content and the distribution methods for best alerting and informing the public on terrorism and other threats.
U.S. [...]

[Read more →]

A year ago today, October 17th, I was diagnosed with Leukemia. That afternoon, I thought I had a stomach flu; by evening, I was hooked up to an i.v. in the hospital beginning cancer treatment.
Though this has not been the best of my 46 years, I am very lucky for a lot of reasons. As [...]

[Read more →]

Congratulations to the organizers of The Great California Shakeout which took place yesterday at 10:15 PT. In the ShakeOut’s second year, 6.9 million Californians participated up from 5.5 million in 2008.

IN SAN FRANCISCO, ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY STUDENTS LISA ALLEN AND SHAOFU ZHANG DROPPING AND COVERING AS PART OF THE GREAT CALIFORNIA SHAKEOUT (Photo: Associated [...]

[Read more →]

With the H1N1 flu vaccination program now underway, I thought I would ask a public health expert — whose opinion I trust a great deal — what (if any) concerns he had about vaccine’s rollout to the public. I have reprinted his answer in its entirety as I found it useful in highlighting some issues [...]

[Read more →]

Today, October 14th, is “International Day For Disaster Reduction.” According to a press release:
Today, the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) dedicates its annual International Day for Disaster Reduction to the urgent need to make “Hospitals Safe from Disasters.” Dozens of hospitals and heath facilities each year are themselves impacted by floods, hurricanes, cyclones, earthquakes and [...]

[Read more →]

I had the nice opportunity this past week to be the moderator of an American Red Cross “Town Hall” focusing on the growth and evolution of the organization’s partnerships with non-profit groups in disaster preparedness, response and recovery, particularly since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The forum, titled “Convergence and Cooperation: Town Hall With Our Service [...]

[Read more →]