In Case of Emergency, Read This Blog

In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

A Citizen’s Eye View of Public Preparedness

Entries from July 2010

Too Drunk To Evacuate Or Helpful Stress Reliever? Key West Officials Consider Closing Bars During Hurricanes

July 31st, 2010 · No Comments

According to an article in the Miami Herald, officials in Key West are considering the prohibition of alcohol sales during hurricanes under a little known law that allows local officials to ban booze during a declared state of emergency:
Last year, as officials of the Southernmost City reviewed their emergency plans, they again considered the possibility [...]

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Tags: Hurricane Preparedness

Colorado To Create Special Teenage ‘Social Media Response Team’ To Help Authorities, Public During Disasters

July 30th, 2010 · 4 Comments

The Colorado Division of Emergency Management and READYColorado are among the most innovative and energetic state operations in the nation when it comes to citizen preparedness.
So, it’s not surprising that the agencies are developing a special social media response team comprised of teenagers to assist the state’s efforts in dealing with disasters. Tentatively called the [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0 · Preparedness Ideas · Preparedness Models

Are You Ready Or Nyet? FEMA Adds New Languages Incl. Russian, Chinese, Haitian Creole & Tagalog To Ready.Gov Preparedness Site

July 29th, 2010 · No Comments

The ReadydotGov Twitter feed proudly announced Thursday that: “We just translated 16,000 words of preparedness information into Russian!”
The Ready.Gov site is now offering 8 languages in addition to English — Russian, French, Tagalog, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole and Spanish.

A screenshot of Ready.Gov’s Russian language site.

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Tags: Diverse Communities Preparedness · Federal Emergency Management Administration

“During CPR, Locking Lips May Not Be Necessary” – Less To Know, Easier To Learn Is Good News

July 29th, 2010 · No Comments

Two new studies released yesterday indicate that doing “hands-only” CPR without mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is just as effective. That’s good news as it is widely believed that a hesitancy to do rescue breaths keeps people from attempting the procedure.
A NPR story, “During CPR, Locking Lips May Not Be Necessary,” explains:
Many people are uncomfortable with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, [...]

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Tags: Red Cross

Time Magazine Asks: “The BP Spill: Has the Damage Been Exaggerated?”

July 29th, 2010 · 1 Comment

The well-respected environmental writer, Michael Grunwald, offers a provocative article today in the current issue of Time magazine asking whether the damage from the Gulf Coast oil spill has been exaggerated by politicians, non profit groups and the media.
It’s an interesting piece which I wanted to post in part because it is offers a good case [...]

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Tags: Media

Everyone Talks About The Weather, Now You Can Do Something About It…Or At Least Do Something About The National Weather Service — NWS Asks Public To Offer Strategic Plan Ideas Online

July 28th, 2010 · No Comments

Mark Twain would probably be happy to know that finally citizens aren’t going to be limited to talking about the weather, but now they can do something about it –or at least something about the National Weather Service (NWS).
That’s because the Service is now soliciting public input on its draft Strategic Plan using an online [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0

Discovery’s “The Colony” Disaster Survival ‘Reality TV’ Show On Gulf Coast; Like “Survivor” Though Cast Also Has To Deal With Pandemic

July 28th, 2010 · 3 Comments

Last night, I watched the premiere of the Discovery Channel’s second season of “The Colony” ‘reality’ show. “The Colony” attempts to answer the questions: “What would you do in the wake of a global catastrophe? Even if you survived it, could you survive the aftermath?”
The show brings together an eclectic group of “colonists” and puts [...]

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Tags: Media · Pandemic Flu

WMD Preparedness Expert Says Public Should Realize Nuke Terror Attack “Could Happen” Here & Learn Protective Response Measures

July 27th, 2010 · 1 Comment

In a radio interview this week, a leading expert on weapons of mass destruction preparedness said that the public needs to realize that a nuclear terror incident is a possibility, and they should learn some protective response steps for themselves and their families.
Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Biosecurity, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said [...]

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Tags: Nuclear Terrorism · Preparedness Conferences

It’s Time To Better Define What “Ready” Means For Public — To Help Do So, FEMA/State/Local Officials Should Hold Series Of Forums To Solicit Citizen Input, Answer Questions On Preparedness

July 26th, 2010 · 7 Comments

On its Facebook page, the very active Medical Reserve Corps of Greater Kansas City posted some photos of a day-long class it held Saturday using FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute’s Independent Study curriculum, “IS-22: Are You Ready? An In-Depth Guide To Citizen Preparedness”.
The Facebook post piqued my curiosity about the FEMA course whose introductory Overview explains:
“has been [...]

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Tags: City Preparedness · Education · Federal Emergency Management Administration · Preparedness Events · Preparedness Resources

On ADA’s 20th Anniversary Today, Fugate Asks (& Answers) “Are Disabled Still At Risk In Disasters?”

July 26th, 2010 · No Comments

To mark today’s 20th Anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), FEMA Administrator shot a short video and wrote an article for CNN.com “Are Disabled Still At Risk In Disasters,” focusing on disabled preparedness which has been a priority of his tenure.

The video urges emergency managers to continue to better integrate the disabled into [...]

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Tags: Disabled Preparedness