In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

I was thrilled tonight to be able to join my CERT team for the first time since my leukemia returned last November. I took part in the “National Night Out” along with members of our local NYPD precinct in Manhattan. We handed out ReadyNewYork pamphlets, though as I am still building up my stamina I [...]

[Read more →]

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 [...]

[Read more →]

There are a couple very exciting disaster preparedness and response events occurring in Washington, D.C. at the end of this week — the CrisisCommons Roundtable and the First International CrisisCommons. (I was hoping to attend but my medical treatment prevents me from traveling right now.) The good news that if you cannot make it to the [...]

[Read more →]

The 35th Annual Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop began this weekend. The conference, organized by the University of Colorado’s esteemed Natural Hazards Center, is held outside of Denver. According to the Center’s website, the Workshop is:
designed to bring hazards researchers and practitioners from many disciplines together for face-to-face discussions on issues and trends that [...]

[Read more →]

I wanted to post an interesting report released today summarizing the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC’s conference, “Preparing to Save Lives and Recover After a Nuclear Detonation: Implications for U.S. Policy”.
The Center “convened the invitational meeting to examine critical issues associated with response to and recovery from a nuclear detonation and to consider the policy [...]

[Read more →]

I wanted to mention two events from this past weekend, which I think offer a lesson for citizen preparedness:  The first was a family preparedness event held by the American Red Cross at Fort Belvoir just outside Washington in which free readiness kits and other emergency supplies were distributed to 1100 military families. At the other [...]

[Read more →]

The Safe America Foundation will again be holding its “9/11 Drill Down For Safety” campaign on September 11th. The Foundation is hoping to more than double the 400,000 people from 127 cities/drill sites in 27 states who participated in last year’s inaugural effort.
The campaign will include a special focus on the importance of the use of [...]

[Read more →]

I wanted to highlight two exciting disaster preparedness/response events in Washington, D.C. this weekend, which are open to any interested member of the public – CrisisCampDC and RHoK (Random Hacks of Kindness) 1.0.
CrisisCampDC is a project of CrisisCommons, which according to its website, “is a volunteer technology community dedicated to bringing together technology, innovation and volunteers [...]

[Read more →]

Thanks to the Recovery Diva, Claire Rubin, for sending me an article from the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, “Public Indifference To Civil Defense Drills Highlights Israeli Apathy” about the Mideast nation’s Turning Point 4 exercise this week.
Israel is often cited as a model of civil defense and the nationwide Turning Point drill includes significant civilian involvement. [...]

[Read more →]

Israel yesterday began its 4th annual Turning Point national civil defense drill Sunday. The five-day exercise, developed in response to a concern about the nation’s preparedness, involves the Israeli public of all ages. Though the U.S. does not face the daily threats of Israel, the Turning Point exercise offers useful guidance for this country’s public [...]

[Read more →]