In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

The American Public Health Asssociation (APHA) is asking citizens to make an online promise “to prepare my family, friends and community”. The pledge initiative is part of the APHA’s Get Ready campaign.
It asks the public to do five things: get a flu vaccination and other recommended immunizations, create a family communications and evacuation plan, have an [...]

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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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Mike Coston, a friend of this blog, who writes the really terrific Avian Flu Diary suggests that every American have a “disaster buddy” as part of their preparedness planning.
In a post today, “In An Emergency, Who Has Your Back?”, Coston explains that such a buddy would be “someone who prearranges to help a friend, relative, [...]

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In a story on the website, ednewscolorado.org, “From Terrorism To Tornadoes, Kids Learn To Be Prepared,” Rebecca Jones writes about Disaster READY Training, a collaboration of READYColorado, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and the City and County of Denver.
Last week, nearly 40 middle school students took part in the day long class in first [...]

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Orange County California officials have an interesting new strategy to get the word out to the public about preparing for disasters — ask the public to give them their word they will prepare.
ReadyOC is launching the “Promise to Prepare” campaign requesting local residents publicly commit on its web site that they will take at least one [...]

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There was a segment this week on ABC’s Nightline, titled “In The Lap of Luxury On Doomsday,” about the deluxe accommodations/shelters being offered for sale as an escape in the event of a major national catastrophe. The reporter, David Wright, visits an underground development in California’s Mojave Desert offering space for $50,000 per adult (and [...]

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California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger just announced that the state is creating the “first-in-the-nation Disaster Corps to professionalize, standardize and coordinate highly trained disaster volunteers statewide.”
Schwarzenegger colorfully tweeted out the news on Friday: “Check out our Disaster Corps…Because we believe in the 7 P’s. Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance.”

Gov. Schwarznegger’s tweet announcement (photo credit: [...]

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I don’t know if I should thank my friend Rich Cooper for informing us of yet another threat to be concerned about — space weather. But alas, more information the better is a watchword of this blog. In a post, “Painfully Unprepared For Space Weather” on the Security Debrief blog, Rich writes about attending the Space [...]

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency is funding the development of a video game, “Disaster Hero,” to teach children and their parents, caregivers and teachers how to prepare for various emergencies, according to an article in Occupational Health and Safety. It is being created with the help of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and is [...]

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On the subject of preparedness ‘carrots’, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency’s Ready Georgia campaign is working with the private sector to provide a free or discounted NOAA Weather Radio for residents who use its new online family preparedness planning tool.

According to the agency’s press release:
…Through July 19, Georgians who visit ready.ga.gov and sign up to [...]

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