In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

Thanks to the Hometown Security blog, I saw that some Florida retailers had voluntarily lowered their prices on emergency preparedness supplies to encourage Floridians to prepare for Hurricane season.

I’ve been an advocate of getting the corporate sector far more involved in advance public preparedness, such as providing more discounts and developing integrated marketing campaigns, so I’m happy to hear about Florida’s effort. One reason this happened is that the State suspended its annual “tax free” holiday on emergency preparedness supplies this year due to budget cuts.

As readers may remember, I have been pushing my state of New York to adopt a tax free holiday on emergency supplies to coincide with the anniversaries of 9/11 and Katrina . And last month, my local Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing introduced legislation to that effect in the State Assembly as Bill A11206.

In addition to the tax incentive, state and local governments should be more aggressively working with the business community to create marketing partnerships making preparedness supplies more accessible and less expensive. These are win-win opportunities that will increase civilian preparedness while building traffic and sales for the stores and suppliers. The Florida initiative is a good start.

Btw, I’ve added the Hometown Security to my blog roll. It describes itself as ”Homeland Security news with a local focus,” which means there is a lot of news on community and citizen preparedness like the story I linked to above. Written by John Bowen, a Senior Fellow at the National Institute for Strategic Preparedness (NISP), Hometown Security offers consistently interesting content. I recommend you checking it out at hometownsecurity.blogspot.com/

I had a good weekend of cross blogging with Robin Parker and Lise Kerwin of Cross Blog, the terrific blog of the Red Cross’ Oregon chapter. I wanted to mention one more thing about Cross Blog that I think is worth noting: a typically playful, eye-catching post on Saturday titled “Can CPR Get You A Date” listed several Portland, Oregon Craig’s List postings of potential romantic liaisons post-CPR training (here, here and here).

Whether or not any of that CPR love is requited or resuscitated, the point that Lise and Robin are making with that post and throughout their blog is that the Red Cross and preparedness activities can be fun, exciting, social and even romantic — as well as the usual responsible and helpful to society.

To me (and I think Robin and Lise) if we are to build a more ready, resilient American nation, we need to get more of the public’s heart beating again about preparedness. That means repositioning and repackaging the subject in the minds of Americans — moving from duct tape and duck & cover to a new 21st Century model and language — using creativity and intelligence  as well as the emerging social media tools and popular culture (ie. tying together Top Chef & Craig’s List with the Red Cross & preparedness as they have in the past week). This is where Robin and Lise are showing the way, and it is definitely worth keeping an eye on Cross Blog (as well as the excellent work of Wendy Harman and Claire Johnson of the American Red Cross’s Social Media unit) to see what new and surprising approaches they’ll find next. I know I will be. And it looks like Gail McGovern, the American Red Cross’ new CEO, in her first hours on the job, already is as well.

One of the important goals of the American Red Cross’ Social Media Unit I just visited in Washington is drawing from (and spreading) creative preparedness 2.0 work being done in their chapters around the country.

This week, they invited Robin Parker, one of the founders of the Oregon chapter’s Cross Blog, to headquarters in Washington to help out with their social media efforts in response to the Midwest floods.   

Cross Blog’s Robin Parker on her way to Washington, DC from Oregon.

Robin is already helping out in DC this weekend. And she was kind enough to give me and this blog a  nice shout out from Red Cross Headquarters.

Cross Blog, which can be found at redcrosspdx.blogspot.com, was first brought to my attention by Amanda Ripley. It is informative, engaging, full of energy and even fun (which is not all that common in this subject area). For example, it has a feature called “Cross Spotting” to collect the unusual places readers see the Red Cross logo (such as recently on a shirt worn by a contestant of Bravo’s “Top Chef” show).

The blog is updated constantly with new posts, most of which will be of interest to folks beyond the Northwest. They do an excellent job of covering general Red Cross news, such as the relief organization’s ongoing work on the floods. And that coverage will be even more interesting now that Parker is at HQ. I have added it to my Blog Roll and Preparedness Resources page.

Cross Blog shows what can be accomplished by a small group of people committed and passionate about emergency preparedness using new social media communications tools. And kudos to Wendy and Carrie in Washington for seeing how Cross Blog can ‘cross’ pollinate other Red Cross online efforts.

As someone who works regularly with the Red Cross here in New York City as part of my CERT responsibilities, it is terrific to see the organization — both nationally and in local chapters like Oregon – taking a lead in Preparedness 2.0 applications.

While I was in Washington, D.C. Thursday, I visited the American Red Cross‘ Disaster Response Center to learn more about the growing role of new media in the Red Cross’s response efforts during the Midwestern floods and tornadoes.

Wendy Harman and Claire Johnson of the Red Cross’ Social Media unit — which coordinates the organization’s online public affairs initiatives — kindly took a moment from their busy day to brief me on their work.

n 

Social Media Unit members Wendy Harman (standing) and Claire Johnson (sitting) in the Red Cross’ Disaster Operations Center. Public affairs staffer Lesly Simmons is at the left.

Wendy and Claire developed and oversee the Red Cross’ “Online Newsroom” blog for “Central U.S. Floods and Tornadoes” which can be found at redcrossmidwestflooding.wordpress.com/. The Online Newsroom is full of constantly updated information on the unfolding emergency — current statistics, press releases, photos, audio and video — reported by a team of public affairs staffers spread throughout the flood areas. It is a terrific resource for reporters, emergency officials and the public.

The site also provides details on other Red Cross online sites – such as the Safe & Well List, which is a way for family members to communicate with each other during a disaster. There is also a Red Cross Flickr photo stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanredcross/ with pictures that newspapers and blogs can use, such as this one of a Red Cross volunteer in the knee-deep water in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

In addition, there is the organization’s central blog, Red Cross Chat, which can be found at http://www.redcrosschat.org. These preparedness 2.0 initiatives are part of the Red Cross’ ramped up effort to integrate new communications technologies into its existing activities — and, while they’re at it, help update the organization’s public image for the 21st Century.

Staffers at American Red Cross Disaster Operations Center monitor Midwest floods.

Wendy told me that the Red Cross’ social media presence is ”still in its diapers” and will be evolving in the months to come. In fact, she says they are “open to new ideas” and welcome any input and suggestions from our readers. 

For my birthday on last Saturday, my kids got me a 33oz. “I AM NOT PLASTIC” water bottle. I bring this up not because I love my kids (which I do) or because I want to contribute to slowing global warming (which I do). But instead because the gift offers me another good lesson about emergency preparedness.

I recently wrote about what the public efforts on global warming can teach us about action on emergency preparedness. This is another example.

One of my daughter’s teachers brought the ”I AM NOT PLASTIC BOTTLE” one day and suggested that the kids ask their parents about it. The bottle is described on the the Sigg website:

With 2.5 million plastic water bottles being thrown out every hour in the United States, StopGlobalWarming.org is proud to partner with SIGG to create a re-usable water bottle so we can all do our part and ditch the plastic!

My kids wanted me to reduce my contribution to that large number, which led to my birthday present. 

The fact is that if you want to change adult behavior, a very effective (if sneaky) way of doing so is through their kids. A similar dynamic occurred last year when my younger daughter came home from school asking whether we were going to “save the environment” by getting new compact fluorescent bulbs. And that sent me to the hardware store faster than any public service announcement. The bottom line to me is that we are not going to change social behavior on emergency preparedness unless we get kids more involved in it. 

Reader Jonathan Haber was kind enough to send me an article in yesterday’s Washington Post about how Montgomery County, Maryland’s e-mail alert system didn’t notify thousands of people after a major water main break, because the two employees who know how to operate the system were out of town. According to the Post:

When those two employees couldn’t be reached, a third employee who was supposed to know how to run it said that he had never been trained, said Gordon Aoyagi, the homeland security director. A fourth employee who was found eight hours later knew how to operate it but failed to send out any alerts. Residents and businesses learned of the water problem primarily through the media.

“The system worked,” Aoyagi said. “We failed.” 

The breakdown underscored the importance of these email/text alerts in emergency situations, according to the article:

The delay in the county’s emergency notification system played out Monday morning, when many parents were left scrambling after their children’s day camps were cancelled and school buildings that house year-round child care centers closed for the day.

The e-mail system is the county’s primary method for contacting residents in emergencies without relying on radio or television.

With a number of natural emergencies now occurring throughout the U.S., I wanted bring your attention to a compelling map I found in the Resources section theunthinkable.com. The Emergency Disaster Information Services, a non-profit group based in Budapest, charts every significant disaster occurring in the world and presents it in a vivid, easily readable map. 

You can find the disaster alert map at http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index.php?lang=eng, and I have added it to my Resources section.

With summer approaching and the memory of the Iowa tornado disaster still resonating, the Linda Wagar of Fox-4 TV in Kansas City had a good story reminding parents to make sure the camp their kids has an emergency plan:

“The Boy Scout camp tragedy in Iowa is raising awareness of just how vulnerable kids can be when they’re away at camp.  Now parents are wondering what they can do to make sure their kids are safe.

When we send our kids off to summer camp, most of us know the price, the type of lodging they are staying in and maybe even the counselor’s name.  But how many of us ever ask about what happens if a tornado hits?

The story suggests that:

“One way to check out a summer camp is to find out whether its accredited. For example, the American Camping Association has emergency preparedness guidelines camps must meet before they can get their accreditation.”

This is not to scare parents that tragedies, such as what happened at the Iowa campground, are going to be replicated all summer, but instead serve as just a reminder that a camp’s emergency plan is worth checking into. 

The valiant efforts of the civilian responders in Cedar Falls, Iowa provides yet another example of how average citizens come together and rise to the occasion in major disaster situations. On the Security Debrief blog, Rich Cooper offers a nice tribute and offers the important reminder that even those of us not in currently harm’s way should not miss this “teaching moment”:

“…pay close attention to what is happening right now in the heartland of America.  Over the past several days, the citizens of Cedar Falls, Iowa, have filled hundreds of thousands of sandbags to save their City from the rising waters of the Cedar River.  Thousands of volunteers of every age and walk of life have stepped forward to fill bag after bag and put them in place to save their ‘homeland’ and preserve the ‘security’ that it brings to them.

While Mother Nature is neither patient nor forgiving to communities in times like these, Cedar Falls and others like her in the Midwest that are fighting the ‘battle’ for survival represent the personification of resilience.  They are offering us all a teachable moment and we all have a lot to learn.  As we watch this lesson unfold (and hopefully help them overcome their current threats along the way), we should all be asking ourselves, “Are we ready to do the same things for our community, our families and ourselves?”

While pondering that question, let’s put the following facts on the table.  There was no legislative mandate that made the citizens of Cedar Falls step forward to fill sandbags and stack them atop one another.  Nor were there FEMA checks handed out to make them come downtown to save the City streets from more ruin.  They just showed up and did it.  They were business owners, employees, parents, students, etc.  – all citizens committed to the survival of what is important to them.   That is what resilience is: action that enables survival. Before we allow the word to become so overused that it loses its meaning (e.g. interoperability), we need to remember that people focused on a mission are at the center of resilience.

The example of Cedar Rapids and other Midwest towns fighting floodwaters from taking what they have left is not unique.  We’ve seen it in the West during large wild-fire outbreaks.  We’ve seen it in coastal communities that have been struck by hurricanes.  We saw it on the evening of September 11th when construction workers and others showed up in lower Manhattan to start the grim recovery work.

All of these examples and more are emblematic of a spirit we saw heroically manifested on United Flight 93.  Average citizens with no prior connection to one another other than a common purchase of an ill-fated plane ticket, came together and stopped further carnage so others could survive.” 

At the end of Mayor Bloomberg’s Gracie Mansion reception Wednesday night marking the 5th Anniversary of the City’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program, his staffers handed out “Million Trees NYC” pamphlets promoting the Parks Department’s initiative to plant a million trees over the next decade. Whether it was intentional or not, this was a rare time where the public education campaigns on emergency preparedness and global warming were tied together on the same program. 

In fact, earlier that day in Washington, D.C., I was discussing that very subject with Time magazine’s Amanda Ripley. We have both been struck by the fact that while preparing the citizenry for emergencies has much in common with the efforts against global warming, the nation has largely embraced one cause and largely ignored the other.

It was a point that DHS Secretary Chertoff made to me last month when I asked him for his thoughts on improving civilian emergency preparedness.

“I tell you what’s fascinating. If you look at like this whole global warming thing. At some point, it captured the imagination of somebody and it became a big media thing. And then all of a sudden, every kid was coming home with information about global warming. And I wish we could get that media attentiveness in the area of preparedness, so that kids come - because this - actually, this is an area where it could make a difference if everybody had the plans and the kit and everything. You could actually see every individual could make a difference.”

The global warming campaign can and should be a model for civilian emergency preparedness in a variety of ways, including as Chertoff noted somewhat enviously, getting kids to lead the way and involving the media. But preparedness will also require the same kind of governmental and corporate commitment, high profile public spokespeople and some governmental incentives that has boosted the climate change effort.

The two campaigns are complementary and should be more linked closer together in the public’s mind — and actions. In both, society is being asked to mobilize in order to avert or mitigate potential disasters, and both are part of strengthening the nation’s general national resilience. Yes, global warming has some skeptics, but so does emergency preparedness - ironically they are usually not the same people which may conveniently add to its complementary synergy.