In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

The U.S. State Department and the Ad Council have just released tv and radio public service announcements asking Americans to contribute to Pakistan flood relief. In one of the video PSAs, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton says:

Currently more than 20 million Pakistanis have been affected by the worst natural disaster in Pakistan’s history. The pictures we see coming out of Pakistan are painful images of human suffering at its worst. Americans have always shown great generosity to others facing crises around the world. And I call on you to do what you can.

Viewers are instructed to text “flood” to 2-7-7-2-2 to donate $10. More information can be found at State.gov.

State Department/Ad Council PSA for Pakistan flood relief.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate interviewed earlier today on “Good Morning America” (below) warned residents of the eastern seaboard to “make sure you have a plan today, You may not have time later on this week if the storm moves in your direction.”

He told Robin Roberts that people who live in evacuation zones need to plan to evacuate if necessary, have a destination now and follow the storm closely. For those who need guidance in creating an emergency plan, he suggested checking Ready.Gov.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate interviewed on “Good Morning America” today about Hurricane Earl.

Fugate has also been tweeting “Hurricane 101″ tips, including most recently: “if you evacuate, take your pets with you. looking for a hotel that takes pets www.petswelcome.com www.officialpethotels.com.”

Earl and Fiona Approach East Coast (Photo: NOAA)

With National Preparedness Month beginning tomorrow, I am posting a short video I shot a couple weeks ago at FEMA headquarters with Ready Campaign Director Darryl Madden in which he urges Americans to prepare and discuss the with their “family & loved ones about they’ll do in the face of an emergency”. The threat of Hurricane Earl to the nation’s east coast may accelerate those conversations.

Darryl Madden, Director, Ready Campaign

In an interview earlier this month, Madden told me there will be a special effort during the Month to get Americans to create a family emergency communications plan. To help Americans undertake the planning process, Ready.Gov and the Ad Council are offering some online tools to create a printable comprehensive Family Emergency Plan and an email/text containing basic information that can be shared with others. Madden said he also hopes the Americans will during the Month — if they have not already — check with their workplaces and kids’ schools about their emergency plans. This video is part of the blog’s “What Should We Tell The Public?” series.

Ready.Gov’s section on hurricane preparedness is here; information on flooding is here.

As government emergency management offices and non-profit disaster relief groups increasingly utilize Twitter and Facebook as part of their operations, I thought I would check with some leading practioners in the field to see how the two social media platforms are being employed in their work with the public.

It turns out that in most cases the two services are being utilized in somewhat different ways by different types of external users. Twitter is being used mostly as an informational source with speed and news being paramount for more of an official audience, while Facebook pages tend to be more of a place for public discussion and community building with more depth (ie. multi-media) and emotional involvement often for average citizens. But in a crisis, the two platforms will be used similarly to distribute and solicit emergency information. Both, officials say, have been very helpful to their informational outreach to the public.

Here are the e-mail responses about Twitter and Facebook from some of the emergency management experts I contacted:

Jeremy J. Heidt, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency – ”We are seeing quite a difference in what TEMA’s social media followers and fans are looking for from our agency, but that may be due to how we are interacting on those platforms. We have 355 followers on Twitter, but a majority (>75%) of them are what I would call information gatherers, like yourself, looking for official information to share through their own distribution channels.

For example, our Twitter followers include the Associated Press and CNN Southeast Desk, as well as various federal, state and local agencies or officials. The general public makes up a small percentage of the direct audience, though they are welcome to receive the messages. TEMA primarily uses Twitter as an automatic distribution mechanism –using Google Feedburner and RSS feeds — for any information that has been updated, such as pictures or maps on Flickr, any official state news releases on TN.Gov or blog postings to TEMA’s website, as well as FEMA releases involving Tennessee and earthquake notices in the region from the U.S. Geological Service.

During the recent flooding, I repeatedly told media outlets that following TEMA on Twitter would ensure they received immediate notice of any new information that we had released. This cut down tremendously on the number of repeat phone calls from those media outlets looking for just routine updates to some previously released information. By utilizing the Twitter lists, I’m also able to get immediate feedback by watching what media outlets are saying about an event, as it is happening. We don’t have a lot of two-way conversations via Twitter though.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Twitter page.

The Facebook page, TNDisasterInfo, has 2,483 fans, but the daily impressions are 9,755. This site has much more grassroots appeal to its users. They are able to comment and give direct feedback via Facebook. Sixty-five percent of the fans are female, and most reside in Tennessee. I definitely think that how TEMA uses and interact through social media will continue to change.

In the future, I think emergency organizations will have to monitor social media, like Twitter or others, for ’emergency’ communications from our citizens. We need to adapt to how the public chooses to communicate, or we will lose a piece of situational awareness that is vital to any successful emergency operation.”

Gloria Huang, American Red Cross — “Yes, we definitely have a different community on Twitter versus Facebook. Our Facebook following [202,687] consists of a lot of Red Cross volunteers, donors, workers – people with some personal tie to the organization. As a result, they are incredibly interactive and love sharing and chatting with each other on our Facebook page. Because of that, we try to tailor our content on Facebook to encourage community building and we try to give them interesting topics to talk about. In contrast, our Twitter following [177,206] love to see more disaster-focused tweets. They are interested in hard facts and timely information that they can pass on. That is most of the reason why our Twitter account is so disaster-focused.

The nature of a Facebook Page is very community-oriented; our fans/followers are very happy to declare that they donated blood, or that their mother and grandmothers also volunteered, or that they recently got certified in CPR. On the flip side, the Twitter community is much more public and vast in size – if the information we tweet is current and relevant to what people are talking about (like the Haiti earthquake), it will get spread far and wide.”

Comments on the American Red Cross’ Facebook page.

Christina Stephens, Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management — “Our Twitter followers [2,636]  are interested in news. They expect to get information everyday. Facebook users [1,672] are more likely to want to engage with us and others in a discussion. Those on Facebook tend to be more emotionally connected and Twitter users more informationally connected. But in an emergency we would use them similarly getting information out and receiving feedback. And we would be instructing people to use each to alert their family and friends about their situations.”

Adam Crowe, Johnson County (Kansas) Emergency Management & Homeland Security – “There is significant overlap in the information that we post to Facebook [440] and Twitter [808]. The most significant minor differences are based around the use of multi-media. We typically post videos and pictures to facebook and merely post to Twitter a link back to the Facebook or YouTube page. The on except to this is our automated twitter feed (@jocoalert) that receives automated emergency information such as weather alerts or advisories. Our hope is that people will select to follow this account and be notified vis SMS text – thus creating a community-wide text notification system.”

Johnson County Office of Emergency Management’s Twitter feed.

Rachel Racusen, Federal Emergency Management Administration — “Our Twitter followers [16,492] tend to be interested in news and information. The Facebook page [15,409] offers more opportunity for discussion among and feedback from the public. And, we receive helpful comments on FEMA policies.”

Chi Kong Lui, American Red Cross of Greater New York –”We do see a difference between people who use Facebook versus Twitter under normal circumstances. Twitter is a bit faster paced and noisier. We don’t subject our Facebook fans to the real-time daily disaster updates that appear in our Twitter. That being said, when a major disaster or emergency strikes, the users want useful and relevant information as quickly as possible and in whatever format they can get it. So during a disaster, I think we would look to provide as much updates to both platforms as quickly as possible.”

This morning, the East Coast-based Twitter followers of @CraigatFEMA (aka FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate) got a bit of a provocative challenge:

It was little less cheeky than his reminder tweet from the day before:

Usually, preparedness messaging — particularly as a threat approaches — is Boy Scout earnest (and Fugate uses that approach as well — see below).

But Twitter has allowed the Administrator to also offer some more refreshingly more casual, irreverent messages — that use humor and even a little sarcasm to try to get through to Americans to prepare. The character limits, the volume of Tweets and the targeted nature of social media makes it a good medium for experimentation, particularly when (like Fugate) you have a gregarious, infectious personality with a nice sense of humor — and you have heard of every excuse for not preparing from the public during a long emergency management career. The fact is that the straight forward approach has largely not worked.

Fugate’s Twitter feed should embolden emergency managers to try some more direct and conversational approaches that officials might not feel comfortable saying during a news conference or in a press release.

As the nation marks the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I wanted to post a terrific list of preparedness tips and lessons learned from the disaster survivors that was collected by the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The Times-Picayune, which did such heroic coverage during and after Katrina, solicited these ideas from readers in 2006 and printed them weekly during hurricane season. In June of 2007, the paper reprinted “a comprehensive selection”, calling it the ”ultimate insiders guide to evacuee readiness. Enjoy and prepare.” The list is so interesting, because it reflects the real-life experiences of disaster survivors.

Though you may not agree with all of the ideas suggested and some are area specific, I think you will find it worth reading through this collection as a resource, an example of citizen resilience and even, yes, how humor is necessary in the face of crisis. The article is also an example of the huge potential the media has to spur citizen preparedness if it focused more on the topic.

The approximately 75 submissions have been divided by the author James O’Byrne into categories, including: On The Road Again, Kids And Pets, Staying Behind, Guest Relations, Take This Job And Leave It, Precious Papers Important Photos, Food For Thought, Potty Time, & The Big Picture. The tips range from ”Take blank checks, internet passwords, copies of bills, long distance phone card, walkie talkies” and “Apply for a gas credit card” to “Perfume. No showers for 10 days. We stunk so bad” and “Keep nice with your Dallas relative with the big house.”

Below are a couple of representative e-mails that will give you a sense of these survivor tips:

I always prided myself in being super organized before Katrina. In the safe-deposit box at the bank, I had placed the original savings bonds I was using to finance my sons’ college education, a video of my home’s contents and negatives of both my sons’ first days of life. My home in Lakewood South had 6½ feet of water. The lobby of the bank in Lakeview flooded, too!

Only copies of important papers are kept in the safe-deposit box now. I personally keep all original documents in a small fireproof box that is portable and will go wherever I go. In that box, too, is a stash of cash (proved to be very valuable last year) as well as my “password list” containing all necessary info to manage bills and finances online.

Videos of my sons have now been transferred to DVDs. They’re in plastic bags that are stored in the bottom of my Rubbermaid container that also will go with me. Digital pictures of my new home replace the home video. (After a catastrophic loss, the insurance companies want only pictures, I have learned.) I have my “Katrina Book” that also will go with me this year — inside is every important phone number, registration number, etc., which are critical for life after a storm.

CHERYL LITWIN,
New Orleans

What worked for us? Nothing. What would I do differently? I shall start listing:
Do not watch the news anywhere around your kids. Ever.
Do not leave ANY pet behind thinking you will only be gone for two days.
Know how to text message if the cell phones are no longer working.
Have an emergency account set up with a NATIONAL bank so when you cannot access money from your local bank there is a back-up fund.
Bring more than a few days worth of clothes.
Bring a copy of children’s shot records.
Know what “teaching methods” are taught in your school (yes, I was asked that question several times!).
Every year when getting your pets vaccinated, get a copy of updates to bring while evacuating.
Let people who want to take care of you and love you do just that. This is not boot camp or a pride parade. Let others help.
Bring pictures of items in your home for your insurance claim.
Bring needed medications.
Bring some wine.
Tell your family and friends where you are going and work out a “contact person” on the outside who can give your information to worried friends and family.
Never depend on the government. If it looks like a storm is coming and Bob Breck and Margaret Orr are a little stressed — GET OUT.
Brush up on some of those prayers your momma taught you. And just know we have been through the worst. It can never get as bad as it did. We are a strong people.

CLAIRE KOCH,
New Orleans

The entire article with all the tips/lessons learned can be found here.

A major highlight of the Red Cross Emergency Data Summit earlier this month for me was meeting in person someone I have known — and have learned from — remotely for the last several years, Brian Humphrey from the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). Brian has been a pioneer in the use of personal technology by government emergency officials to inform and engage the public.

Brian and his fellow LAFD public information officers manage an unparalleled social media operation in the government emergency field, including a blog about to hit three million visits and a Flickr site with seven million views. The Department recently split its Twitter account in two: @LAFD, which is reserved for fire and accident reports, and @LAFDTalk, which people can use to ask questions about fire extinguishers or whatever else fire-related is on their minds. Brian gave a terrific presentation at the Red Cross event about his work that can be found on C-SPAN’s website.

In the two-and-a-half minute video below, I asked Humphrey what he would tell other emergency responder agencies, which have not yet embraced social media in their work, ”I encourage agencies and people to jump in the water. That doesn’t mean enter head first. But get in the pool.” He urges a patient approach in which officials listen, absorb information initially. But he points out social media is a “force multiplier” for emergency agencies in distributing and gathering information. And he notes: “If it works in Los Angeles, it can work in your town too.”

Humphrey cites an example of social media’s usefulness in the wake of the stampede at Germany’s Love Parade at which 18 people died. He says that in similar types of events, LAFD uses social media to monitor the situation before it gets out of hand. He also urges the public to sign up for their local government text/email alerts, which offer an opportunity to get emergency information even before its delivered by the traditional media.

LAFD Public Information Officer Brian Humphrey discusses the use of social media and personal technology in the emergency services.

This past week, I wrote about trying to find preparedness spokespeople from different areas including politics and entertainment. While reporting those articles, I happened to hear about a preparedness spokesperson from a surprising arena — Jill (Stevens) Shepherd, the 2007 “Miss Utah,” who used citizen preparedness as her successful pageant issue platform.

Public preparedness is an atypical beauty pageant platform. But Shepherd does not have typical beauty pageant credentials. She had served as a combat medic for six years with the Utah National Guard (1st Battalion, 211th Aviation), including a year-long stint in Afghanistan at Bagram Airfield where she earned five medals for outstanding service.

Miss Utah & Army Combat Medic Sgt. Jill Shepherd

Shepherd entered her first pageant at Southern Utah University where she was studying for a degree in Nursing. But she was having a really difficult time coming up with a platform and did not want to do a traditional pageant “health and fitness” subject. Then, she drew a connection between her experience in Afghanistan where “you had to be ready for anything” with that  of natural disasters and smaller emergencies back in Utah that civilians also had to be ready for anything. So, she made citizen emergency preparedness, with a particular focus on schools and students, her pageant platform.

In fact, Shepherd says sees a connection between her military service abroad and citizen preparedness at home as both involve a commitment from citizens to contribute in times of crisis. It is a great point. Last week, I wrote a post about how Americans should view preparedness as personal responsibility and responsibility of citizenship. But I didn’t include the idea that preparing for disaster was a way that civilians could (and should) make a contribution to complement the work and sacrifice of their fellow citizens in the military. (I will be adding it to that previous post.) It would seem to be another good angle for preparedness messaging, adding to the “personal responsibility” approach.

Jill Shepherd being crowned Miss Utah.

Shepherd feels that preparedness twas a good fit with her background as a medic and what she wanted to talk about to audiences around the state (and believes it helped her win the Miss Utah pageant). She also reached the semi-finals of the 2008 Miss America pageant. Afterwards, Shepherd got involved with the TeenCERT program at Eastern Michigan University and did public speaking on behalf of disaster readiness for young people. She is now an emergency room nurse at a Salt Lake City children’s hospital.

After I posted this, I got a Facebook comment from Robert Buzzard suggesting that Craig Fugate at FEMA ask Shepherd to again become a spokesperson for public preparedness; I think it’s a terrific idea.

Shepherd doing a school preparedness event as part of her “Miss Utah” responsibilities.

I was recently sent a screening copy of a compelling new documentary, “Countdown To Zero” about nuclear proliferation. Featuring interviews with a who’s who of world leaders and nuclear experts, the movie traces the history of the atomic bomb through the current nuclear threat.

Nine nations now have nuclear weapons and the movie argues that number could continue to grow to over 40 countries as the construction knowledge spreads (and that’s not even including the non-state actors, including terror groups). The documentary, directed by Lucy Walker, effectively shows the great concern among those experts in the political, diplomatic and scientific fields, though it expresses concern that the public does not fully understand the gravity of the situation. The movie is meant as a ‘wake up call’ about the threat of an act of nuclear terrorism, failed diplomacy, or a simple accident.

Ultimately, the movie calls for nuclear disarmament and asks viewers to go to the website of an organization called Global Zero to sign a petition. I wish they had also included steps that citizens can do to protect themselves in case the efforts to stop a nuclear explosion does not completely work.

Nevertheless, it is definitely worth seeing “Countdown to Zero” if it comes to your town or when it comes out in DVD. To check its national opening schedule, check the Global Zero website here.

With the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) recently unveiling the redesign of its FEMA.Gov website, I asked Administrator Craig Fugate if he would explain why the agency undertook the overhaul.

In the brief video (below), Fugate says FEMA wanted to make the site more focused on helping the public in answer the following questions: “How do I prepare? What do I do when a disaster strikes? And how do I recover?” So, that information is now front and center on the top of the front page of the website.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate explains why the agency overhauled its website.

We shot the video in a kitchen of the American Red Cross’ Hall of Service across from the White House just after he had spoken to the Emergency Crisis Data Summit about how FEMA was integrating new technology tools, such as the new website, to help the public access and provide disaster information. I apologize for the quality of the video, though it is less shaky than the other one I shot and posted of Fugate that same day. I had not used the Flip camera in seven months and am out of practice.

A screenshot of the new FEMA.Gov website (Credit: TechPresident)

TechPresident also has a link of the previous FEMA.Gov site here if you want to compare.