In Case of Emergency, Read This Blog

In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

A Citizen’s Eye View of Public Preparedness

New National Summit On Youth Preparedness Report Says “Schools Are an Ideal Place for Children To Learn Disaster Preparedness”

September 15th, 2010 · No Comments

A report released at today’s National Summit on Youth Preparedness says “schools are an ideal place for children to learn disaster preparedness.” The study, Bringing Youth Preparedness Education to the Forefront: A Literature Review and Recommendations, looks at best practices, scholarship and offers recommendations. It is worth reading for this interested in the subject.

The Department [...]

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Tags: Education · Federal Emergency Management Administration · Preparedness Events · Preparedness Reports

On National Preparedness Month, Some Ways You Can Volunteer To Help Your Community Become More Prepared For Emergencies

September 6th, 2010 · 1 Comment

If National Preparedness Month has inspired you to want to volunteer in your community to assist in emergency preparedness and response, I wanted to post an article by Darryl Madden, Director of the Ready Program, “Be Part of the Preparedness Team.” In the piece, he offers some suggestions from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s grassroots readiness initiative, [...]

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Tags: Federal Emergency Management Administration · Volunteer Opportunities

Fugate Says FEMA Is Reevaluating Future Of CERT: Significant Changes Possible, Including Offering Mini-Course To More Americans, Significantly Expanding Youth Training

August 18th, 2010 · 11 Comments

In response to a question from the audience at the Red Cross Emergency Social Data Summit last week, Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate mentioned that the agency is doing some serious rethinking about the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program as it approaches its 25th Anniversary.
The questioner urged Fugate to move CERT from [...]

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Tags: CERT · Federal Emergency Management Administration · Youth Preparedness

FEMA Soliciting Nominations For “Individual Achievement Awards” To Honor Americans “Going Above & Beyond To Support Community Preparedness & Safety”

July 16th, 2010 · No Comments

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is soliciting nominations from citizens for “Individual Achievement Awards” honoring Americans “who have made a difference in making their community safer and better prepared.” According to the Citizen Corps webpage:
“These are people who have given their time and energy, offered skills and capabilities, been leaders in providing education and training, responded [...]

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Tags: Federal Emergency Management Administration

Facebook Page By Citizen Corps Volunteer For Citizen Corps Volunteers (And Other Interested Facebookers)

June 4th, 2010 · No Comments

I wanted to bring your attention to a new Facebook page started by a Citizen Corps volunteer primarily for other Citizen Corps volunteers (and anyone interested in the topic of public preparedness).
The Citizen Corps Volunteer page was created by Andrew Levy, a friend of this blog, who authors his own Neighbors Helping Neighbors blog. The page [...]

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Tags: CERT · Preparedness 2.0 · Preparedness Resources

At Hearing, House Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Cuellar Asks FEMA For New Preliminary Plan To Increase U.S. Community, Citizen Preparedness

October 5th, 2009 · No Comments

I attended a very interesting hearing on Capitol Hill late last week, “Preparedness: State of Citizen and Community Preparedness,” held by the House Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response which is chaired by Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX).
At the hearing, Bill Jenkins Jr. from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) presented a preliminary report, Emergency Management Preliminary Observations on FEMA’s Community Preparedness Programs Related to [...]

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Tags: Congress · Preparedness Events · Preparedness Reports · Public Opinion · Research Studies

READYColorado Offers “Top 10 List For Preparedness On A Budget”

September 12th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Via the Twitter feeds of FEMA Region 8 and the Citizen Corps, below are some of the tips from READYColorado’s “Top 10 List For Preparedness On A Budget”:
* Create your own personalized list. You may not need everything included in “ready made” kits and there may be additional items you need based on your personal situation.
* Budget emergency preparedness items as a “normal” expense. Even $20.00 a month can go a long way to helping you be ready. Buy one preparedness item each time you go to the grocery store.
* Request preparedness items as gifts. We all receive gifts we don’t need or use. What if  your friends and family members gave you gifts that could save your life? Don’t forget to protect them by sending preparedness gifts their way, too.
* If you are prepared, you may be able to help friends and neighbors who need assistance. By sharing preparedness supplies, you can help each other.
* Trade one night out to fund your 72-hour kit. Taking a family of four to the movies can cost upwards of $80-$100. Just one night of sacrifice could fund a 72-hour ready kit.
The full “Top 10″ list is here.

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Tags: Preparedness Tips

As #Danny Moves By & U.S. Marks #Katrina Anniversary, 260,000 Volunteer “Storm Spotters” Keep Watch For Severe Weather

August 29th, 2009 · 1 Comment

As Tropical Storm Danny moves up the East Coast and the nation marks the 4th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, it is a good time to mention a robust volunteer program called SkyWarn. I have wanted to highlight this citizen preparedness opportunity since being reminded of the program by the new (and helpful) Citizen Corps Twitter feed [...]

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Tags: Hurricane Preparedness · Volunteer Opportunities

San Francisco’s New “Unbranded” Community Preparedness Initiative “Prep SF” Rocks!

August 28th, 2009 · No Comments

At one of the opening panels of the recent Citizen Corps’ National Conference On Community Preparedness, I heard a terrific presentation on San Francisco’s new preparedness initiative, “Prep SF Because It Rocks!”, given by Rob Dudgeon, the Deputy Director of  the City’s Department of Emergency Management (SFDEM), and Kristin Hogan from the consultancy CirclePoint who helped [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0 · Preparedness Ideas · Preparedness Models

As Ready.Gov Readies Plans For September, “National Preparedness Month Could Become #H1N1 Preparedness Month”

August 24th, 2009 · No Comments

With “National Preparedness Month” (NPM) a little more than a week away, the H1N1 flu could make September a real-life ‘teaching moment’ on the importance of emergency preparedness, according to Ready.Gov’s acting director Becky Marquis. I spoke to Marquis at FEMA headquarters on Thursday to preview some of Ready’s plans for the Month.
The NPM’s kickoff [...]

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Tags: Preparedness Events