In Case of Emergency, Read This Blog

In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

A Citizen’s Eye View of Public Preparedness

In Reporting Recent Incident, Los Angeles Fire Department Adds A Human Touch To Its Pioneering Emergency Response Alerts

August 1st, 2010 · 1 Comment

I was doing some research on separate blog posts for next week on the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) and the need for government to better personalize citizen emergency preparedness communications. I happened to see a small example that actually involves both subjects and thought I’d pass it on.
As I’ve discussed before, the LAFD is [...]

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Tags: City Preparedness · Emergency Alerts

How Do You Warn 8 Million New Yorkers A Tornado May Hit The City Any Minute? Govt. Text/E-Mail Alerts’ Strengths, Limits Highlighted Friday Night

July 26th, 2010 · 7 Comments

On Friday evening at 8:19 PM, I received the following notification (via both text and e-mail) from New York City’s NotifyNYC alert system:
“Alert issued 7/23/10 at 8:20 PM. The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Warning until 9:00 PM for Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx. Immediately go indoors and/or to the lowest floor [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0

Crane Accident Underscores Great Promise, Current Limitations Of Govt. Emergency Email/Text Alerts

June 2nd, 2008 · No Comments

As I reported in an earlier post, a question asked by many residents of the buildings who could not get back into their apartments after the crane collapse on Friday was how they could recharge their cell phones. In fact, keeping your mobile device powered during and after an emergency situation is crucial – so you can both communicate with others and get the latest information. As mentioned often on this blog, [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0

The Rapid Fox E-mail Jumps Over The Spell Check

May 16th, 2008 · No Comments

A little Friday afternoon humor  (with a citizen preparedness 2.0 angle)
About an hour ago, I received an “Arlington Alert” e-mail from Arlington, Virginia OEM as I signed up for with the subject line: “Rapid Fox”. I opened it with some curiosity and read:
A fox that bit a woman in south Arlington has tested positive for rabies, Arlington [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0

Signing Up For Government Text/Email Alerts

April 2nd, 2008 · 3 Comments

Whenever there is a fire in Los Angeles, I am immediately informed. In fact, whenever the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) responds to a major incident —  a traffic accident, helicopter rescue, a mudslide or whatever – I receive notification. So why does LAFD alert a civilian who is 2500 miles away in the middle of New York City? Because I asked.
The LAFD is one of [...]

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Tags: Emergency Alerts · Preparedness 2.0