Prepare.

Looking For New Preparedness Technology?

2011-11-18T14:50:00.001-08:00

In the event of a large disaster, it's likely the grid will go down. This will include phone, cell towers, power, everything. So you are probably wondering why even write about disaster apps that are out on the market today. While it is likely all grids will go down, those who are prepared will likely have ways to charge their cell phones. And if Japan is any indication of how governments feel about the best way to communicate to the most people, it is likely they will work hard to get the cell system back up quickly.

One of the free apps on the market that helps after a disaster is called Red Cross Shelter View. When you load the app, you are given a map of all Red Cross shelters that are currently open in the U.S. It also provides the agency, how many people can fit, and the reason why the shelter is available (ie, the event). A link to the Disaster Newsroom allows you to get updated information on what is happening in your area.

FEMA has recently launched an app that assists people in preparing for a disaster before it actually occurs and assisting survivors in claiming benefits after the event has passed and a mess has been left in it's wake. The preparedness section on emergency kits is pretty light. It is intended to be basic to appeal to the largest audience. This preparedness section also does have helpful hints on what to do when specific disasters hit, like earthquake, terrorism, or winter storms. This has more robust instructions and can certainly be useful for those who are not trained for disasters, which is the bulk of our population.

The FEMA app also includes a list of claim centers and active shelters, though I've found it's not as robust as Shelter View. If you are looking for ways to get involved, there is a helpful link to Citizen Corps, an excellent organization that trains and deploys Corps members to help the community with disasters. You must be pre-trained to be deployed. Immediately after a disaster, there are many ways to volunteer, whether it's with money, goods, or hands on, so this app will help point you in the right direction.

If you are interested in keeping abreast of upcoming threats, ELERTS will provide you with ongoing alerts of earthquakes, weather statements and advisories from the National Weather Service, and crowdsourced reports. You must register in order to be able to post your own disaster/emergency report.

Hopefully you have taken action to prepare yourself and your family for large and small disasters, including a way to charge your cell phone when there is no power. These apps will help you when they come!

What is Washington State doing to keep you healthy?

2011-10-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

I like to know what's going on. And quite frankly, I want to know what's coming my way so I can be prepared. The Washington State Department of Health has a website full of information on issues that can affect you and your family if you live in our state.

News Releases
Advisories and Alerts
Emergency Preparedness for Washington State
And a Fact Sheets for topics from A-Z like 'chemical warfare agents' or 'how to turn off your utilities'

Get news updates via FB or Twitter (WA_DeptofHealth) if you trying to decide if you should get the flu shot this year or if it's a good time to go shell fishing. BTW, did you know you should report dead birds in case it's an indicator of West Nile Virus? Sounds like information I want to know.

How To Be Charitable Without Spending a Dime

2011-10-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

What is one thing you can donate that doesn't cost you a thing? Something that you have an endless supply of? Yep, blood. Just an hour of your time every other month helps saves lives. And that is priceless. After dealing with a recent family medical trauma, I appreciate the power of life vs. death more than I ever did before.

Here is a letter I received from Puget Sound Blood Center:


We need your help. As a blood donor you know firsthand the important role blood donation plays in your community. Did you know half of all blood donors only give one time each year? And that 30 percent of our blood donors wait even longer than that between donations? As a frequent blood donor you have the ability to influence others to join in your worthy cause and encourage more donations from those who give less frequently. The number one reason people don’t give blood is because no one has asked them. Can you ask people to donate blood? Can you make the commitment to take one of the following actions below? Invite a friend to donate blood with you at a drive or at a center. Send an e-mail message to your friends in Western Washington about how important blood donation is to their community. Click here for a sample e-mail that you can edit! The more people asking others to donate, the more people will donate. The more people donating means more lives saved. And it starts with you! You are next eligible to donate whole blood on 11/2/2011 Sincerely, John Reagan Manager, Donor Scheduling Puget Sound Blood Center and Southwest Washington Blood Program Centers Blood Drives





	If you have any questions about donation eligibility or scheduling an appointment please call 800-398-7888 or e-mail schedule@psbc.org

Is Your House on a Fault Line?

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

Map of fault confirmed fault lines in Washington

Is your house on a fault line? Has their recently been an earthquake near where you work? This interactive map of Washington State allows you to answer those questions and more. Find where there have been landslides or tsunami waves. There are maps to show the nearest tsunami evacuation routes and where there is the biggest risk for a lahar. Understand what risks are present where you live and work so you can aptly prepare. Build a grab-n-go 72 hour kit so if a disaster strikes, you can head out quick!

Test Your Fire Safety IQ

2011-10-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

Test your Fire Safety IQ at the National Fire Prevention Association.

5 Types of Fire Extinguishers - Get To Know Them

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

I learned last week, to my astonishment, that there are 5 different fire types that require 5 different type of extinguishers. If you use the wrong type of extinguisher, you can agitate the fire further instead of putting it out.

Solid materials - wood, paper, fabric, most plastics - use a Class A extinguisher
Flammable liquids - oil, gas, kerosene - use Class B
Electrical equipment - including wiring and motors, when energized - use Class C
Combustible metals - magnesium, aluminum, titanium - use Class D
Cooking oils - usually found in restaurants - use Class K

There are plenty of extinguishers that can be used on Class A, B, and C - you need to look at the label before spraying at the fire. If you used a water extinguisher (Class A) on electrical equipment, the results could be deadly.

Read more on fire extinguishers at HowStuffWorks.com and fire safety at US Fire Administration.

Wildfire video and how to prepare. Thanks @WaDNR

2011-09-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

A video on how to prepare your 'defensible space' in the event of wildfires created by Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Read the full article.

Four Simple Ways to be Prepared

2011-09-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

When thinking about preparing your family for a disaster, the task seems daunting. There are tons of publications written from the simplest pamphlet to the voluminous book. If you have the time and inclination, you won't be disappointed with the information out there. However, if you are busy juggling work and life, you likely have little time to figure out where to start.
Many people rely on the hope that in a disaster, the government or organizations like the Red Cross will help them out. That could absolutely be true.. but it may be a few days before they are able to get you help. Communication and transportation could be compromised. Emergency responders will be overloaded and will likely be focusing on the most urgent situations like big fires or public safety. Your thirsty and hungry family will be much lower on the list. To protect the livelihood of your family, it's the first 3-4 days of a disaster that you should be prepared to provide some bare essentials.

Water
Water is absolutely essential to have available for drinking, cleaning/first aid, and cooking. During a crisis, clean water may be compromised and dangerous to use. You should have 1 gallon of water per person per day stored and ready. You can store it in plastic jugs in a cool, dark place. If you want it more portable, you can also swing by Costco and grab a case or two of bottled water. If you hear from public safety advisers that the water source is compromised, be sure to turn the water source off in your house and at your meter. If you have not brought dirty water into your house infrastructure, you could also use water stored in your water heater in a pinch.

Food
If you are a typical family, you likely have enough food in your house to last 1-2 weeks. Products like pasta and rice can last for some time. You'll need a way to cook this kind of food, however, but a camping stove can work well. Protein may be harder to keep for long periods of time, but I usually have a good supply of canned poultry and fish that I'm cycling through. Black beans, baked beans, refried, beans, or peanut butter can also provide protein. I usually have an ample supply of soups and canned tomato sauce since these can be eaten without heating.

First Aid
You're right, those Hello Kitty band-aids are great for when your kiddo gets a scraped knee. But during a disaster, injuries can be more severe. You need to be prepared to clean wounds and bandage them appropriately. Short list:

Antiseptic spray
Anti-bacterial band-aids
Butterfly band-aids for deeper cuts
Gauze pads and gauze wrap

This is a very short list, but at least it's a start.

Family Plan

I can't stress enough how important it is to have a family plan. You may be thirsty or hungry, but if someone from your family is not with you, you will also be sick with worry. Have a plan in place for each family member in the event they are not at home when a disaster hits. Your family should have on them, at all times, the contact information for someone outside of the region that everyone can check in with. You can store this data in your cell phone or on a card in your wallet. If you choose to use your cell phone, be sure to write it down before your batteries fail. You can find a template, including the printable wallet cards, at Ready.gov.

Track your family during a disaster

2011-09-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

I ran across this app today while reading an article by @mashable. Life360 allows you to set up a family account for free and check in with a geo-location in the event of a disaster. Faces show up on a map and you can pinpoint (within a few hundred feet) of where your registered family members are located. In the event of a large and local disaster, cell and land lines will go down quickly, so you will only have a few moments to load the app and press the check in or distress call. Our family has a primary meeting and communication plan and will use this app as a back up.

You can also send out an alert in the event you are compromised with your exact geo-location. This reminds me of a story from a few years ago where a woman disappeared after work. There was a desperate search and they finally found her after a week, barely alive, trapped in her car down an embankment. Technology can help us prepare for all sorts of unknown events.

The tracking can be a blessing and a burden. When it's activated, you can track any of the registered family members on a day to day basis. This is a little bit too much information to share in my opinion. It could easily lead to some misuse and if you want to hold on to your last bits of privacy in this social world, you can deactivate tracking. On my iPhone, I was able to disengage the tracking for this one app in my settings. I'll have to re-activate tracking when I need to send out a distress call or check in. This could end up biting me since I'd have to go into my settings to activate tracking, then load the app to send out a check in, all before the cell towers surge and crash. The app is available for iPhone and Android phones only.

A New Adventure

2011-09-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

September is Disaster Awareness month. So I’m starting a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) class today and I’m super pumped! 8 weeks of training funded by FEMA and hosted by the city of Issaquah. I’ll be sharing my learnings via my new blog. My goal is to embolden at least one more family to prepare their family for disaster, whether it be pandemic, earthquake, or aliens landing. We should all have some extra food and water stored, and a family emergency plan. You can start here.