Don’t Forget The Utilities!

Reading through the “Are You Ready” manual from FEMA, it occurred to me that shutting off your utilities isn’t discussed as much as it probably should.

As part of your preparations, know where the water, natural gas, and electrical shutoff valves and switches are. Make sure that you know how to turn them off. And make sure that any needed tools are readily available.

Whether sheltering in place, or evacuations are in order, turning off the utilities can protect our families and property.

Some things to think about in regards to utilities:

1. Water–Turning off the water to your house can keep bad water from contaminating the water that is in your home, if the water supply becomes contaminated.

2. Natural Gas–Most natural gas explosions at the result of a disaster happen at the home, shutting it off limits the exposure to this problem.

3. Electricity–Electricity is often the spark to ignite fires in homes. Be sure to shut off the individual breakers before shutting off the main electricity switch.

For more details on this and tons of other preparedness information get your free copy of “Are You Ready.” Click here to go to FEMA’s website to download.

EVERYONE PLEASE READ THIS – IT COULD SOMEDAY, SAVE YOUR LIFE IN AN EARTHQUAKE.

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP’S ARTICLE ON THE ‘TRIANGLE OF LIFE’

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world’s most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several
countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries.

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn’t at the time know that the children were told to hide under something. I am amazed that even today schools are still using the “Duck and Cover” instructions- telling the children to squat under their desks with their heads bowed and covered with their hands. This was the technique used in the Mexico City school.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the ‘triangle of life’. The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the ‘triangles’ you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Almost everyone who simply ‘ducks and covers’ when buildings collapse ARE CRUSHED TO DEATH. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. That position helps you survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs. Concrete slab buildings are the most dangerous during an earthquake.
4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Almost everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different ‘moment of frequency (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads – horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn’t collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible – It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and lying in the fetal position next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did ‘duck and cover,’ and ten mannequins I used in my ‘triangle of life’ survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results.
The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the ‘triangle of life.’ This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA, Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

Spread the word and save someone’s life… The entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

Learn more here

Armed men attempted to hijack a UN food convoy at a road near Haiti’s Jeremie airport, the UN said on Tuesday, assessing that the situation in the quake-hit country is “stable but potentially volatile”.

“An incident was reported at the Jeremie airport of an armed group attacking a food convoy; warning shots were fired,” said the UN Bureau for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in a report on the situation in Haiti.

“The overall security situation across the country remains stable but potentially volatile,” it said.

Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of OCHA in Geneva, told AFP that the armed group had made a road blockade, but the UN mission had “fired a few warning shots, sending them fleeing” in the incident on Saturday.

Meanwhile, in the city of Jacmel, to the south of the capital Port-au-Prince, 33 prisoners who had escaped from a prison during the earthquake which struck on January 12, were caught on Sunday, added OCHA.

Some 6,000 detainees have fled Haitian prisons as they were partially destroyed and left without surveillance since the devastating earthquake on January 12 which left 170,000 people dead.

The security situation is one of the main concerns of international relief teams and residents of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, which had been hit by looting following the disaster.

Aid convoys are usually escorted and distributions monitored by UN mission escorts, which are in some occasions also assisted by the United States, which had deployed 22,000 soldiers to Haiti.

Meanwhile, the UN’s top humanitarian affairs official on Tuesday defended the US response to the earthquake in Haiti, saying that US troops are not planning to occupy the country as critics have claimed.

“There is not really an issue there about their presence, they’re not trying to dominate the country militarily, they don’t have any agenda other than simply the aid operation,” said John Holmes.

“We’re very glad that they’re there. They’ve been able to do things that we couldn’t have done ourselves like run the airport, like help with repairing the port, like providing heavy airlift for some of the items we couldn’t move around ourselves in the first couple of weeks,” he added.

Holmes noted that while US troops were helping the UN mission to maintain security during food distributions, the “primary responsibility for security is with the UN peacekeeping forces.”

“It’s been that from the beginning and no one is contesting that,” he added.

© 2010 AFP

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ — With potential severe weather, including ice and snowy conditions expected in West Tennessee, Verizon Wireless is encouraging drivers to remember emergency preparation and wireless safety. Drivers should use hands-free devices or stay off cell phones while driving, particularly in rainy, snowy or icy weather when roads can be slick and dangerous.

In addition to supporting legislation that requires people who talk while driving to use hands-free devices, Verizon Wireless has also supported bans on texting while driving. In fact, in October, the company launched an awareness campaign, “Don’t Text and Drive” to further its long-standing wireless safety message and encourage safe driving habits.

“Cell phones can be a big help in weather emergencies,” said Steve Smith, region president for Verizon Wireless. “If you don’t have a hands-free device, avoid making calls until you have stopped at a safe location.”

Emergency Preparedness Tips

Verizon Wireless, which operates the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network, offers West Tennessee residents these emergency preparedness tips for consideration during severe weather and other emergencies:

• Keep wireless phone batteries fully charged, in case local power is lost.
• Have additional charged batteries and car-charger adapters available for back-up power.
• Keep phones, batteries, chargers and other equipment in a dry, accessible location.
• Program phone numbers of family, friends, co-workers and emergency contacts in your phone.
• Distribute wireless phone numbers to family members and friends.
• Forward your home phone calls to your wireless number if you will be away from home.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving 89 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless

Do you remember Katrina? Ya know that time when our country got caught with their pants down? I remember thinking  “the lawsuits from this are going to go on for years”.   The New York Times has given a glimpse of that this weekend. Posted just this past few days was this:

The LaCoste trial is set to begin on Monday. “This could be a new theory of liability against health care institutions — lack of emergency preparedness,” said Kristin McMahon, an attorney and chief claims officer for IronHealth, a company that insures hospitals. “The courts across the country will be looking at it.”

The case has already been precedent-setting in Louisiana. The state’s Supreme Court decided the allegations were based on general negligence claims, as opposed to medical malpractice in which damages would be capped at $500,000. This markedly increased hospital owners’ potential liability.

Mrs. LaCoste’s family alleges that the hospital was negligent for having inadequate emergency power systems, evacuation plans and floodwater protection. They say a fuel pump that failed after it was flooded caused the higher generator to shut down — an event they say could have been avoided if the hospital had invested less than $10,000 in a submersible pump.

The hospital’s owners argue in court filings that Hurricane Katrina was an “act of God” that could not be foreseen, that the hospital was not negligent, and that it would be unreasonable to expect a hospital to be impervious to all of the unlikely catastrophes its emergency plans contemplate, including tornadoes and a “terrorist event.”

The hospital in question had two power generators – one on the main level and one on the roof of the power plant.  The ground level generator failed when the flood came, and the rooftop generator failed when a fuel pump was submurged and failed.

So what could they have done to have been prepared for this situation?

12/01/2009

The Red Cross has ramped up efforts to prepare for possible flooding in the Green River Valley, south of Seattle. The agency has fast–tracked training for hundreds of volunteers to work in emergency shelters.

About 40 people are here in a classroom at Red Cross’s King County headquarters in Seattle’s Rainier District. The group ranges from retirees to college students.

They’re all here to join the agency’s “Reserve Corps” program. It was specifically set up to train volunteers in case of a major flood in the Kent Valley. The Howard Hanson dam there is damaged, so much so that it poses a risk of widespread flooding.

If that happens, the Red Cross estimates up to 6,000 people could need shelter. And the agency would need hundreds of volunteers to keep the shelters running.

Ivy Davis Zolle is Red Cross’s Volunteer Manager. She’s heading up this recruiting effort.

Zolle: “I wasn’t concerned that we could find volunteers, because if there is a disaster, I know that people want to volunteer. But because there is a bit of a process and we prefer that people are trained, we sort of thought, well, how can we speed this up a little bit?”

Davis Zolle hustles around the room making sure everyone has their paperwork.

To get people trained quicker, they shortened the class from two days, to just one. Volunteers are guided through a mountain of forms, applications, and background checks.

Zolle: “We’re helping with the references, and doing things like badging them taking their pictures. So that when we need to pull that trigger, it’s a complete package. They can pretty much walk into our shelter.”

So far, the Red Cross has trained more than 200 volunteers for Green River shelters. And it hopes to have 350 trained by mid–December.

One of today’s trainees is Wilbur Chin. He lives in Kent — right in the flood zone. He’s gotten in the habit of asking his neighbors — and nearly everyone he meets — if they have a preparedness kit with things like water, canned food and a flashlight.

Chin: “They say no, and again I suggest them to just have a preparedness kit or an emergency kit ready. Even if we don’t have a flood, still you have something ready to, you know, assist other neighbors.”

Chin: “I have a question: Do you have a preparedness kit?”

Reporter: “You’re asking me if I’m prepared, if I have a preparedness kit?”

Chin: “Even if you live in Seattle, even if you live in a bigger city, you always got to prepare yourself for any disaster.”

Chin says the images of Hurricane Katrina inspired him to get some emergency training. And he wants this Red Cross training so he can be ready to help his neighbors, many of whom are low–income.

Another volunteer, Barbara Galstad, works for King County. She and her coworkers think a strong sense of community is important to pull people through a major disaster. They asked themselves if King County has that kind of community.

Galstad: “And the general feeling was no. People don’t know their neighbors. People aren’t involved in their community. People are too busy. People are, you know, just rush, rush, rush.”

But the turnout at this training left Galstad more optimistic. Most people here don’t know anyone in the Green River Valley. Like Galstad, they just want to help.

Galstad: “Whether it’s feeding people or helping people get settled or answering questions. It’s just that this is something that I have that I can give. I don’t have much money, but I do have myself.”

Recently, the Army Corps of Engineers finished some initial repairs to the Howard Hanson Dam. That greatly reduced the risk of flooding in the Green River Valley from a 1 in 3 chance to just a 1 in 25 chance. But the flood risk will likely persist for several years until the dam is fully repaired.

I’m Liz Jones, KUOW News.

© Copyright 2009, KUOW

If you have ever been to Canada you know how laid back they are. They seem to say “Don’t worry, we’ll get around to it eventually” . They say this about almost everything. Did you know that they didn’t have a public safety division until 2003? Quote Public Safety Canada (PS) was created in 2003 to ensure coordination across all federal departments and agencies responsible for national security and the safety of Canadians.

As of this printing they do not have a federal emergency response plan. They are in the works of getting one approved, It has been in the works for nearly 6 years. Come one Canada lets get it in gear. You guys are open to terrorist attacks Swine Flu pandemics (oops that already happened) and other crazy stuff. If you live in Canada I would suggest contacting your government about this. It is up to you to push them to get one in place. In this day and age you can’t have this laid back attitude on a subject like emergency preparedness.

The H1N1 Is Expected To Hang Around Thru The Winter
Local State officials say they expect  the H1N1 virus to be around for a while.

Health officials say pandemic viruses usually occur in waves of three and since H1N1 broke out in the spring and died down for a bit. The recent spike in recent cases would now be considered the second wave. So the 3rd way will probably hit in the spring of 2010.

“People that don’t get sick this time, we may see another lull like we did in the later summer months and then we’ll be able to get people vaccinated to protect them from the third wave,” said Ben Krakauer, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator in Binghamton, New York.

News reports all over the country are stating that this going to be a bad winter for the flu virus. In our local area of the state of Utah it seems that everyone is getting it. I have been very fortunate in my family that no one has got it.
At work we have set up a Swine Flu Killer Station, this includes a lovely sign.

1st Line of Defense

It is a simple way to help prevent the passing of this nasty virus.

May we suggest that everyone just stay home from work for a month or so. This is the only true way to prevent the spread.

Ok ok I know this is not a true request, So if you are sick and have to go to work atleast wear a mask.

When we think of fires, we mostly think of the damage caused by the flames. However, the heat and smoke can be more dangerous than the actual flames.

Fire produces poisonous gasses that can make you dizzy and sleepy. So if you are asleep when a fire starts, the gasses can put you into a deeper sleep.

Fire Tips:
1. Make sure that you have fire alarms, and regularly check to be sure they are working.
2. Make sure that you have alarms on each floor, and outside each bedroom.
3. Create a family evacuation plan, and practice it.

Click here to see our smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, emergency ladders, etc.

Why is it Better To Be Ready?

Has something ever caught you off-guard? Have you ever felt ill prepared for a presentation or event? Your mind races without being able to settle on a coherent thought, decisions aren’t well thought out, and the experience turns out worse than anticipated.

Preparedness results in calm thinking, superior decisions, and better execution of the plan. Emergencies happen at any time, any place, usually at the most inconvenient time and place. Additionally, preparedness allows you to feel more safe and secure; allowing you to enjoy life a little more.

With Better To Be Ready, you can be a part in preparing your neighborhood and community so that everyone can enjoy more peace at home, and be able to handle a disaster and recover from it.

Is there a CERT Program in your town? The CERT program provides hands-on emergency preparedness training to community members to teach them how to take care of themselves and their families for “up to 72 hours following a disaster and can assist others until professional first responder help arrives” .

To be eligible to volunteer, you must be at least 18 years of age or older, possess a valid driver’s license and live or work within the city’s boundaries. Cities have used CERT teams to help with widespread disasters and emergencies. My brother inlaw lives in a small bedroom community in Northern Utah and went through a CERT program two years ago.

Fortunately he has not needed to use the training that he as been given, but he is ready to go at a moments notice. I feel this a amazing program that can benefit any Town or Community. Does your town have one? Are you involved?

To learn more about these programs and how to get one started in you town Visit the official government Site Here