You've Got 10 Minutes...

If you had 10 minutes to evacuate your home, what would you take? Do you have a plan? Have you practiced. Take 3 minutes and watch the video below to see what a difference that plan can make in how prepared you are to evacuate because of a in impending wildfire, flood, explosion or any disaster.

September is National Preparedness Month

While resilience and preparedness are different, you can't have a successful response without both. Take a moment to learn more about preparedness.

This National Preparedness Month Be Disaster Aware, Take Action to Prepare.

The Ready Campaign established four universal building blocks of emergency preparedness: Be informed, Make a Plan, Build a Kit, and Get Involved. America’s PrepareAthon! builds on this foundation by encouraging millions of Americans to focus on a simple, specific activity that will increase preparedness.












During National Preparedness Month we ask you, your family, community, school and workplace to take action by planning a National PrepareAthon! Day on or around September 30th. We recommend using digital media tools as a way to promote National Preparedness Month, September 1-30th.

Each week throughout National Preparedness Month will focus on different emergency preparation topics:

Week 1 - How to reconnect with family after a disaster

Week 2 - Know how to plan for specific needs before a disaster

Week 3 – How to build an emergency kit

Week 4 & 5 - How to practice for an emergency

Ready.gov has all the information you need to start the conversation with your family including emergency kit checklists and disaster fact sheets.

For more information about National Preparedness Month visit: www.ready.gov/september
Register your PrepareAthon! Day event: www.ready.gov/prepare 

Follow us on social: @Readygov, @PrepareAthon, @FEMA, &  Facebook/Readygov

Know When to Stay

Evacuation makes sense in some situations, but for others like tornadoes, earthquakes, bioterrorism, etc. sheltering in place is the best course.

What does it mean to shelter in place?

There may not be time or a need to evacuate. It could be less safe to be in a car than sheltered in a home during some disaster events.Just because you've "weathered" as storm before doesn't mean you should again, but sometimes you don't have a choice.

What should you have to shelter in place?
Ready.gov/kit has a long list of items you should consider keeping in a kit at all times and specific instructions about sheltering in place. They include:

• Water (1 gallon per day per person)
• Food (at least 3 days = 6000 calories per person)
• NOAA Weather Radio with extra batteries
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags for sanitation
• Cell phone with (solar) charger
• Infant, pet or medical supplies when appropriate
• A "go" kit in case the situation changes or you require a rescue (clothing, important documents, etc)

What do you do in case of severe weather?

If you have a basement, go there. If not, avoid windows and doors in an internal room near strong supports. Do not go outside to "watch" the storm. Continue to listen to the TV or radio and check for online updates from the weather service.

How do you seal a room?

The process used to seal the room is considered a temporary protective measure to create a barrier between you and potentially contaminated air outside. It is a type of sheltering in place that requires preplanning.

• Bring your family and pets inside.
• Lock doors, close windows, air vents and fireplace dampers.
• Turn off fans, air conditioning and forced air heating systems.
• Take your emergency supply kit unless you have reason to believe it has been contaminated.
• Go into an interior room with few windows, if possible.
• Seal all windows, doors and air vents with 2-4 mil. thick plastic sheeting and duct tape. 
• Duct tape plastic at corners first and then tape down all edges.
• Be prepared to improvise.
• Local authorities may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening and what you should do. However, you should watch TV, listen to the radio or check the Internet often for official news and instructions as they become available.

Know When to Go

Hurricanes Named After Women Kill More people than those named after men. Why? People are more likely to underestimate a feminine sounding storm and disregard orders to evacuate or appropriately shelter in place. Know when to go.

Who should tell you?

A mandatory evacuation will be announced on television or radio. The person giving the order will be a public official or emergency manager. Don't rely on social media or sensationalist news outlets to give you the best information.

Just because you've "weathered" as storm before doesn't mean you should again. Don't think this time will be just like last time.

Public Health Departments and practitioners have a vital role to play in planning for and implementing evacuations. 

What should you take with you?
Ready.gov/kit has a long list of items you should consider keeping in a kit at all times. They include:

• Water (1 gallon per day per person)
• Food (at least 3 days = 6000 calories per person)
• NOAA Weather Radio with extra batteries
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags for sanitation
• Paper maps
• Cell phone with (solar) charger
• Any medications
• Clothing (weather appropriate)
• Infant, pet or medical supplies when appropriate
• Cash and important documents/identification
• Games, toys, books, puzzles or paper/pencil 

How should you leave?

Calmly, but swiftly.

If your city has designated emergency routes with signs, follow those. Otherwise, look for routes on the internet or from the officials ordering a mandatory evacuation.

If you are driving, do so cautiously. Never drive through washed out road ways. 

In the event of a mandatory evacuation, public officials will mobilize busses or other forms of mass transit.

What is Community Resilience?

Community resilience is a measure of the sustained ability of a community to utilize available resources to respond to, withstand, and recover from adverse situations. 

It' is different than community preparedness in that it it builds broad skills rather than preparing for a specific event. It is the role of organizations to plan for specific types of disasters. It is the role of the community to build strengths and mentalities for events in general.

The resilience mindset:

• I have skills I can use in a disaster to help others
• My community is not immune to disasters
• If something unpredictable were to happen, I can count on my community.

The RAND Corporation has done some amazing research in this area: http://www.rand.org/topics/community-resilience.html

Text. Don't Call.

TEXT. 
DON'T CALL.

While it may seem counter-intuitive. Send text messages during a disaster. It will save battery life on your phone and also free space for emergency responders.

The FCC has outlined the following Tips for Communicating During an Emergency

Recommended Practices for All Users

1. Limit non-emergency phone calls. This will minimize network congestion, free up "space" on the network for emergency communications and conserve battery power if you are using a wireless phone;
2. Keep all phone calls brief. If you need to use a phone, try to use it only to convey vital information to emergency personnel and/or family;
3. For non-emergency calls, try text messaging, also known as short messaging service (SMS) when using your wireless phone. In many cases text messages will go through when your call may not. It will also help free up more "space" for emergency communications on the telephone network;
4. If possible try a variety of communications services if you are unsuccessful in getting through with one. For example, if you are unsuccessful in getting through on your wireless phone, try a messaging capability like text messaging or email. Alternatively, try a landline phone if one is available. This will help spread the communications demand over multiple networks and should reduce overall congestion;
5. Wait 10 seconds before redialing a call. On many wireless handsets, to re-dial a number, you simply push "send" after you've ended a call to redial the previous number. If you do this too quickly, the data from the handset to the cell sites do not have enough time to clear before you've resent the same data. This contributes to a clogged network;
6. Have charged batteries and car-charger adapters available for backup power for your wireless phone;
7. Maintain a list of emergency phone numbers in your phone;
8. If in your vehicle, try to place calls while your vehicle is stationary;
9. Have a family communications plan in place. Designate someone out of the area as a central contact, and make certain all family members know who to contact if they become separated;
10. If you have Call Forwarding on your home number, forward your home number to your wireless number in the event of an evacuation. That way you will get incoming calls from your landline phone;
11. After the storm has passed, if you lose power in your home, try using your car to charge cell phones or listen to news alerts on the car radio. But be careful – don’t try to reach your car if it is not safe to do so, and remain vigilant about carbon monoxide emissions from your car if it is a closed space, such as a garage.
12. Tune-in to broadcast and radio news for important news alerts.

The Virus is Migrating!

Watch the newscast below to learn more about the migration of HADAD and its potential impact on the Rochester area.

Psychological First Aid

Psychological first aid is critical in emergency response. It is used by clinicians and non-mental health experts alike "in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism to reduce initial distress and to foster short and long-term adaptive functioning. PFA does not necessarily involve discussion of the traumatic event."  

Components:

•  Protecting from further harm 
• Opportunity to talk without pressure 
• Active listening 
• Compassion 
• Addressing and acknowledging concerns 
• Discussing coping strategies
• Social support 
• Offer to return to talk 
• Referral 

 Steps: 

• Contact and engagement 
• Safety and comfort 
• Stabilization
• Information gathering
• Practical assistance 
• Connection with social supports
• Coping information 
• Linkage with services

I the event of a disaster, 95% of victims are rescued by neighbors, not agencies. Take a moment to learn how you might provide psychological first aid in cases of trauma.

 

Source: National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (www.ptsd.va.gov)

Why Zombies?

A zombie apocalypse may seem hokey, but it is actually well validated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Zombies are catchy. The biological nature of a virus or other agent spreading illness forces simulation teams to utilize proper hygiene, establish vaccination centers and use isolation or quarantine protocols. It also allows for several levels of disease and allows teams to practice triaging by severity of illness.

Zombies destroy society. In addition to the biological ramifications, zombie outbreaks destroy societal frameworks. Healthcare practitioners in this environment need to provide psychological first aid, stabilize injuries from abuse or other trauma, treat drug use and exacerbated common conditions (troubled pregnancy, dehydration, diabetes, etc.).

Unlike "realistic" scenarios, the skills learned from a zombie outbreak are generalizable to every disaster and emergency. 

"If you are generally well equipped to deal with a zombie apocalypse, you will be prepared for a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake, or terrorist attack." - Dr. Ali Khan, Director, CDC

Our Blog is Alive and Coming for you Saturday, September 13!!!

Who? Community members (scouts, actors and other members), health care professionals and pre-professionals (medical and other graduate and undergraduate students). YOU!

Where?  Gamehaven Scout Reservation

When?  September 13, 2014; 8:00 AM – 2:30PM

What?  Live action, hands-on training in a simulated disaster (zombie apocalypse) environment.  What began in 2011 as a way to introduce medical students to the skills needed to participate in humanitarian aid involving medical care in austere environments has evolved into a model event that offers communication and technical awareness training and skill building for individual participants and serves as a community resilience resource.

How?  Actors simulating injury/illness will interact with participants who will have specific job assignments and expectations.  Tailored learning objectives will allow participants with various skill levels to participate appropriately and learn from their experience.  During the event, static informational stations will allow all participants, actors, faculty, and adult leadership to expand their knowledge of various disaster-related topics. 

Why?  To improve community resilience through an integrated disaster response experience that provides opportunities for education, collaboration, and innovation.