Wednesday, August 12, 2009

National Preparedness Month: Get Ready Now, FEMA Says

Aug 07, 2009
http://www.ohsonline.com/Articles/2009/08/07/National-Preparedness-Month.asp

National Preparedness Month will be here before you know it. But not if FEMA and its new administrator, W. Craig Fugate, have their way. A 54-second video featuring Fugate is part of the National Preparedness Month (which happens every September) outreach by FEMA using social media and the agency's Web site.

"Join the team. Become a part of the emergency management team. We don't know when the next disaster will strike. But the better prepared we are, the better we'll all do," Fugate says in the video, which is available at:

FEMA's Multimedia Web site- http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/fema
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/fema

NPM is sponsored by FEMA's Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and the Advertising Council. It intent is to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities. Preparedness tips and information about how to create an emergency plan and stock an emergency response kit are available at www.ready.gov.

Be Prepared for ALL types of disasters - Statesman Column

August 12, 2009
Jennifer Bailey • August 12, 2009


Though some areas are more prone to certain types of disasters, for example an earthquake in California or terrorist attacks in New York, no area on Earth is completely immune.

As much as people travel these days, you might end up somewhere in a disaster that you never considered before.

There is nothing smarter than being prepared for the unexpected.

There are two types of trauma: physical and mental. Physical trauma includes the body's response to serious injury and threat.

Studies of survivors have found that people who had thought about possible disastrous events in advance reacted faster and better than people who had not. You do not want to have to think during a disaster, you want to react appropriately and quickly.

No one wants to dwell on scary things, but planning evacuation routes out of your home and knowing where you would go is just like knowing where the exits are at the movie theater or having a smoke detector in your home.