http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ah2aLNBlGXos
Atlantic Weather System May Become Hurricane, Planalytics Says (Bloomberg News)
By Brian K. Sullivan
Bloomberg News, August 14, 2009
Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- A system of thunderstorms in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa may develop into a hurricane by early next week and pose a "formidable threat" to the U.S., according to forecasting company Planalytics Inc.
The system, centered about 250 miles (402 kilometers) south of the Cape Verde islands, is moving west and has a greater than 50 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the National Hurricane Center said.
"It remains likely this storm system will represent a formidable threat to U.S. interests next week up the Atlantic seaboard" and in the Gulf of Mexico, said Jim Rouiller, a senior energy meteorologist at Planalytics in Wayne, Pennsylvania, in an e-mail. "It is premature to predict at this point in time who is at most risk."
The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, has yet to produce a named storm this year. Conditions in the ocean are now conducive to storm formation, said another forecaster.
A tropical depression currently moving west in the Atlantic ahead of the storms off Africa will increase the chances of a hurricane occurring next week, said Mike Pigott, a meteorologist with forecaster AccuWeather.com in State College, Pennsylvania.
The depression has weakened because it has encountered dry air, and not enough of the warmer, moister air that causes the storms to strengthen, Pigott said. By sweeping that drier air away, the depression will open a path for the system off the African coast to intensify, he said.
'Major Hurricane'
"The second one, which is much larger, that is the one that could become a major hurricane, Category 3 or higher, early next week," Pigott said.
A storm reaches Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale when its winds are 111 miles (178 kilometers) per hour or more. Hurricane Ike, which killed 54 people and caused about $18 billion in damage, had winds of about 110 mph when it hit the Texas coast near Galveston last year.
Atlantic storms can shut down oil and gas rigs and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico and damage citrus crops in Florida, which is the world's second-largest orange producer behind Brazil. The Gulf is home to about 26 percent of all U.S. oil production.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Personal thoughts on preparedness
This week I was labeled a doomsayer. In the past I have been called Dr. Doom. I know that these are said in jest and I certainly don't mind but it does make me think that "emergency preparedness" in general is considered a negative thing.
I talk all the time about bad things that could happen but I don't want people to focus on those things. I want you to focus on being prepared in advance to handle whatever may come your way. This is a positive thing.
I almost drowned last weekend - truely. Was I expecting that to happen? - no way. But because I have trained myself to think of possible situations where I need to keep my head, I was able to be calm and do what was necessary to get to shore. I could have panicked. I could have floundered, swallowed more water and gone under. I believe I would have if I hadn't had training and experience in different scary situations.
Bad things do happen to good people but what we don't realize is that during a disaster or scary event, our brains have a tendency to shut down if they have never dealt with that situation before. Studies have shown that even thinking about what you would do in advance makes your reaction much more effective and possibly life-saving.
So that is my ramblings for today. I just really want Oregonians and everyone to be safe and healthy. I guess I'll just keep being doomtastic!
I talk all the time about bad things that could happen but I don't want people to focus on those things. I want you to focus on being prepared in advance to handle whatever may come your way. This is a positive thing.
I almost drowned last weekend - truely. Was I expecting that to happen? - no way. But because I have trained myself to think of possible situations where I need to keep my head, I was able to be calm and do what was necessary to get to shore. I could have panicked. I could have floundered, swallowed more water and gone under. I believe I would have if I hadn't had training and experience in different scary situations.
Bad things do happen to good people but what we don't realize is that during a disaster or scary event, our brains have a tendency to shut down if they have never dealt with that situation before. Studies have shown that even thinking about what you would do in advance makes your reaction much more effective and possibly life-saving.
So that is my ramblings for today. I just really want Oregonians and everyone to be safe and healthy. I guess I'll just keep being doomtastic!
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.
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.
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.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Social Media Valuable to Arkansas During Tornado, But Questions Remain
The warning came through, loud and clear:
People in the Mena need to get to their storm shelters now to take safety measures
9:05 p.m., April 9 from TinyTwitter
@artornado: shelters have been set up in Mena. 1) Dallas Ave Baptist Church: 300 Dallas Ave 2) 1st Assembly: 2221 Southerland
11:04 p.m., April 9 from twhirl
It was a whole new way for the Arkansas emergency management department to communicate with the public during the April tornadoes. For the first ever, the agency used Twitter to share real-time updates with those in the path of the tornadoes.
Dave Maxwell, director of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, said it makes sense to use these social networking sites to communicate information.
“People are using Internet sites like Twitter to get real news,” he said. “This means that we need to join these sites to make sure the public receives accurate information about what is going on.”
And those sites offer one other benefit: Maxwell said even when the power went out, residents were able to stay current on information because Twitter provides the option of sending alerts to cell phones.
“Twitter has proven to be a valuable resource when it comes to getting information to the public during a disaster,” he said.
But even with the benefits, there are questions. Emergency management offices need to decide which social networking sites to include in their communications strategy, how to balance those with traditional communications methods, and how to ensure inaccurate information doesn’t create havoc.
Read the rest of the article at http://www.csg.org/pubs/statenews/pages/focus2_disasterdialogue.aspx
People in the Mena need to get to their storm shelters now to take safety measures
9:05 p.m., April 9 from TinyTwitter
@artornado: shelters have been set up in Mena. 1) Dallas Ave Baptist Church: 300 Dallas Ave 2) 1st Assembly: 2221 Southerland
11:04 p.m., April 9 from twhirl
It was a whole new way for the Arkansas emergency management department to communicate with the public during the April tornadoes. For the first ever, the agency used Twitter to share real-time updates with those in the path of the tornadoes.
Dave Maxwell, director of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, said it makes sense to use these social networking sites to communicate information.
“People are using Internet sites like Twitter to get real news,” he said. “This means that we need to join these sites to make sure the public receives accurate information about what is going on.”
And those sites offer one other benefit: Maxwell said even when the power went out, residents were able to stay current on information because Twitter provides the option of sending alerts to cell phones.
“Twitter has proven to be a valuable resource when it comes to getting information to the public during a disaster,” he said.
But even with the benefits, there are questions. Emergency management offices need to decide which social networking sites to include in their communications strategy, how to balance those with traditional communications methods, and how to ensure inaccurate information doesn’t create havoc.
Read the rest of the article at http://www.csg.org/pubs/statenews/pages/focus2_disasterdialogue.aspx
Make Emergency Plans Now - Statesman Journal
Jennifer Bailey • August 5, 2009
When I ask people if they are prepared for an emergency, I hear something like "We've got extra food in the cupboards, and there's a flashlight somewhere. We could get it all together if we needed to." Nothing is said about a family plan or other emergency preparations.
I'm glad people have supplies, but what they don't seem to understand is that there may not be time to "get it all together." Recent research conducted by FEMA on preparedness showed 40 percent of survey respondents did not have household plans, 80 percent had not conducted home evacuation drills, and nearly 60 percent did not know their community's evacuation routes.
Nearly 20 percent reported having a disability that would affect their capacity to respond to an emergency situation, but shockingly only one out of four of them had made arrangements specific to their disability to help them respond safely in the event of an emergency.
Go to this Web site for details: www.serve.gov/toolkits/disaster/.
Our nation's emergency responders do an incredible job of keeping us safe, but they can't do it alone.
For example, Marion County has 826 firefighters. Just 252 are paid, and 574 are volunteers. That's 826 firefighters for 314,606 people. It is our responsibility to be prepared and to prepare our families.
Jennifer Bailey, formerly of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is the Public Affairs Coordinator of Oregon Emergency Management. She may be reached at (503) 378-2911, Ext. 22294, or jbailey@oem.state.or.us.
When I ask people if they are prepared for an emergency, I hear something like "We've got extra food in the cupboards, and there's a flashlight somewhere. We could get it all together if we needed to." Nothing is said about a family plan or other emergency preparations.
I'm glad people have supplies, but what they don't seem to understand is that there may not be time to "get it all together." Recent research conducted by FEMA on preparedness showed 40 percent of survey respondents did not have household plans, 80 percent had not conducted home evacuation drills, and nearly 60 percent did not know their community's evacuation routes.
Nearly 20 percent reported having a disability that would affect their capacity to respond to an emergency situation, but shockingly only one out of four of them had made arrangements specific to their disability to help them respond safely in the event of an emergency.
Go to this Web site for details: www.serve.gov/toolkits/disaster/.
Our nation's emergency responders do an incredible job of keeping us safe, but they can't do it alone.
For example, Marion County has 826 firefighters. Just 252 are paid, and 574 are volunteers. That's 826 firefighters for 314,606 people. It is our responsibility to be prepared and to prepare our families.
Jennifer Bailey, formerly of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is the Public Affairs Coordinator of Oregon Emergency Management. She may be reached at (503) 378-2911, Ext. 22294, or jbailey@oem.state.or.us.
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