Since flooding is so common throughout Oregon, Oregon Emergency Management has decided to help get the word out. Whether flooding is from the flowing waters of state rivers, creeks, and streams, or from all too often coastal storms, being aware of your own flood risk and what you can do about it is very important.
To find out your flood risk, fill in your address on the form on the one-step flood risk profile at www.floodsmart.gov. All Oregon counties participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and can get flood insurance through most insurance agencies; however remember that floods are not covered under regular business, home owners, or renters insurance.
Knowing the reach of the highest flood on record is a good way of knowing what may flood again. Property within 100 feet of moving water such as a stream or river is at risk of flooding, particularly if the moving water is prone to debris jamming that can cause flooding. Coastal Oregon communities are subject to severe storms and erosion causing flooding of low or susceptible areas. More than 25% of all flood claims are from outside the flood zone Property that is flat is likely to flood.
Flood insurance, building smart, and taking protective measures are the best way to avoid the impact of Oregon flooding. Just a few inches of water can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage, destroying homes, businesses, and wiping out personal savings should a resident NOT have flood insurance.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Key Insurance Tips for Emergency Preparedness
Salem, Oregon – National Preparedness Month in September is a good time to assemble an emergency supply kit or make a family plan for communicating after a disaster. It is also a great time to take stock of insurance coverage, which is intended to protect you against financial disaster.
“Step one is to simply understand what your insurance policy covers so you can make sound decisions about whether you are adequately protected,” said Teresa Miller, Insurance Division administrator for the Department of Consumer and Business Services.
To see the rest of the news release from the Oregon Insurance Division so to http://insurance.oregon.gov/news_releases/2010/090910-disasterpreparedness.pdf
“Step one is to simply understand what your insurance policy covers so you can make sound decisions about whether you are adequately protected,” said Teresa Miller, Insurance Division administrator for the Department of Consumer and Business Services.
To see the rest of the news release from the Oregon Insurance Division so to http://insurance.oregon.gov/news_releases/2010/090910-disasterpreparedness.pdf
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Taft to pilot strobe lights
Tuesday, August 31, 2010 4:30 pm
PATRICK ALEXANDER The News Guard | 0 comments
The Taft beach access has been chosen as the site of a federally funded pilot program to use strobe lights as a tsunami warning.
Althea Rizzo, geologic hazards program coordinator for Oregon Emergency Management said the super-bright blue strobe light is a good addition to an area where wind and wave noise can drown out tsunami sirens.
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PATRICK ALEXANDER The News Guard | 0 comments
The Taft beach access has been chosen as the site of a federally funded pilot program to use strobe lights as a tsunami warning.
Althea Rizzo, geologic hazards program coordinator for Oregon Emergency Management said the super-bright blue strobe light is a good addition to an area where wind and wave noise can drown out tsunami sirens.
share
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
75 Years of Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES)
Yesterday the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) put out a press release detailing the events of their annual leadership conference in Southern Oregon last week. Excerpts from the press release:
...The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) is celebrating its 75thanniversary from September through December 2010. This program of the ARRL – the national association for Amateur Radio – has provided “ham radio” emergency communications for agencies such as the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, countless Emergency Operations Centers and other responders in the worst of times.
In Oregon ARES was honored by Governor Kulongoski for their emergency communication work during the 2007/2008 winter storms. For more information on Oregon ARES please visit arrloregon.org.
Visit the site for more information about amateur radio and how they provide emergency communications when everything else fails!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Why prepare if you’re not going to evacuate?
Evacuation becomes necessary when your home is being made unlivable. However, if you are not going to evacuate, why bother with an emergency kit or family plan?
Even the most minor of disasters can be very inconvenient and being at home does not guarantee you will have everything you need. For example if you are staying home because of a severe winter storm, it is possible that you will not have power and will need a flashlight, you may not have communication and will need a radio to hear what is going on, you may not have food if you can’t get to a store, and you may not have heat and will need blankets or sleeping bags.
If you are staying at home because of a chemical spill or other air borne hazard, you will need plastic sheeting and tape to seal up a room to protect yourself and your family from outside contaminants. If you are sealed in a room, you will need personal sanitation items along with the items listed above and more.
If you have pets, they will need food and water, toys, leash, bed, etc. too.
The point is that in an emergency you don’t want to be looking all over the house for the basic items you need to make your stay more comfortable. You don’t want to have to go out in bad weather to pick up items at the store. You want everything you need to be in one place and ready for use and you want every member of your family to know where it is.
This is National Preparedness Month – don’t wait any longer. Check out www.ready.gov and get READY!
Even the most minor of disasters can be very inconvenient and being at home does not guarantee you will have everything you need. For example if you are staying home because of a severe winter storm, it is possible that you will not have power and will need a flashlight, you may not have communication and will need a radio to hear what is going on, you may not have food if you can’t get to a store, and you may not have heat and will need blankets or sleeping bags.
If you are staying at home because of a chemical spill or other air borne hazard, you will need plastic sheeting and tape to seal up a room to protect yourself and your family from outside contaminants. If you are sealed in a room, you will need personal sanitation items along with the items listed above and more.
If you have pets, they will need food and water, toys, leash, bed, etc. too.
The point is that in an emergency you don’t want to be looking all over the house for the basic items you need to make your stay more comfortable. You don’t want to have to go out in bad weather to pick up items at the store. You want everything you need to be in one place and ready for use and you want every member of your family to know where it is.
This is National Preparedness Month – don’t wait any longer. Check out www.ready.gov and get READY!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Community Preparedness: The Facts
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 these 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 forty 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 website for details - http://www.serve.gov/toolkits/disaster/
In Oregon, I have found that approximately 1 out of 10 people I talk to have an emergency kit put together and stored where family members can get to it. And we haven’t even covered the necessity of preparing for our pets.
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. 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 – in doing so; we contribute to the safety and security of the state and the nation as well.
I’m glad these 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 forty 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 website for details - http://www.serve.gov/toolkits/disaster/
In Oregon, I have found that approximately 1 out of 10 people I talk to have an emergency kit put together and stored where family members can get to it. And we haven’t even covered the necessity of preparing for our pets.
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. 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 – in doing so; we contribute to the safety and security of the state and the nation as well.
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