A dear friend announced today that he is going to have to put his wife into a long-term care facility.
If you were that man, do you know what questions you’d want to be asking as regards emergency safety and security in that facility?
I’m working on a more complete Advisory on this topic. (Actually, I’m working on a whole book on the topic of preparedness for seniors.) In the meanwhile, though, here’s a short list of questions on preparedness to help you assess potential health care providers.
The original list came from one of my Emergency Plan Guide subscribers, Nicholas Thorpe. He works with facilities to help them comply with the new emergency preparedness rules that were developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid after Katrina. I’ve shortened his list to meet our needs today.
Nine questions to ask a health care facility about their preparations for disaster:
Do you comply with current preparedness rules?
When was your facility last surveyed?
Following a disaster, how will you contact me about my loved one?
How can I contact you?
What arrangements do you have if an evacuation is called for?
What sort of back-up power do you have in case of an outage?
How many extra days of food and water do you store on site?
Have staff members been trained in first aid and CPR? What about in dealing with an active shooter?
How often do you practice for emergencies?
Obviously, these questions on preparedness aren’t all you’d want to consider in deciding on a facility for your loved one. But given some of the stories we’ve heard – following hurricanes, fires, and floods – you would certainly want to pose questions like these as part of your evaluation process.
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
P.S. Can you add any questions based on your own experience?
P.P.S. If you would like to be on the list to hear when my book comes out, please let me know. It’s tentatively entitled: Emergency Preparedness for Senior Citizens and will be number 6 in our Neighborhood Disaster Survival Series.
Day 20 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!(Only 11 more days to go!)
This isn’t a picture of me but the photo by iamSherise on Unsplash gives you an idea of how I felt yesterday . . .
After all the furor yesterday, at the end of day I received this notice from the Public Works department at the city about the now infamous planned power outage. (The notice came after I had spoken to two different city offices, leaving messages but never actually talking to this person who ultimately responded.)
Read carefully. The key word is in the second line . . .
Hello Virginia,
I contacted the utility regarding the planned outage and they have informed me there was an error in the notifications. The duration of the outage will not be 24 hours. Instead there will be two 30 minute outages affecting residential customers and one 8 hour outage overnight that will impact only commercial customers. They will be sending corrective notifications to customers regarding the planned outage.
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Can you believe it?!
Perhaps you can. In our experience, utility companies do not always operate efficiently. (Joe and I have worked with utility companies a lot, on the East Coast and on the West Coast!)
In this case, I had contacted 3 different utility representatives earlier in the day and each of them had a different answer to my questions. I hung up totally dissatisfied. That’s when I switched gears and aimed my calls at the city to “raise the level of awareness” a bit more!
Later, the city Public Works person told me, “We have a direct connection with the utility because we work with them all the time on infrastructure projects. So I just called my contact there and she got it straightened out.”
Moral of story: “You gotta know who to call!”
Second moral: “If you don’t know who to call, keep calling until you get to the right person!”
Thank you for giving me the chance to unload about this power outage “error.” It truly created upset and even panic among some of our neighbors. Now we have the job of reassuring everyone while reminding them that an extended outage could still happen and they need to take steps nowto be ready!
Please consider your own level of preparedness for an outage. According to my trusted sources, a power outage — local or extended, planned or unplanned — is the most common emergency that businesses face — and that means all of us.
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
Day 19 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
Just a couple of days ago I wrote about an upcoming power outages and how we might expect more of them this summer.
This morning I became aware that our local utility has scheduled not one, not two, but three power outages in our community for next week!
All three of the outages have different outage numbers, and
all three have different start and end times, but they overlap each other. Huh???
Now the way I heard about it was through my Emergency
Response Team friends, because apparently my house is not involved. As you can
imagine, I got on the phone and went up through a couple layers of customer
service to learn that . . .
Yes, the longest power outage is scheduled to last 24 and ½ hours.
Yes, the maintenance work has to be done “to improve our service to you.” (!)
Now, picture the situation and why it could be an emergency.
Facts about our community.
Our senior retirement community has 360 homes. Some of our residents are VERY elderly, and in frail health. Many live alone, with no family nearby. Probably a third of them don’t drive – or shouldn’t drive. These folks are stuck here. For them to have to leave would be traumatic.
Facts about power outages in our community.
When the power is out, there’s no light. (We’re ready for that!)
CPAP machines, air conditioners, humidifiers and oxygen concentrators stop working. (Average high temperature around here in July is 81 degrees. Not too hot, but still . . .)
Electric chairs and electric beds stop working in whatever position they were in when the power went out. Doorbells stop working and so do elevators, if you have one.
In an unopened refrigerator it takes only about 4 hours before things start to spoil. If the refrigerator reaches 90 degrees, it could take only an hour for food to spoil.
A FULLY PACKED unopened freezer can safely store food for as long as 48 hours. If it’s only half full, food will last about half that long. (So I know you are thinking, well, “Just eat all those steaks and casseroles!” No power to cook them with, remember?)
So how am I telling my neighbors to prepare?
So far, I’m not able to give them much help, because we’re still working on the problem.
First, we’re trying to see if a little pressure from the City could cause the utility to break their work schedule into shorter chunks of time. (I head up our neighborhood emergency response team, remember? That gives me a direct line to the Office of Emergency Management.)
Second, we’ve made arrangements with a local store to order 10 lb. chunks of ice to extending the cooling life of our refrigerators and freezers. We’re also reminding people to freeze containers of water to fill up their refrigerators and freezers.
In the meanwhile, do you have any experience with power outages, scheduled or unexpected? Have you discovered any clever ways to prepare? Please share!
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
Day 18 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
“Have you heard? We’re expecting a power outage tomorrow night!”
That is, some of my neighbors have received notification. Some have heard nothing from the utility company — and that includes me.
Notifications are good. But the fact is, it pays to be ready at any time. With temperatures heating up for the summer, more people will be using air conditioning. Too much pressure on the system and it could shut down.
Your local power outage doesn’t have to be dangerous as long as you are ready. Here are some quick DOs and DONTs as reminders.
Use as little electricity as you can when it’s hot. In fact, you can head to a cooling center and save on your own electricity. Just check with your local city office for locations.
If you have warning a power outage on its way . . .
DON’T leave the house if you are using appliances like your washing machine. What if the power goes out mid-cycle? A wet mess!!!
DON’T open the refrigerator if the power goes out. Dig out some snacks and make do.
DON’T pick up the phone and call your family to let them know. The phone probably won’t work anyway – unless it’s a cell phone.
DO have a pair of sturdy slip-on shoes next to the bed, with a flashlight right there too, so you can get up safely in the dark.
DO store some extra water – for your pet, too.
DO have some emergency lighting. I like the night lights we have that go on automatically when the power goes out.
DO remain calm. A power outage is not a disaster. It’s probably not even an emergency.
If you’re ready for it, a power outage is nothing more than an inconvenience!
(P.S. Please tell your nervous neighbors this. You may want to run down the list of reminders with them.)
Talk to you soon — as long as the power stays on!
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
Day 16 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
Why do I write? To have an armful of my own books, of course!
Today I put final touches on a book I am writing with my partner, Joe. It’s about professional marketing for accountants.
(The challenge of writing as co-authors is certainly worth a
blog post at some point. Actually, it’s probably worth a whole book. I wonder
what category it would fall into. Humor? Horror? Action & Adventure? We’ve
been together for more than 35 years, so maybe the category should be History
& Criticism? Whatever. . .!)
Anyway, I thought that today, in honor of having reached the half-way point of our summer writing challenge, I’d write in answer to the question,
“Why do you keep writing about Emergency Preparedness?”
I do it because I can. I have access to a computer, to the internet, and time. I love words. Not everyone has these luxuries.
I do it because I like feeling that I’m helping others. Nice people keep writing to thank me for helping . . . and, of course, that keeps me going!
I do it because I made the commitment a long time ago to write at least a weekly Advisory (post) about a new topic associated with emergency preparedness. (My daughter tells me I am indiscriminately curious.) After well over 400 Advisories I’ve learned a whole lot about a whole lot of stuff!
I like knowing I’m a “published author.” There’s still some cachet to that – in certain circles, at least!
I see other people writing and that reminds me, “I can do that, too!”
Perhaps one day I’ll branch out into yet another field. In
the meanwhile,
I have five books on Emergency Preparedness on Amazon.
You can see all of them at my Author Page at Amazon. Here’s the link: amazon.com/author/virginiasnicols I hope to have at least two more emergency preparedness titles appearing there this year!
Have you written a book? Several? Why do YOU write? Interested readers would like to know! We are, after all, a special category.
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
Day 15 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
As a preparedness fan, I subscribe to the twitter feed of our local police force’s PIO (Public Information Officer). One of yesterday’s notices was simple. It said that emergency personnel had responded to a drowning incident.
EMTs arrived to find the father attempting to resuscitate his 11-year-old son. The EMTs took over and revived the boy, who was taken to the hospital, expected to fully recover.
As you read that paragraph, did you create a picture in your mind? Can you imagine the desperation of the father? What if that had been YOUR child drowning? Would you know what to do in that situation?
After I read the report, I felt obliged to review how to handle drowning. Turns out that it’s NOT THE SAME as CPR for someone who has suffered a heart attack! Drowning is a problem with getting enough air, it’s not just a problem with the heart stopping. So you need to do the breathing AND the compression associated with traditional CPR.
Here’s a quick review of the steps to resuscitate a drowning child:
Call 911 or appoint someone else to call. (“You, guy in the red shirt, call 911!”)
Take the child out of the water.
Lay child on back, check for breathing and responsiveness. (Clap. Call the kid by name.)
If no breathing, START RESCUE BREATHING. Close nose, cover child’s whole mouth, breath twice into the child and watch for chest to rise.
Begin chest compression. Lean on both hands, on line between nipples. Press hard and fast. 30 presses, 2 breaths. Keep it up until professional help arrives or child begins to breath on his own.
Now this is just a quick overview. If you have any questions, or if you have small babies, please do more research. I got basic info from WEB MD – here’s the link to the full article: https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/drowning-in-children#2
And if you plan a summer outing near a big pool or the ocean, please review this blog post I wrote last year. It makes it clear that people who are drowning don’t LOOK like they are drowning, and you might overlook the danger until it’s too late!
Every year over a dozen people drown right here in our town. I don’t know the statistics for your community, but there shouldn’t be any! Drowning is preventable.
Please be careful out there!
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
Day 14 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
Fourth of July
activities may be over, but there are plenty more fun summer events coming up. Do
you have plans to go to an evening concert? The county fair? A big sporting
event? How about a major family get-together?
Attending any large public gathering these days isn’t without some risk. Here’s a quick checklist to review before you head out:
Know the venue. Where is parking? Where are entrances and exits, and not just the ones you plan to use. Take a look at the map before you arrive, and check conditions once you are inside. Point out exits to your kids.
Where is help if you need it? Take a moment to identify the location of security personnel, lifeguards or first aid stations.
Be smart about what you wear and carry at public summer events. Don’t carry a lot of stuff! Discourage pickpockets or thieves by wearing a zippered cross-body purse. Keep your wallet in your front pocket. And real shoes are a whole lot safer than flip-flops in an emergency.
Stay in contact with family members. (You may want to all wear the same brightly-colored T-shirts!) This may be a perfect opportunity for you to try out the walkie-talkies you just bought. And be sure to have a place to meet if you get separated.
Keep your phone charged and on. Program your phone to vibrate as well as ring. Check for social media alerts about the event.
Finally, if you feel that something “just isn’t right” – like crowds are screaming and shoving, you see people running where you wouldn’t expect it, you hear noises you can’t identify – trust your gut instinct. Get out by the nearest exit.
You can always get back in when things calm down.
Summer is meant for fun. Be safe and the fun will take care of itself!
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
Day 13 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
I find myself muttering this question under my breath when I hear neighbors complaining about how long it’s taking for the power to come back on even after a scheduled, temporary blackout!
I ask the question of myself from time to time, mostly when I don’t want to try something physical I would have been perfectly willing to try a few years back. (I asked it about 5 times before I agreed to go skydiving with my daughter in 2018!)
Then, when I saw the quote below, it really struck home. It comes from a report from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Like many things scientific, you have to read it twice to get the full import.
“. . .when we run out of legitimate threats to face, we begin to call things that we judged to be harmless in the past as now a threat.”
So yes, the quote itself feels a bit complicated. I tried summing it up this way:
“Are you becoming a wimp?
If either of these quotes strikes a chord, you are going to really appreciate a recent post written by LaRae Quy: How to be resilient when times get tough.
It’s long, it’s inspiring – and it has some very specific recommendations. . . all designed to KEEP YOU — and perhaps your neighbors — FROM SEEING THREATS EVERYWHERE.
Enjoy! And let us know what you came away with!
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
Day 11 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
The recent California earthquakes have had several positive results here where we live, in Southern California.
I already mentioned how our neighborhood emergency response group volunteers jumped into action after the 7.1 quake on July 6. There they were, out in the dark with their walkie-talkies, talking to people, passing along info to our mobile radio command post.
What happened the next day, though, was actually more exciting. Everywhere you could hear the second positive result from the earthquake: ordinary citizens talking and talking about the quakes and how to be more prepared next time!
“How should I be storing water? Do you have a water barrel? What about plastic bottles?”
“What’s the chance of a broken gas line? Should we turn off the gas?”
“What if I am trapped in my house?”
And hooray! Positive result #3 — Two more neighbors decided to join the team!
I am busy assembling the “recruiting” kits – some basic info and instructions, plus the two most important items for team members: a fluorescent vest and a battery-operated walkie-talkie.
If you are figuring out what your next move ought to be for summer – consider getting a couple of walkie-talkies!
They are fun for families camping, hiking or heading to a county fair. Small kids and teens like them. They are essential if you have wandering children or lagging-behind grandparents! And if you are interested in building a neighborhood emergency response team, you’ll want to practice with those walkie-talkies before you decide which ones to buy.
I’ve written reviews of the top 5 or 6 models every year. If you are really interested in more detail, please check out that page. There’s a whole lot of info there to absorb before you make a big buying decision.
Here’s a recommendation for you.
In the meanwhile, here’s information about my favorite model
– and the one we use for our local neighborhood group. Simple, straightforward,
flexible. These use AAA batteries or rechargeables; you
can also recharge by plugging into the wall. A pair costs less that a dinner
out – and will make your summer a whole lot more memorable! (Click on the image
to get details and prices at Amazon.)
If you manage to get a pair of walkie-talkies as a result of the earthquakes and of reading this Advisory, that would be the best positive result of all!
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
Day 10 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
When I was a kid, we used to pile into the car for a long
Sunday drive. (Gas was cheap!) Part of the fun was discovering roads we’d never
traveled before.
We used folded paper maps to figure out where we were
headed. There was always a box full of them – road maps, topographical maps,
occasionally forestry or fire road maps. Most showed the effect of having been
folded wrong at least once in the past!
The job of reading the map fell to one of the kids.
Today, of course, nobody reads a map.
Oh yes, we pull up maps on our
phone – and then we listen to directions!
In an emergency, when phones are down and batteries are dead, you and your children may find yourselves having to take a road you’ve never traveled before. And to do that safely, you are going to want to be able to read a map.
There are a few basics to reading any map:
orienting your map to the points of the compass
understanding the scale of the map, and
figuring out what the various symbols mean.
Of course, you have to figure out where you are on the map
in order to get started!
Give your child the chance to learn this skill!
ow much help you or your child will need to understand a map will depend on a whole host of things. Here’s a great teaching video that nearly everyone will find useful. (It includes drawing your own map you can use for your Family Evacuation Plan.)
Plan to stop the video from time to time to discuss!
And if you want to get more deeply into the whole thing –
and your kids are old enough – you may want to add one or more compasses to the
exercise, to make it even more fun.
This is an official “Boy Scout” model with lanyard that would make a great, inexpensive gift to go with the map reading. (Click on the image to see details on Amazon.)
This could be a fun activity for your whole family, and give the older members a chance to show off . . .!
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
Day 8 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
CERT is in all 50 states and in over 3,000 cities. Why, there may be a chapter in YOUR town that you didn’t know about!
So what exactly is CERT?
Community Emergency Response Team training is what started Joe and me off and what continues to provide structure and support to our local neighborhood group, even though many of our volunteers have NOT completed the training. Every one of my books builds on CERT principles!
Official CERT training takes about 24 hours, stretched over several days or weeks. This 6-minute video will give you a good idea of what CERT training means to ordinary people who are looking for a way to be better prepared and to have a stronger connection to their community.
What potential dangers are YOU concerned about? What did you see in the video that you would you like to know more about? Find out about CERT in your neighborhood. Just type into your browser the name of your city or town, followed by “CERT.”
Let us know what you discover! (And if you’ve already had some experience with CERT, please give us an idea of how it went in the comments, below.)
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
Day 8 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
After a row of stuff for sale — survival kits, freeze dried food, first aid kits — you’ll hit the first of page after page of agencies ready to give you comprehensive and usually trustworthy advice.
Now go back and google “emergency preparedness forums.”
This is where people,
not agencies, hang out! The words
associated with preparedness change immediately. You’ll see references to urban
survivalists, bush craft, self-protection, weapons, primitive technology – passionate entries from writers getting
ready for when the SHTF or we reach TEOTWAWKI. (See below if you need a
reminder about what these stand for!)
s a writer about the topic, I get deep into just about everything: self-defense, camping skills, CERT, emergency communications, dealing with authorities, preventing fires, etc.
One of my favorite topics, though, is how to build stronger neighborhood groups. (Not too common a theme in other sites, actually!) I’ve been part of my own neighborhood group for over 17 years. What I hear from members of my neighborhood group is not that they are paranoid. They are not even particularly afraid.
Rather, they actively “want to help others.” Normally, you won’t read too much about that, either!
How people responded to the earthquakes in Ridgecrest has been an inspiration.
Watching TV coverage about the California earthquakes over the past few days certainly reinforced that message. In Ridgecrest,
Did you see how often people mentioned neighbors coming by to see if they needed help?
How neighbors were offering to do repairs for free?
How neighbors pitched in to help clean up?
The actions of these neighbors, victims all, encourages me to keep organizing, keep learning, and keep writing.
Oh, and here’s the quote from George R.R.Martin, author of A Game of Thrones, that got me started on this whole post, and inspired the image at the top of this page:
“When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.”
Virginia YourEmergency Plan Guideteam
SHTF = (when the) sh*t hits the fan
TEOTWAWKI = the end of the world as we know it
Day 7 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
That quote above is from the eminent seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones. If you’ve watched the news about the earthquakes in California, you’ve seen her.
Here’s a quick report from our community in Southern California.
We’re in Orange County, along the coast in Southern California, about 160 miles from the earthquake epicenter at Ridgecrest, which is more in the center part of the state.
But even here, we felt both of the largest quakes – the 6.4 on July 4th, and the 7.1 yesterday on July 5th. No comparison – that second quake was MUCH bigger!
When it started, I was seated right here at my computer. The chair seemed to be moving left and right. Then it was definitely moving left and right! That died down, and then things started shaking. The whole house started bumping, rattling, creaking, clunking, blinds banging and banging against the windows! Happily, our lights stayed on. I moved away from the computer and monitor and my bookshelves, but nothing fell.
In the end, things gradually returned to normal. Today, the
only damage I could find in my house were three new hairline cracks, perfectly
aligned about 4 feet apart, from one side to the other of the tile kitchen floor.
Our neighborhood emergency response team got into action.
We are always preparing for earthquakes in California. Here in our community, several people quickly made phone calls, and we were also able to connect via email, but our main communications took place via walkie-talkies. Within about 5 minutes, neighbors were checking on neighbors and reporting in. Two of our team members monitored the news (using ham radio, too) and shared what they were learning. That info was passed along via the walkie-talkies. Within about 20 minutes, everyone had reported in to our “Command” channel: “People in the streets, no damage.”
What happened in Ridgecrest was far worse, and is a reminder about being prepared.
We should be prepared for any emergency with basic supplies:
In earthquake country, you want to stash these items throughout your house.
An earthquake isn’t like a storm, where you probably have some warning to grab your survival kit and head to shelter. In a quake you will still be at home afterwards, and so you want to be able to get to your supplies even if parts of the home are damaged.
And talk over a plan for contacting family members after an emergency. Be sure to include an out-of-area contact number.
Now, in my case, our out-of-state contact person, my brother – was somewhere on a boat headed to Alaska! So we need to set up a secondary contact right away.
What comes next?
We’ll be operating for a while based on what we learned last night about earthquakes in California. For us, the good news is our neighborhood volunteers were prepared and DID WHAT THEY HAD TRAINED TO DO.
If you are interested in building a neighborhood emergency response group, or strengthening the one you have, we have resources that can help! Check out our website: https://EmergencyPlanGuide.org! and if you have specific questions, please be in touch directly. We have some real experience — even more today than before — and we’d love to share.
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
Day 6 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace! (Or at least, that was the plan!)
Just a couple of weeks ago I wrote an article about the importance of water this summer for keeping cool – particularly when you have no air conditioning. Then just last Saturday I was on the phone with my son in Germany, talking about keeping his young family safe during the heat wave that was going on in Europe!
At the same time my LinkedIn feed is full of pictures of flooding in the Midwest – often with the caption “No end in sight!”
What do you expect this summer? Too much or too little water? And does it really make a difference?
I think it does. According to the United Nations, “about 90% of all natural disasters are water-related!”
90%? Just think about it. Here are 5 miscellaneous facts that give us an idea of the role water is playing right here, right now in the U.S. I think we should all be familiar with details like these:
This year’s floods in Iowa are so bad that Governor Reynolds didn’t even have to do a damage assessment in order to apply for disaster relief.
The 2018 wildfires in California (“worst in history) were intensified by nearly 8 years of drought. This summer, utility company PG&E has already begun “Public Safety Power Shutoff’s (PSPS)” to protect from more electrical fires.
When Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina in last September, dozens of “hog lagoons” overflowed or were damaged – leaking pig poop onto surrounding acreage and into the groundwater. (Did you realize that over 40% of Americans rely on groundwater for drinking water?)
Florida has been in the news lately, not just because of political activity. Turns out that the sea level there is rising by 1 inch every 3 years. Water comes right up through the ground in coastal cities! And saltwater in getting into drinking water and compromising sewage plants.
Remember Hurricane Harvey, in Houston? So do the residents there! A study of over 13,000 people shows that mental health damage has had a bigger impact than physical damage. . . both for people whose homes were flooded and those whose homes were spared.
So what can we do about water this summer?
We can’t change the weather. But we can certainly be more aware of how precious clean water really is. We can do our best not to waste or pollute, and we can encourage those around us to do the same.
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
P.S. Here in California that drought had an impact on more than the forests. All sorts of restrictions were placed on washing cars, watering lawns, etc. Even today, waiters bring out silverware and menus but not necessarily water. You have to ask for it!
What’s going on in your neighborhood to save water?
Day 5 of Summer Vacation: A time for some shorter and lighter Advisories as a welcome change-of-pace!
Even as I write this, aftershocks are showing up, one after another, on my live earthquake map. Make sure you and the ones you love are always ready to drop, cover and hold on, even on a holiday!
“Take care of your tools and they will take care of you.”
This comment seems to refer most often to garden tools.
In today’s Advisory from Emergency Plan Guide, though, taking care of tools refers to the computer tools we are using right now – our computers, tablets, phones – all those digital tools that make it possible to share stories, images and, in this case, blog posts!
Now, I want to be able to finish the 31 days of this summer
blog challenge without a computer hitch. So when over the past week I received several warnings, one
after another, I paid close attention.
And then I thought of you, and knew you would be interested, too!
Take care of your computer tools!
Here are the three warnings I’ve received in the past couple of weeks.
Warning #1 comes from Avast. It’s about a phishing scam that arrives in an official-looking WordPress email. It urgently requests that you update your username, password, etc. Because you’re a good reader (!), you might notice one little strange grammatical quirk in the email, but MOST people won’t notice it.
Anytime you get an email from what you consider a trusted source (most popular phishing emails come from Microsoft, PayPal, Netflix, banks, etc. ) that urgently demands an update or action on a bill or some such, consider it a scam first and then follow up VERY carefully. (Don’t hit that Update Now button!)
Warning #2 comes from Microsoft. It’s about BlueKeep, a 2019 “worm” affecting older versions of Windows, traveling from computer to computer. The windows versions that are vulnerable: Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 7. If you haven’t been taking care of your tools by updating, do it now! (It you are running Windows 8 and Windows 10 it looks as though you aren’t affected by BlueKeep.)
Warning #3 comes from ithemes Security. Actually, it’s two separate warning reports! The first lists 9 WordPress plug-ins and themes that have vulnerabilities and the second half of the report lists 19 more. A couple of the plugins have been removed by WordPress; the others have a patch that fixes the problem as long as you update. (I found 3 familiar plugins on these lists, and 2 that I currently use, so this isn’t wildly esoteric stuff.) Here are links to the two reports:
The reason I get these warnings is because I have installed multiple security software packages on my computer network. Some of them are paid, others free.
The software itself doesn’t necessarily catch everything. I certainly have received my share of fake Wells Fargo phishing emails! But I do get a warning bell from time to time, and questionable emails end up in my JUNK file where I can carefully review them. Plus I get regular alerts like the ones described here.
For my new summer friends — and my older friends, too!
Let me introduce myself . . .
I’ve been active as a “prepper” for over 15 years. It all started when I took a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) course sponsored by the city I live in.
Since then I’ve revisited my roots – My parents were pioneers in Alaska during the 30s – and caught up finally with my older brothers — Eagle Scouts in the 50s.
And, of course, I’ve added my own particular brand of activism based on a professional career as copywriter and marketer. Mostly that’s taken the form of helping build a local neighborhood Emergency Response Team right here in my senior retirement community.
And then there’s my writing.
About 8 years ago I started this website, meant to cover all aspects of sensible Emergency Preparedness. Since then I’ve populated it with hundreds of original articles (I call them “Advisories”) about preparing for potential threats, assembling supplies and gear, and getting neighbors involved. Happily, a number of people seemed to like the articles and they keep coming back for more!
Last year, I called on all this history — including words of wisdom from the friends — and wrote 4 books on the topic. Then just last month, I added a 5th title to the list! (See the sidebar.)
Lots of writing! Maybe too much?
Lots of thinking and researching disasters! Lots of drafting and redrafting (and learning how to manage a website, too.) When one of my subscribers wrote last week that she was just overwhelmed, I had to admit that it was time for me to take a summer break, too.
Then Digital Maestro Paul Taubman showed up with a summer blogging challenge. This was surely a sign that I should take this opportunity to segue to some shorter and lighter articles. Oh yes, they will still be about emergency preparedness – but in a lighter vein.
So welcome to Summer Vacation!
I hope you’ll read and enjoy and actually follow up on the summer Advisories that make sense for you and your family. You can sign up below to be sure you get all of them. And I invite you to let me know it there are topics you’d like to hear more about.
The way I see it, the more we all know, the safer we all will be!
The weather news is filled with stories about too much water.
So when I found a couple of nasty black spots in our shower, it was a sign that I needed to take another look at water conditions right here in my own home! I plunged into some research. Here are my questions and the answers I found.
I hope you will share this info with family and friends. I’m afraid everyone is likely to find mold or mildew in their home at some point!
Mold or mildew in my shower? Which is it?
Turns out that both mildew and mold are fungi that reproduce via airborne spores. Mildew is the wimpy adolescent, mold is the full-grown bully. Mildew is white or gray and often looks like dust; mold is red, black, blue or green and looks stubborn. Either of these is likely to give off a musty, wet-sock smell – you are likely to smell them long before you see them. Both grow on “organic materials” like wood or wood products like paper or drywall, and plants. (And obviously mold can grow on fiberglass shower walls, too!)
How dangerous are mildew and mold?
Most people exposed directly
to mildew – like breathing it in – may experience mild symptoms like sneezing,
itchy eyes and coughing. If you have asthma it might flare up.
Mold symptoms are worse if
people have a mold allergy. Afew
types of mold do produce toxins – like black mold. (Shiny, black, looks like
tar – get out now) – but for most people the problem is when they are allergic
and/or already suffer from asthma.
Obviously, people exposed to
large amounts of mildew or mold, and who already have chronic lung disease,
could experience a severe reaction including infections in their lungs.
What makes mold grow?
Mold spores are always in our
environment – you can’t escape them. They
only become dangerous when they find perfect growing conditions: a nice porous organic
surface to land on, warmth, oxygen, AND the right amount of water. Not all the
sources I found were in total agreement, but FEMA and the CDC say that mold can
develop within 24-48 hours of finding those conditions!
So how do I avoid mold in my home?
We’re not talking here about coping with the aftermath of a flood. Rather, the next few paragraphs will be about more ordinary conditions.
Here are specific recommendations:
1-Start by checking for leaks and/or signs of mold. You will know if your roof or windows are leaking. You may never really have looked for leaks under the sinks or behind the washing machine, etc. Check – if those areas are dry now, clean up any mold and fix the leak. If the area is not dry, you may have to call for professional help to replace rotted or moldy wood. If you discover mold in AC ducts, don’t run the HVAC system until you’ve got them cleaned out by professionals.
2-Wipe up spills immediately. Whether it’s a glass of lemonade, a whole bucket of soapy water, or spaghetti sauce that boils over, wipe it up immediately! Make sure the area is totally dry and clean before you walk away. If the spill is in the bedroom, clean and dry the area immediately. Use a HEPA vacuum cleaner on your carpet. (HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air and a HEPA filter traps 99% of particles over 0.3 microns in size.)
3-Note and deal with condensation. Just like in the image at the top of this article, our bathroom mirrors fog up when Joe takes a long shower. Yes, we open the window and run an exhaust fan, but it’s still damp. And that must have contributed to those black spots this week!
In the past, I’ve had bedroom windows get wet from condensation, too! (Though not in this house.) If you experience condensation, the steps to take include:
Clean up moldy spots in shower.
Squeegee and wipe dry the glass door and tile walls and/or windows after showering.
Make sure you have an exhaust fan – run it for 30 minutes after a shower.
Consider a dehumidifier. See below.
4-Your refrigerator could harbor mold. Forgot that meatloaf in the back of the frig? “Expired” food grows mold! And dripping ice maker tubes can, too. Keep your refrigerator cleaned out – and clean!
5-Check houseplants regularly for mold. Gray stuff in the pot? Repot with new soil, treat with fungicide.
6-Don’t forget closets. You can bring in spores on clothing and shoes, particularly if they are damp and don’t get properly dried and aired out before being put away.
If you discover mold, get rid of it!
Alert: Everything I read about mold suggests that you can take care of small mold growths by yourself, but you need professional help for a big job. What is “big?” Probably a mold growth greater than 10 sq. feet in size. You may also need professional help if your water and/or mold damage came from contaminated sources (sewage, flooding), or if you know you have health concerns.
If you plan to do the cleanup yourself, wear the right protective gear. I recommend you click on the links below of any products you don’t already own to see if they make sense for you or family members.
Avoid breathing in the spores by using a respirator. Earlier we wrote about the importance of N95 respirators for managing particles from wildfire smoke. (The 95 means they block up to 95% of airborne particles.) There are also N99 respirators. Even better for a mold clean-up job. Here’s a 12-pack of N99 respirators from Amazon that have all-important exhalation valves.
Wear gloves. Never touch mold with bare hands!You’ll want sturdy gloves that come well up past the wrist. The ThxToms company makes heavy duty gloves in both rubber and latex. (Their rubber gloves are longer and cheaper!)
Wear long sleeves, long pants, and closed shoes.
As for cleaning materials, you can buy commercial products or use common household cleaners.
Some recommended anti-mold products that are made specifically to kill the mold or mildew and also remove stains. In each case you leave them a while to work their magic and then rinse off.
You may already have on hand one or more of the natural cleaners listed below.
Scrub mold spots off with a brush and spray with white vinegar. Let dry. No need to rinse. Use the spray and let dry after every shower.
Same approach using a mixture of 1 cup Borax with 1 gallon water, spray on, let dry.
As a last resort, mix 1 part bleach to 10 parts water, spray and let dry. Bleach is more toxic.
For all the above, be sure to
wear gloves and eye protection and make sure area is ventilated.
A final note about humidity.
Every article I read about mold mentioned the role of humidity in mold’s growth. Of course, humidity is important to our overall health and sense of comfort. Several different sources rated the ideal relative humidity for health and comfort as being about 40-50%. In the winter, humidity may have to be lower than that to avoid condensation.
How do I know how humid it is?
The answer to this question is simple. Buy a hygrometer so you can check! Get a simple one with big print and carry it around with you to test bedroom, bathroom, etc. The one below costs less than $10! (Click the image to get exact price and details.)
And if the relative humidity in your bedroom or bathroom is too high?
A dehumidifier can make all the difference to health and comfort.
Dehumidifiers work rather like refrigerators. They suck in the humid air and run it over refrigerated coils. The water condenses on the coils and drips down into a bucket, and warm dry air is blown back into the room.
The capacity of a dehumidifier is measured in how many PINTS of water it can remove from the air per day! A one-smallish-room may require a 30 pint machine; a large basement might require a 70 pint machine. Here are positively-reviewed examples from Amazon. Click on the links to get details and prices.
Too much humidity, too much mold, too much mildew! Not good! If you have any of these in YOUR home, you will want to make a plan to deal with them starting now.
Good luck!
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
P.S. I cleaned up my shower with white vinegar and an old toothbrush. The spots have not returned!
We sat at the 2nd Wednesday monthly meeting of our CERT Leaders and stared gloomily as one of our members gave yet another status report about some of “her” residents in the community. “Not one extra can of food. Not one extra bottle of water.”
Her neighborhood had many elderly residents. In some cases, residents are handicapped by lack of funds. In others, the reason is plain apathy, procrastination or worse. You may hear: “It’s the government’s job to provide for us in an emergency.”
Are “governments” responsible to care for us in a disaster? How capable are they?
We saw an answer to the second question in interviews by the media following Hurricane Sandy’s damage in New Jersey. Local and state governments were overwhelmed and unable to respond. Likewise, relief agencies like the Red Cross and Salvation Army were also overtaxed by the enormity of the event. Some people went weeks without services.
More recently, we watched the Federal Government pretty much abandon the victims of Hurricane Maria, in Puerto Rico.
And here in California, huge fires have pulled emergency responders from communities distant from the fires and even from other states — leaving the people left at home without full protection for days and even weeks.’
These disasters damage communities and even destroy them. And usually, it’s people who are less affluent who suffer the most.
And these disasters pose an important question for all of us: What can we do to help? Are we doing it?
And the most difficult version of that same question:
Are we prepared to share with people who ignored warnings?
Are we ready to care for irresponsible neighbors as well as ourselves in a disaster scenario? That question presents responsible citizens with untenable choices.
Here in our neighborhood we are admittedly better prepared than most. Over 70% of our residents indicate that they have some food and water set aside for emergencies, largely as a result of ongoing education programs that span a decade.
But 70% isn’t 100%. More needs to be done.
Never stop educating people on the realities of a disaster.
Here in our neighborhood we regularly publish “educational bulletins” and, when circumstances allow, bring in guest speakers to talk about preparedness. Some of the best bulletins:
Retrofit your home to withstand an earthquake. (Neighborhood contractor)
Maybe if we make a party out of preparing for emergencies . . .
Every neighborhood volunteer group is always looking for ways to engage new neighbors. We hear about some of the good ones!
During a power outage, one neighborhood held a “Power Outage Picnic.” People brought meat to the party and a couple of volunteers with gas-burning grills cooked it up for everyone to share! By lantern light!
We held an “emergency preparedness fair” sponsored by the local hardware store. They brought dozens of items as demos, then handed attendees a coupon for 20% off if they would come to the store to buy.
After all these years of coming up with educational ideas and trainings, we finally put together a whole book with ideas for 21 activities to help overcome apathy and procrastination. That book has been our consistent best seller! If you are looking for some inspiration, consider getting a copy for YOUR neighborhood.
Each one of the activities comes with objectives, procedures, materials you’ll need, and commentary. And there’s a separate planning sheet for each activity to make it easy for volunteers to step up and take a turn as host. You can find out more about Meeting Ideas here.
The point of all this? Leaders have to recognize that preparedness is an ongoing challenge. You may have to wheedle or even use a little guilt now and then to get people to take action. But with a few ideas and some energetic team members, you can make a big difference in how resilient your community will be.
We think it’s worth it. That’s what this website is all about!
As I am writing at my desk today, the Accuweather headline reads:
“Rare June heat wave grips San Francisco as triple-digit heat stifles West.”
I didn’t need to read it. I have been feeling it, even though we’re a good 450 miles south of SF! And I’m feeling it enough that I wanted to learn more.
The chart below shows heat wave trends: the number of heat waves happening in a year, in yellow, followed by the length of the heat wave season, in red. The figures start in the 60’s and continue up until 2010. you may not be able to read the fine print, but it’s clear enough that everything is trending UP. Higher temps, longer seasons.
For the chart, “heat wave” is defined as follows: a period of two or more consecutive days where the
daily minimum apparent temperature (actual temperature adjusted for humidity)
in a particular city exceeds the 85th percentile of historical July and August
temperatures (1981–2010) for that city.
Glad I’m not in San Francisco!
OK. But chances are that you will experience a heat wave at some point. And it could be deadly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on average, over 600 people die in the U.S. each year from complications related to extreme heat. That’s more than tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, lightning or any other weather event combined! (on average, remember)
What do we need to know?
Maybe you can turn this into a little quiz?
Which is more dangerous, hot days or hot nights? Answer: nights can be the most dangerous. If the body can’t cool down, your heart has to work overtime to try to regulate your body temperature.
Which is more important, heat or humidity? Answer: It’s the combination. Normally, your body cools when it sweats. If humidity is too high, you can’t sweat. Watch for the expression “heat index.” It combines temperature and humidity.
Why are cities more dangerous than rural areas in a heat wave? Answer 1: When there’s no breeze, air in a city degrades. Pollution is captured. People with respiratory difficulty suffer. Answer 2. Asphalt and concrete store daytime heat and release it at night, adding to the hot temps mentioned in Question 1.
Why aren’t they turning on their A/C in S.F.?
Easy question. Answer? Because only 36% of homes in SF have air conditioning! And today, just across the water in the East Bay, in Lafayette and Walnut Creek, where air conditioning may be more widespread, there have been repeated power outages!
Wait. Power outages, too?!
Yes. The science goes something like this.
Hot weather means more people want air conditioning, so they demand more power. More power flowing through wires makes them hot. Outside heat makes them hot, too. The hotter they get, the less power they can carry. When wires (made of metal) get hot, they droop and ultimately may even hit bushes or the ground. Short circuit! The line goes down. The demand for power stays high and power is now directed through other wires. They start getting overloaded, getting hotter, etc., etc.
The system may experience a brownout (partial
loss of power) or a blackout (complete loss of power), often created on purpose
by the utility company to protect the system.
During a heat wave, take these sensible steps.
Pay attention to the weather report so you know a heat wave is coming. Get an NOAA radio.
Have plenty of water in your emergency supplies. Be sure you and everyone in your family stays well hydrated.
If you don’t have air conditioning, find out where you can go that does: library, mall, movie theater.
Protect the interior of your home from direct rays of the sun and from outdoor heat. Use shades, awnings, temporary reflectors in the windows.
If possible, cool off the house at night. See if you can create cross ventilation by strategic opening of windows and doors. Shut the house down as heat begins to build.
Cook outside.
Wrap a damp towel around your neck. Wrap your whole body with a damp sheet. Evaporation works!
Sit with your feet in a bucket of water – or a baby wading pool.
Wear light clothing. Postpone your outdoor exercise!
Never leave children or pets in a closed car.
Take action if you see someone getting ill from the heat.
The Red Cross describes three heat-related conditions. Know the symptoms and how to respond.
Heat Cramps –
Usually occur in legs or abdomen. Get person to a cool place, gently massage
the cramps. Give liquids (sports drinks, fruit juice, water).
Heat Exhaustion –
Affects people working in the heat.
Signs: face is pale; headache, nausea, dizziness, weakness. Get person
to cooler place. Loosen or remove clothing. Apply damp cloths. Fan or spray.
Give small amounts of liquid.
Heat Stroke –
This is life threatening. Body is overwhelmed and stops functioning. Signs: high
body temperature, skin is hot and red. May be in and out of consciousness. Rapid,
weak pulse, rapid breathing. May vomit. Call 911 and apply rapid cooling measures:
cold bath up to neck, wrap with ice-water-doused towels, spray with cold water.
Make some preparations NOW.
Learn the signs of the heat-related conditions above so you won’t have to hesitate to help someone. Be sure you have plenty of water stored in case the power goes out. Be ready to block windows using cardboard or cardboard covered with aluminum foil.
And consider investing in battery-operated fans.
Portable fans are convenient and could make all the
difference for comfort – and even health — in a heat wave. Don’t be fooled
thinking that they will blow as powerful a stream of air as a big electric
powered fan – but the convenience of being able to place a fan right in front
of you can’t be underestimated. And if the power is out, you’re really going to
need that fan.
I’ve used “personal fans” in an office setting, those with a
4 in. diameter and a couple of speeds. Fine for taking the edge off, but in a
real heat wave you may want a larger blade. If you intend to use a fan to keep a baby
cool, consider the models that have a heavy-duty clip.
Some fans operate on rechargeable batteries, others on regular batteries. Typically, the more batteries required, the longer the fan
will run. If you select the low speed, your batteries will last longer, of
course.
Here are a few battery-operated fans that have received good reviews. You might want to get a couple of different ones, and then, if you need more, get another of the one you like best! Click the image or the link to check prices at Amazon.
1-This first example uses 6 D batteries; it can also run on AC power using the adapter that comes with it. Very compact.
3-This tower fan intrigued me because I own an electric tower fan and use it frequently right over my desk. This one looks as though it could be directed to provide a breeze for two people! Naturally, it’s larger – and costs more.
I have lived through plenty of hot summers, but only experienced one heat-related incident. That was enough to make me serious about being sure it doesn’t happen again. I have my own fans at the ready!
Virginia Your Emergency Plan Guide team
The incident? I was volunteering at a Rotary Club BBQ fund-raiser, busy managing the baseball toss. Back and forth, pick up the balls, joke with the players, etc. All of a sudden I realized my vision was narrowing, I felt I was going to throw up, and I couldn’t walk without paying VERY close attention. Heat exhaustion! I made it to a bench in the shade and just lay there sipping on a bottle of water, not really moving, and after a half-hour or so felt pretty much back to normal. To this day I remember the hardness of that bench!
Anyone who is active
in the world of emergency preparedness recognizes these simple truths:
Disasters, whether natural or man-made, are becoming more frequent and more serious. And more deadly.
People with a personal survival plan have a better chance of surviving a disaster than those with no plan. Same for businesses and for communities with active neighborhood emergency response groups.
Getting individual Americans to make a plan is an uphill battle!
How Can We Help More People and More Communities Be Better Prepared for Emergencies?
The government plays a role in preparedness.
FEMA was formed in 1979 with good intentions. When disaster
awareness took front stage after 9-11-2001, FEMA’s efforts ratcheted up.
Actually, even before that, FEMA had seen the efforts of Los Angeles Fire Department to train civilians in earthquake preparedness. The LAFD program was adopted in 1993 as a national program and called Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
CERT training is now available in all 50 states. Thousands of citizens have been trained and now serve as valuable interim backup to official First Responders. Training is at minimal cost and in some cases is free.
For the past decade or so, shifting from its traditional top-down approach, FEMA has looked at improving resilience at the community level. But here we are today, having gone through Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Irma, Maria and Michael. We’ve experienced hundreds of mass shootings, thousands of acres of historical flooding, massive wild fires, and millions of data breaches — and the level of preparedness in American families hovers unchanged at around 50%!
Why don’t individual Americans prepare for emergencies?
After 30 years of working with our individual neighbors all
across the country, we have found it boils down to this: the comforts of urban living have overtaken the urgency to develop
survival skills.
And there’s a secondary reason, too. While people understand
that working together will give them an advantage in an emergency, our
increasingly diverse and ever-more-mobile society makes working together
harder.
So while people will always agree that they SHOULD be
preparing, and that working together will give them an advantage, most lack the
necessary leadership skills or they just
aren’t willing to make the effort.
CERT Volunteers do their best to engage neighbors – but . . .
CERT training
attracts a special breed of people, people who recognize risk and are eager to
take action to reduce it for their families. When they have completed the CERT
training they have a unique understanding of how their community and in
particular how their First Responders work in a disaster. They also have skills
to help save lives on the ground until those First Responders arrive.
But CERT training does not include a module on “community organizing.” Without the aptitude for sales or sales training — and lacking backing and financial support – individual CERT volunteers who want to build neighborhood groups around themselves inevitably run into a wall.
Businesses have preparedness advantages that individuals don’t.
Are you familiar with the statistics for business survival
after a disaster?
FEMA reports that up to 40% of businesses never reopen after a disaster, and those that stay closed for more than 5 days are unlikely to last more than a year.
With a solid emergency preparedness or Business Contingency Plan, chances improve dramatically for a business to make it through or re-open more quickly.
But small businesses, like individual families, still lag behind in planning. They may not recognize the powerful advantages they already have for effective preparedness:
A business is already an existing group. Its members are typically in close physical contact. They know each other. They are used to working together as a team to meet a common objective.
Businesses have a built-in network of resources to call upon for help in planning for emergency. Those resources include other neighboring businesses, partners like suppliers, city governments, utilities, and professional advisers like accountants, attorneys, insurance agents, etc. And CERT training is available to business usually at no cost.
Every business has a duty to protect lives, and everyone in the business has an incentive to protect their livelihood! Even if the doors of the business are closed, the business has to make sure regulatory and legal commitments are met. A proper plan can assure this continuity, keep employees paid and deflect legal assaults.
The owner or employer sets the tone and can require and ensure that the business develop a preparedness culture.
Where the business’s plan includes well-thought-out emergency communications with employee families, it reduces employee anxiety and gives employees an incentive to stay or at least return to work during the critical minutes and hours immediately following an event.
And the prepared business actually adds a bonus for the whole community. Employees will take knowledge and training home and spread it within their local neighborhood.
Businesses start ahead of the game. All they have to do is get into it!
Logically businesses might first turn to their
existing team of professional advisers for help in putting together a plan. These
are the accountants, attorneys, bankers and insurance brokers who currently
advise them on their business issues. Each has valuable expertise.
But these professionals may not see themselves
having a role in emergency preparedness. So without that guidance, how
can businesses turn the corner on preparedness?
Businesses can use CERT to jumpstart preparedness training at their location.
Once the business has been exposed to CERT, building a more comprehensive Business Contingency Plan will be a natural. And once employees have been exposed to CERT, they will automatically take new awareness and skills home with them right into their neighborhoods!
Spreading CERT from the business into the community at large isn’t a guaranteed or proven answer to more community resilience. But, given the uneven track record that many communities experience in trying to organize neighborhoods, this would certainly seem to be an approach worth testing.
Let us know what you think!
Here at EmergencyPlanGuide.org we’ve been committed for years to preparedness at the community level. To help businesses get started, we have published a simple guide to preparedness for small businesses. We are making it available to professional business advisers, too, along with reference materials and more resources from that particular service perspective.
Do your neighborhood group meetings feel like this???
If you are what we could call a “solo preparedness devotee” (or perhaps “voice in the wilderness?”) you know it’s hard to stay inspired and to maintain any momentum in learning new stuff, keeping your supplies up to date, etc.
And if you are involved with a group of neighbors or even trained citizens, you experience the same problem — only worse!
How to keep people interested and inspire readiness?
A close call works.
For example, a 4.5 earthquake works well here in California. News of disasters in other parts of the country or even the world also catches people’s notice and can inspire readiness. Even an announcement about a change in course of FEMA can be useful.
But close calls usually indicate that someone is suffering, so we certainly don’t like waiting for them or depending on them . . .
For a group, we look to regular meetings for inspiration and engagement.
So then the question: What should be on our meeting agenda this month?
I’ve been organizing or helping organize our neighborhood emergency response group meetings for about 16 years now. Even if we figure only 4 meetings a year during that time, that adds up to A WHOLE LOT OF MEETING AGENDAS! Every meeting is an effort — and a challenge! – to inspire readiness through training, door-prizes, entertainment, examples, stories . . . whatever works.
Fortunately, other groups share their meeting agendas with me.
If you’ve been sticking around here at Emergency Plan Guide for a few years, you’ve read about a number of meetings – and not just ours, but also meetings I’ve heard about from other CERT or neighborhood groups. For example, just this week I got these three reports that have already helped suggest meeting topics here in my neighborhood:
A friend in a Northern California coastal town reported that she is putting on an earthquake tabletop exercise for a neighboring town. Both those towns are in the way of tsunamis if/when there’s a big Pacific Rim earthquake. Here in Southern California a tsunami is less likely, but an earthquake? You bet.
Another leader in a different Northern California city wrote to tell me that her neighborhood group had planned and executed a Fire Prevention Clean-up Day – removing Juniper trees (very flammable), trash, leaves, fallen branches, etc. from around the homes in their mobile home park. Hearing about this group’s enthusiasm was certainly inspiring to me! We’re working on a similar project right now! (Watch for more.)
Still another formal CERT group got this media mention yesterday: Lafayette, CA: The Lamorinda Residents Guide to Wildfire Preparedness & Evacuation. a joint effort that included the Lamorinda Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) was mailed to more than 62,000 residents in critical wildland fire hazard areas of the East Bay (CA).
Emergency Plan Guide tries to share as many good ideas as possible!
In the past I have put out many individual Advisories about successful meetings we’ve held. And I’ve also published two downloadable books with meeting planning ideas, with about 75 plans for easily-repeatable neighborhood meetings.
Note – these aren’t official CERT trainings. Rather, they are ideas stressing readiness that can be used with “ordinary” groups of neighbors, some of whom have had CERT training but most of whom have not.
I am in the midst of updating them with more meeting agendas and will soon be republishing them in a new format.
And this brings me to a request.
What can YOU add to our list of meeting resources that will help other neighborhood groups inspire readiness within their own ranks?
Have you held meetings that have been particularly interesting, fun or productive? And that lend themselves to being copied? If so, could you please send a description so I can include it in the next version of the book?
I’m thinking that together, we can produce something like “Chicken Soup for Great Emergency Preparedness Teams!”
Here are some simple questions that might work for telling your Great Meeting story:
What was the title/theme of the meeting and what was your
objective?
How did the meeting unfold? Any surprises? Any laughs? Any hiccups?
What was particularly inspiring or engaging?
Did
you need props, handouts, show-n-tell items, other materials?
Please send a story! If you want to remain anonymous, or your group wants to remain anonymous, just say so/ But let us know what sort of neighborhood you’re in, to help readers adapt your great meeting to their neighborhood.
Sharing strengthens volunteer groups and thus whole neighborhoods!
As you know, FEMA’s most recent push has been for Community Resilience – as opposed, I guess, to national response capability. I’ve been working at the community level for years, and I think most of you have been, too. Sharing ideas to help organize communities and inspire readiness among their residents is what we’re about.
In case you’ve missed them, here are a couple of Advisories from the past about meetings that worked to inspire readiness. At least, I have received repeated assurances that they made a difference!
Last weekend I got a text message from my daughter. She had been online and had found one of the personal information databases that had my name in it.
There are a couple dozen popular sites like the one she checked. They all offer background and personal information about anyone, usually including phone number, address (and past addresses), email address, relatives, pictures, social connections, court records, etc. While you usually can get one or two pieces of information just by typing in someone’s name, for a fee you can get all the records.
Well, my daughter got my whole record and sent it to me. IT WAS SO, SO INACCURATE! Wrong birth date. Unknown foreign “friends.” Places I’d never been to! When I got to the (false) court records I shut the phone in horror!
(Now my daughter being who she is, she sent me specific instructions of how to cancel the account, which I was able to do within 24 hours. At no charge.)
Still, it was a shock. While I spend a lot of time online, I
simply don’t use personal information databases and have never looked myself
up.
But since we talk about cyber-security a lot here at Emergency Plan Guide, it seemed important to share more about it today. These personal information databases are legal. They have found information about you without breaking any laws. There have been no “leaks.”
But your privacy is certainly threatened by them.
The Big-Daddy Personal Information Databases in all our lives – the Credit Bureaus
Most
everyone is familiar with the credit bureaus that track 9 of every 10 adult
Americans: Experian, Transunion and Equifax. A fourth seems to have been added
to this list: Innovis.
While we
often speak of “your credit rating,” or your “credit score,” you really have
one from each company.
But each credit report will be different. Why?
All four
companies track money that you owe: mortgages, bank loans, car loans, student
loans, and credit card debt. Credit bureaus also get information from public
records, like property tax rolls or court records.
But
businesses are not required to report the loans they make to you, so many
businesses report to only one or two of the credit bureaus. That explains the
variations in the reports
Action item: Check your credit reports.
If you haven’t checked your credit scores lately, you may want to. According to the Federal Trade Commission “You’re entitled to one free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. Order online from annualcreditreport.com, the only authorized website for free credit reports, or call 1-877-322-8228. You will need to provide your name, address, social security number, and date of birth to verify your identity.”
According to the Innovis website, they offer a free credit report, too.
I have checked my own records in the past. Every time I found errors. Once it was
a misspelling that dropped someone else’s debt into my file. If you see debts
you don’t recognize, or other strange information, you can work with the credit
bureaus to get your report cleaned up.
The “people-finder” sites track even more personal information.
Wikipedia says there are close to 4,000 “information brokerages.” This probably includes the credit bureaus. All of these companies are for-profit organizations that make money by charging for certain services and by selling your personal information to marketers – and to each other.
The people-finder sites are giant personal information databases. They start with names and aliases. They list addresses where you have lived and currently live. Some have reverse directories – enter an email and they’ll give you a phone number to go with it, or enter a phone number and you’ll get an address.
That is just the start. You may find lists of your
children. Other relatives and ex-relatives. Lists of friends. Where you’ve
traveled. Property you own. If you’ve been in trouble with the law or owe
taxes. If you are a sex offender. Have declared bankruptcy. You may find photos
of yourself!
How much of this information do you want to be
available to anyone willing to shell out a few dollars? What if there are
errors in the data? How can you protect your privacy?
When I found out about being on one of these sites, I
immediately jumped into action to find out more.
How the people-finder information databases work:
You usually can’t get a complete look at your people-finder record — or the record of someone else — without paying at least $1 for a “trial.” If you sign up for a trial, read the fine print. Trials typically turn into a “regular monthly subscription” unless you cancel within the specified time, which may be just a few days.
If you want to update or clean up your record at the people-finder site, you will run into challenges. They get your information by scraping the web – that is, by finding publicly available info. Obviously, you can’t “change” public information, although you can delete some of it. (Looks as though you can’t delete court records that aren’t officially expunged.)
Once the site is updated, you will be offered the option to subscribe for a monthly fee to monitor your account to keep it clean and also to be able to search for other people. Subscription prices seem to vary starting at as little as $5/month (for a multiple-month contract) but most are more in the $20-30/month range, with an extra fee for what has been termed the “juicy stuff” – criminal records, tax records.
Like me, you may want to close the account and remove all the information. Every site’s requirements for opting-out of the site are different – but from what I am reading, it is possible but your patience will be tried. You should not have to pay anything to get off the site but you may have to jump through hoops.
Even after you are successful at having the account closed, it may reappear again in the future when they “find” new information . . .
Here are some of the sites I came across in my research.
I used an old email to check on a couple of them and found myself in every one I looked at. My photo was there, too! I am not recommending any of these sites — they are just to help you get started on your own research!
Peoplefinder
Beenverified
Mylife
Instant CheckMate
Spokeo
Anywho
Truthfinder
Whitepages
People
Peoplesmart
Intelius
US Search
Radaris
SeekVerify
Pipl
Can you remove yourself from these online databases?
How to get off the
credit bureaus. The only way to get off them entirely is to become one of
the 26 million or so people in the U.S. that have no debt profile. That means
they have no credit cards. No mortgage. No car payment.
Most of us couldn’t function without at least some of these.
So the best thing to do is to be sure your credit report is at least accurate.
How to get yourself off the people-finders. It looks to me as though getting totally off is impossible. You would need to have no online banking accounts. No social media accounts. No websites. You’d have to avoid using public wi-fi, and if you went
online, use a Do Not Track browser. (Apparently Google does have a Removal Tool
but it sounds as though they make it tough to use.)
Best thing to do here? Go to as many of the people-finder sites you can and ask that your information be deleted. Go there regularly. This is a lot of work.
Hire a “reputation manager” to help? You can hire a “reputation manager” company that will search out negative info on your behalf, then remove or suppress it. Some of these companies specialize in business reputation management, others work for individuals. Fees for their services depend on the complexity of your situation, but customized plans seem to start at around $400 – 500/month.
“Privacy is dead. Get over it.”
You have probably heard this quote. It is attributed to the co-founder and CEO of Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy – and he said it way back in 1999!
Obviously, the more we rely on digital communications to run our lives – essentially everything on the Internet of Things — the less privacy we will be able to maintain. Is there an answer – or is the genie out of the bottle, never to be returned? I’m afraid the genie is dancing in triumph right now!
But in being conscious of what data you’re making available by participating in the digital society, you can at least be better prepared for what might come!
Virginia You Emergency Plan Guide team
P.S. I am not an expert in this topic. If it interests you, YOU need to become your own expert. If you already have stories to tell, please share them with us by leaving a comment below!
After last week’s Advisory about spring cleaning, with the comments on updating insurance, I felt obliged to take action and create an inventory of our stuff, once and for all. First, I looked for some advice about how to begin. Here’s what I have discovered so far about inventories.
What goes into an inventory?
I started by looking at several paper inventory sheets that are meant to be filled out by hand or, in some cases, by computer. Here are examples.
What layout do I prefer?
What you see immediately is that there is no one format that works for every home or every business.
Determine what information to include.
What I did find, though, is that if you are doing an insurance inventory you want to include at least these items, in whatever format you prefer:
Date of the inventory
Item type
Item description (manufacturer, brand)
Where item is located now
Cost when originally purchased
If you are doing a business insurance inventory, you will want to include this information also:
Make/model
Serial number
Warranty
Current value
Organize by category or location?
Some people lump all similar items together in categories– for example, they’ll do a list
of electronics, one for books, one for appliances, one for musical instruments,
etc.
Others organize the inventory by location – everything in the living room, office, kitchen, etc.
However you do it, don’t forget things you own that are not
inside the home! For example, do you have items in a bank safety deposit box? A
storage unit? Digital items stored only in the cloud? What about patio
furniture, tools in the garage, etc.?
Just this far in, and the thought of writing it all down seems overwhelming.
So I looked into other options.
Video-tape an insurance inventory!
This makes sense. Go through the house or office, starting outside the entrance and going through every room, carefully filming everything and commenting on the tape as you go.
Depending on how much stuff you have, you may need or want
to supplement video with still shots.
Here’s some thinking I did for two sample categories in my house.
Office inventory
In our office, I will start by panning around to show furniture, certificates on the wall, book cases, file cabinets and the supplies closet.
Then I’ll stop the filming to prepare the desks and supply
cabinet for the REAL inventory – opening drawers and boxes so supplies and files
are visible, and then taping the whole area again.
Our network setup (routers, modem, controller) is worth
another whole series of shots with commentary. Same with phones, computers, monitors and
printers.
Special collections
You can guess that we have a lot of emergency supplies and equipment. Some of this will show up in the office, but most is stored on shelves in the laundry room and two different closets! I’ll have to go through these to film emergency radios, HAM radios, emergency lanterns, batteries and more batteries. We also have survival kits, CERT helmets and miscellaneous camping gear. Lots of stuff for the insurance inventory!
Note about collections. This I already knew! If you have valuable collections (art, jewelry, collectibles) you may want to get them appraised and add a rider to your policy to be sure they are adequately covered. Most regular homeowner policies have a surprisingly low limit on specialty items. There’s also a limit on coverage for home business equipment that may not be enough for you.
You get the idea!
In an emergency, if the house were flooded, tumbled by an earthquake or simply trashed by intruders, just these two categories alone – office and emergency — would be almost impossible for us to reconstruct without help from pictures!
Moreover, without some picture proof, we would be unable to put together a decent and fair insurance claim. And guess what – You may be asked for a list of what is missing within the first 24 hours of the incident!
Can I make an inventory using my phone?
If you are like me, you turn to your cellphone for a lot these days. Can you use your phone to create the insurance inventory video?
Take photos.
There are apps (iOS, Android or both) designed specifically for inventories using photos. Take a picture, then label (tag) and put into a folder and file. You can add just about as much info as you want; the app may even calculate the total value of the items in the inventory! Some apps allow you to transfer your inventory data to a spreadsheet or pdf. And at least one app creates QR labels so you can stick them to moving boxes!
As you can imagine, many of the
inventory apps are free; the ones with the most options have a monthly or
annual fee.
Make a video.
Since I am not an accomplished thumb typist, I looked at option 2 –narrating a video of my stuff.
Depending on the phone, the video will be limited by . . .
how much total storage the device has
how much data is already on the phone (programs, photos, etc.)
what resolution video you’re shooting. (Higher resolution takes up more space.)
Use a camcorder.
Personally, if it comes to taking pictures, I think I would opt for using a camcorder. I have an old camcorder and it fits a lot better in my hand. I can see just what I am filming. It also has a better microphone.
It used to be that camcorders were considered “expensive.” Take a look at these models – way less than half as much as a new smart phone! (Of course you can spend thousands of dollars on high-quality cameras for film making. We’re talking here about easy-to-use models perfect for everyday – and for inventories.)
The first one is very small, very compact, fitting right into your pocket. It offers zoom and wide angle. You can choose resolution: higher resolution uses up your battery faster. You can connect the camcorder to the TV and show your videos, or send to your computer. Click on the image or the link to get to Amazon for full details and prices. Obligatory disclaimer — we are Amazon Associates.
Right in the middle of my research for this Sony camcorder at Amazon, I also got an ad from a big box store for the exact same item. There was a price difference of $40! (Amazon was the better deal; well under $200.) It pays to shop!
Here’s a second example, with more zoom power, a two-channel microphone and what I would call movie effects. Probably more fun for family and sports videos! Again, under $200 at Amazon.
Your inventory is useless if it is washed away in the flood, burned up in the fire, or stolen along with the collectibles. Be sure to keep extra copies off premises (with a family member?), in a fireproof safe and/or saved online in the cloud.
Now I have to admit that I haven’t actually STARTED on my inventory yet. But now I know what the next steps will be. How far along on an inventory are you???
If you are a dedicated spring cleaner, you’ve already taken care of the windows. You may have done some spring cleaning in closets or in the garage, too. And when the time changed a few weeks ago, you undoubtedly checked the batteries in the smoke alarms. (You did, didn’t you?)
With summer coming up quickly, it will be easy to get caught up in end-of-school parties, vacation plans, etc. In the midst of that, your spring cleaning may get interrupted, along with some of your good preparedness habits.
Here are a few quick reminders for your family and your neighborhood team. Click on the images to get more details on these items from Amazon.
Walkie-talkie spring cleaning.
Yesterday we picked up my daughter at the airport. While Joe circled, I hopped out with a walkie-talkie so we could keep in touch. This is one of the most convenient uses for these hand-held radios! No dialing, no busy signals, no dropping of the signal. Just push to talk: “OK, I see her! “OK, we’re at gate 3, right at the crosswalk.”
But the walkie-talkies have to have good batteries! Actually, we have added walkie-talkie battery replacement to our twice-a-year Daylight Savings Time checklist.
Last week we also added 10 more walkie-talkies to our supply for our neighborhood group Block Captains. The Uniden model continues to be our favorite, and prices haven’t gone up much at all. Here’s the model we buy – less than $25 for a set of 2:
If you are building your emergency team, or are planning family outings that will involve keeping track of each other in crowds (like a theme park) or in the woods, consider Walkie-talkies for your own family use. For short-distance communications they really can’t be beat.
Spruce up safety clothing.
Some clothing items seem to find their way into dark corners
and onto the floor of the trunk of the car. I’m referring to sweatshirts,
gloves, hats, etc.
With summer coming, it’s time to clean out and be ready for warmer weather. But don’t forget the safety gear that you KEEP in the car.
For example, we have found that having colored shirts and/or
reflective vests are smart additions to our usual car survival kits.
Heading for Disneyland? If everyone in the family — Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Kid 1, Kid 2, Kid 3, etc.! — is wearing the same bright-colored T-shirt you will be a lot easier to spot!
Being on the street in the dark next to a disabled car is terribly dangerous! A reflective vest becomes an important safety item on the street and a reassurance in a campground at night.
Last week when we put in our order for more walkie-talkies for our team we also bought 10 more reflective vests for our neighborhood group Block Captains. They are amazingly modest in price! (It’s not like we are wearing these every day, so they don’t need to be top of the line.) I chose these because they have pockets, and the package came with an extra vest in child-size!
Click on the link below the imageto get full details.
How many flashlights and emergency radios do you actually
have, when you add up all the ones in the cars and in the house?
Guess what, they probably all use batteries! And have you noticed
the rule that says batteries will whimper and die just when you really need
them?
So, the competent Prepper adds a flashlight check and battery replacement exercise to the spring cleaning list.
Over the years we have tested and tested different
batteries. The best ones one year seem to lose place to another manufacturer
the next year. So we simple buy batteries on a regular basis.
Again, you probably need different sizes. Here’s a convenient pack with the AA and AAA sizes most common for our flashlights and walkie-talkies. Click on the image for exact pricing.
You may want to separate batteries and put a set of extra ones – of the right size – in a plastic baggy that you store alongside the item they belong with. When the power is out you can’t be searching through your battery box . . .!
Here’s an image of one of our flashlights. Note the green batteries in the holder which will be replaced with the gold ones stored in the bag.
Always replace all batteries when you replace one.
Car survival kit spring cleaning.
We’ve spent time before on everything to consider for the survival
kits you carry in your car.
For spring cleaning, it may be enough to simply refresh.
Go through your first aid kits and replace old bandages, anything that has cracked or gotten wet. Recycle old medicines and put in new ones. Add anything you’ll need for summer, including sunscreen and dark glasses.
Replace all your snack food with new packages. Canned stuff may last a while longer, but why not eat it up now and put new things in its place?
Remove kids’ items that they have outgrown, and replace with more appropriate things – we’re talking games, toys, etc.
Consider adding a new battery-chargerfor your devices. As we’ve written before, the “power packs” store enough to charge your phone more than once. (Scroll to the P.S. in that Advisory for an example of a popular power pack.) And solar-powered chargersare now ubiquitous. Both make good gifts, too.
Communications update.
Do all family members have updated phone numbers? Do all response team members have updated phone numbers for their neighbors? Now’s a good time to refresh this info.
And test family members’ memory. Can they recite the phone number of your out-of-town contact? (Make it a contest as you are driving to that vacation spot. . .)
Insurance review.
We see so many ads on TV about saving money by switching
auto insurance. Maybe you have switched, and actually saved money!
When it comes to other insurances, it’s important to shop
and compare, too. Given the past couple of years’ dramatic storms, fires and
floods, you may discover that the coverage you thought you had has changed, or
is going up in cost. Or maybe you thought you were covered and you haven’t been
covered at all! Or you are now required to have coverage that you didn’t have
to have when you bought your house years ago!
Check out these Advisories for important questions to have ready when you talk with your insurance agent.
