Get Ready Teachers

Class is in session, the day is moving forward uneventfully…then disaster strikes! Students are screaming, alarms are ringing and it seems as if you’re surrounded by circumstances totally out of your control. But wait a minute…take stock of the situation and act intelligently and decisively. Here are some important guidelines:

• In the event of an earthquake, teachers should give “drop, cover and hold” instructions.
• Evacuate the building in case of fire or immediately after an earthquake has occurred.
• Hold students in an assigned yard area, take a roll call and wait for further instructions. Report if anyone is missing.
• If telephones are working, call 9-1-1 for emergency assistance.
• Set up and coordinate your first aid center
• In the event of a random shooting, try to lead students to the nearest exit. If that is not possible, lock your classroom door and tell students to duck down under their desks and remain quiet.
• Once the disaster is over, dismiss students to go home only with a parent or other authorized adult.
• Do not re-enter any of the school buildings until the area is pronounced safe.

ASPCA Has Pet Safety Pack

For those of you who are excited about the groundbreaking of the east side dog park in El Dorado Regional Park, it is important to remember that we need to get prepared in the event of the next earthquake

ASPCA has a Pet Safety Pack (https://www.aspca.org/form/free-pet-safety-pack?ms=wb_rig_petcaresection-generalsmall-201307&initialms=wb_rig_petcaresection-generalsmall-201307) that you should go on line and get. It includes stickers for your window to let first responders know there is a pet inside your home. The safety pack also includes an ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center magnet.

ASPCA has a number of great suggestions of how to get prepared. Check out their special website on this issue: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/disaster-preparedness

The Red Cross also has a printable check list for pet owners. Check here for the list: http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/pet-safety

FEMA has produced an excellent brochure that you can download by clicking: http://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/pets_brochure.pdf

Get prepared Long Beach!

Get Ready Business

English: Pass Christian, Miss., April 6, 2006 - Disaster preparedness publications in several languages are available through the FEMA Mitigation Division to show Gulf Coast residents how to minimize damage from hurricanes and other disasters. FEMA Mitigation reaches out to all population groups to encourage pre-disaster planning. George Armstrong/FEMA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Preparedness Planning for Your Business

Businesses can do much to prepare for the impact of the many hazards they face in today’s world including natural hazards like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and widespread serious illness such as the H1N1 flu viruspandemic. Human-caused hazards include accidents, acts of violence by people and acts of terrorism. Examples of technology-related hazards are the failure or malfunction of systems, equipment or software.

Ready Business will assist businesses in developing a preparedness program by providing tools to create a plan that addresses the impact of many hazards. This website and its tools utilize an “all hazards approach” and follows the program elements within National Fire Protection Association 1600, Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs. NFPA 1600 is an American National Standard and has been adopted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The five steps in developing a preparedness program are:

• Program Management
  • Organize, develop and administer your preparedness program
  • Identify regulations that establish minimum requirements for your program
• Planning
  • Gather information about hazards and assess risks
  • Conduct a business impact analysis (BIA)
  • Examine ways to prevent hazards and reduce risks
• Implementation
  Write a preparedness plan addressing:
  • Resource management
  • Emergency response
  • Crisis communications
  • Business continuity
  • Information technology
  • Employee assistance
  • Incident management
  • Training
• Testing and Exercises
  • Test and evaluate your plan
  • Define different types of exercises
  • Learn how to conduct exercises
  • Use exercise results to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan
• Program Improvement
  • Identify when the preparedness program needs to be reviewed
  • Discover methods to evaluate the preparedness program
  • Utilize the review to make necessary changes and plan improvements

Related articles

• Discover Your Disaster Recovery Preparedness (windowsitpro.com)
• SBA Free Webinar: How to Get Started on Business Continuity Plan (hispanicbusiness.com)

Smartphone App | FEMA.gov

The White House just sent information on a new app for smartphones from FEMA. Check it out.



Smartphone App | FEMA.gov

Pledge to Prepare

20120325-A-CY398-006 (Photo credit: 29th CAB - Public Affairs)

Interested in preparedness throughout the year? If so, continue here to Pledge to Prepare.  By Pledging you will become part of the National Preparedness Coalition.  There is no cost or obligation in doing so.  As a Coalition Member, you will have access to exclusive resources and be able to collaborate with thousands of fellow members across the country on ways to participate and get your community involved. 


http://community.fema.gov/connect.ti/system/register?nextURL=%2Fconnect.ti%2FREADYNPM%2FrequestJoinGroup%3FSHOWREG%3D%26amp%3BCONFIRM%3DN%26amp%3BDONEM

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• Emergency Planning for Vacation

If a disaster strikes...how to evacuate

It’s smart to think before you act. For something as traumatic as an evacuation, preparing ahead of time can lessen your stress level and improve your state of mind. Determine your most valuable belongings, pack them up and put them by the door or in the car. Take your important insurance, medical and financial documents with you. Fill up your escape vehicle with gas. Turn off gas and water supplies at main switches and valves. Secure all loose yard items such as lawn furniture, barbecue grills, trash cans and planter boxes. Move more valuable items to inner rooms or, in the case of a flood, upper floors. If a hurricane is approaching, you may want to board up the windows of your home with plywood. Have a clear evacuation route in mind before you leave. Notify your neighbors when you are leaving and where you plan to go. If you do not have a vehicle, arrange a ride with a neighbor or call your local City Emergency phone number.

Okay, time to grab your kids, your pets and your most valuable items. If you’ve planned properly, the actual evacuation process should proceed with in an orderly fashion. Here’s what you should do: Turn off your lights and unplug any unnecessary appliances. Load up your car and get all of your family members into the vehicle as well. Remember to put your disaster supply kit in the car. Close and lock all windows and doors of your residence. Check to make sure that you have a good, up-to-date road map. Don’t forget your cell phones, which should be fully charged. Take your checkbook, credit cards and cash with you. Be sure that you have flashlights with extra batteries. Drive away from your home at a safe speed.

For many people, an office building is like a home away from home. We spend a good portion of our waking hours at work. So it’s possible that, at some point, you may get trapped in a building during a fire, an earthquake or some other disaster. Once again, the best evacuations are those done calmly and orderly. Here’s some advice that could save your life when fleeing a building. Go to the nearest fire escape exit when you hear a fire alarm or see a fire. If you need to descend from a higher floor, always take the stairs… never use the elevator. Alert others to the possible danger as you exit the building. Offer assistance to others if it does not threaten your own life. If possible, as you exit avoid areas in the building that might contain chemicals or other flammables. If it is a fire situation, close doors and windows behind you as you leave, as this can slow the spread of fire and smoke. Follow any designated evacuation signs posted in the building. Once you get outside, go immediately to an area that is safely away from the disaster site. When you are safely outside, make a mental note of any people that seem to be missing and notify emergency personnel at the site.

Related articles

• Survivor Skills: How To Be Ready When Disaster Strikes

New research challenges assumptions that the central part of the San Andreas fault would act as a barrier, preventing a big quake from traveling between the northern and southern parts of the state.

A recent article points to possibility that California could be hit by a statewide earthquake. The San Andreas fault was once thought to be a barrier that would prevent a statewide quake from happening, but now researchers say that assumption may be wrong.

The article appeared in the COPE newsletter (http://cope-preparedness.org/archives/2416). COPE stands for Community Outreach Promoting Emergency Preparedness.

The major earthquakes in Japan pointed researchers to the fact that "Using a combination of laboratory measurements and computer simulations, the two scientists showed how so-called creeping segments in a fault — long thought to be benign because they slip slowly and steadily along as tectonic plates shift — might behave like locked segments, which build up stress over time and then rupture.?

Are you ready?