For Your Health
If you need medical assistance during a disaster, paramedics and other professional responders may not be immediately available, and hospitals and clinics may not be accessible. That's why it's important to keep medical records, supplies and prescriptions easily accessible and to learn simple first aid techniques. Creating a “stay healthy” kit will help you to manage minor medical needs until help arrives. Your kit should include:
- A list of prescription medications, medical conditions, and copies of medical insurance documentation;
- First aid supplies , such as bandages, aspirin, and antiseptic cream; and
- A week's supply of medicines in a plastic bag labeled with each family member's name.
If your medicine requires refrigeration and the power goes out, most medicines can be kept in a closed refrigerator for several hours and still be safe to use. Be sure to contact your doctor or pharmacist if you have questions about your medication.
As with other hazards, there are specific steps that you can take before and during an influenza pandemic to protect yourself and your loved ones. For example, simple preventive measures , such as using alcohol-based hand sanitizer, can help protect you from germs and prevent you from spreading them to others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Georgia's PrepareAthon!
While tornadoes may be more frequent during the spring and summer months, these severe storms can also occur in the fall and winter. In recent years, out of season tornadoes hit a number of communities in the south and Midwest. Last week the Georgia Emergency Management Agency's Ready Georgia campaign held its first statewide PrepareAthon! for Tornado Safety. This event included a drill to practice the actions students, teachers, and staff members should take if a tornado strikes during school hours.
With the resources available on the America's PrepareAthon! website, you too can organize an event to help your community prepare for tornadoes and a wide variety of other hazards. Other resources on the website include useful information about specific hazards and offer tips for how you can protect your loved ones during disasters. Many America's PrepareAthon! resources are now available in Chinese, Spanish, French, Tagalog, Arabic, and Japanese .
In fall 2014, more than 20 million people committed to practicing for disasters as part of America's PrepareAthon! You can join the millions who will participate in 2015 by registering for America's PrepareAthon! today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pet Care During Disasters
Disasters impact everyone, including pets and service animals. There are several things you can do to help pets and service animals during a wide variety of incidents. For example, you can create a pet supply kit or develop a pet care buddy system. Other ways that you can prepare your pet or service animal for disaster are:
- Take a current photo of your pet for identification purposes;
- Have a secure pet carrier, leash or harness so your pet can't escape if panicked; and
- Make sure identification tags are up-to-date and securely fastened to your pet's collar.
If you evacuate your home, don't leave pets behind! You may not be able to find them when you return and they are unlikely to survive on their own.
Need to find a shelter? Be sure to plan in advance for shelter alternatives as some emergency shelters cannot accept animals. Find out which hotels allow pets in the area to which you plan to evacuate. You can also contact family or friends outside of your area who may be willing to host your pet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Countdown to Citizen Corps and CERT Information Deadline
With the end of the year approaching, we are asking that all local Citizen Corps Councils and CERT Programs update their information in the registration system by no later than November 28 . Citizen Corps and CERT information collected by this deadline will be included in the 2015 National Preparedness Report.
Updating your online profiles provides us with information that we can use to justify continued Federal support for the Citizen Corps and CERT programs, including:
- The website and all of its free downloadable resources and an online searchable directory of programs;
- Free printed materials for registered programs through the FEMA Warehouse;
- Technical assistance and support through the Citizen Corps and CERT inboxes;
- Recognition programs like the Individual and Community Preparedness Awards;
- Outreach and education efforts, including regular e-briefs and webinars; and
- The development of new content and updates to existing content, including the CERT curriculum and supporting materials.
While we encourage you to update any new information in your online profiles, we are particularly interested in updates to the following for 2014:
- Numbers of individuals trained;
- Number of trainings conducted;
- Number of volunteers and volunteer hours;
- Council membership;
- Number of exercises; and
- Funding sources.
We hope that you will take the time to update your profiles, so that all of the great work you've done will be accounted for in the National Preparedness Report and elsewhere! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at citizencorps@fema.dhs.gov or at cert@fema.dhs.gov . Thank you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dates for Your Calendar!
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