Disaster Preparation in the Classroom

FEMA has made it easy for teachers to add an active discussion on disaster preparedness to their curriculum with the Student Tools for Emergency Planning (STEP) program. Obviously, after April 27 and yesterday, we all need to be prepared.

Administrators, here's a resource for you from the Department of Education, Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance (REMS TA) Center.

More Tornadoes (January 23, 2012)

Central Alabama, along with other parts of the south, endured more tornadoes early this morning. Once again, here are resources for recovery and about the event:

• Christian Service Mission's Facebook page
• Alabama EMA press release
• Alabama Red Cross
• FEMA
• Event Summary for Central Alabama National Weather Service, Birmingham office

I'll try to update the list as information becomes available. 

Virginia Earthquake

While I'm certain yesterday's earthquake had nothing to do with our Internet outage this morning, it did cause a lot of excitement. Here are some resources about the earthquake along with a way for you to let USGS know if you felt the quake:

• Magnitude 5.8 - VIRGINIA
• What to Do After an Earthquake
• Did You Feel It? — Tell Us !
• Earthquake in Washington, D.C.

Here are some interesting earthquake facts:

• US Earthquake Information by State 
• FAQs - Earthquake Myths 

Are You Ready?

Many parts of our country have already experienced a natural disaster this year and residents from Texas are getting ready for Don. We're only halfway thru 2011 and some of us are already thinking about fall tornadoes in the south. If you are not prepared for a disaster, then consult the FEMA guide, Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness that will help you and your loved ones to be prepared.

Alabama Tornadoes: Resources, Facts & Donation Information for April 27, 2011 event

For resources (help or assistance):

• State of Alabama Emergency Management Agency
• FEMA or Alabama Disaster site
• American Red Cross - Get Assistance
• USDA Offers Food Safety Tips In Aftermath of Devastating Storms
• What to do after a tornado
• Tree trimming tips
• Floods & Tornadoes: keeping disaster site workers safe during cleanup & recovery operations
• US Dept. of Labor provides grants to help Alabama residents recover from storms 
• Rebuilding after a natural disaster  

Victims have been asked to forward their mail to a new address in order to avoid identity fraud. Keep in mind that there's only one official site that offers free credit reports.

For facts (which are ongoing):

• National Weather Service
• Tornado Tracks in Mississippi and Alabama 
• State of the Climate: Tornadoes April 2011
• Unique Space Image of Alabama Tornado Tracks
• Satellite and Radar Data Reveal Damage Track of Alabama Tornadic Thunderstorms

Give:

• Christian Service Mission or use the Amazon Wish List 
• Red Cross Donations 

Tornado

Oddly appropriate for us in Alabama today, this Are You Ready guide from FEMA focuses on tornadoes.

Documents of the Month: Hurricane Katrina, 5 Years Later

This month, we'll take a look at our Katrina documents.

•  Historic Preservation Response Methodology: Based on the Hurricane Katrina Model
• Hurricane Katrina: Five Years of Remembering & Rebuilding (White House)
• Rebuilding Lives Revitalizing Communities (FEMA)
• Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: 5 Years Later (FEMA)
• Hurricane Katrina: A NASA Satellite Video Retrospective (NASA)
• Hurricane Katrina...A Look Back 5 Years Later (NWS - New Orleans/Baton Rouge)
• Hurricane Katrina - Most Destructive Hurricane Ever to Strike the U.S. (NOAA)
• A Performance Review of FEMA's Disaster Management Activities in REsponse to Hurricane Katrina
• The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned
• A Failure of Initiative
• Declarations of National Emergency in Response to Hurricane Katrina
• Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared

Safety and Preparedness

NTSB RELEASES 2009 AVIATION ACCIDENT STATISTICS; ON-DEMAND ACCIDENTS AT LOWEST LEVEL IN LAST 20 YEARS

Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities in the Coal Mining Industry Coal Mining Fact Sheet April 2010

Are You Ready? Tornadoes

Tornado Season / Gift Cards / Health Reform & You

Do you have your safe place ready for tornado season? For us in the south, the season is upon us. I keep our bicycle helmets in our safe room at home. I also move heavy items from their normal spots on the higher shelves. It's easier at work, I just head down to the lower level of library. Be prepared!

I used a Christmas gift card last week. I held my breath while the cashier swiped the card because it might have expired while I was saving it for a special reason. Now, I won't have to worry about new gift cards because the Federal Reserve announced rules to restrict fees and expiration dates. 

How will the new health reform legislation effect you? The White House has a section, What will the President's proposal mean for you? on their health reform website and a March 23 blog post, What's in the Health Care Bill? Of course, these aren't the only ways for you to learn more. The Samford community may wish to search for newspaper articles on this topic using our newspaper databases.

Federal Natural Disasters & Re-election Years

I admit that I was busy and only heard a portion of the Fast Draw section from this past CBS Sunday Morning episode but, the words FEMA and re-election caught my attention. Evidently, the number of federal disasters goes up during an election year. The data mentioned in the section comes from the FEMA website, http://www.fema.gov/news/disasters.fema. Would you like to watch the Fast Draw video? Go to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/07/09/sunday/main13562.shtml & scroll down to Fast Draw: Disaster Relief. **It's not available just yet. You would like to read the transcripts? Use Academic LexisNexis. Confused? Ask us!