Disaster Preparedness Videos

We have received a number of requests for disaster preparedness videos. Here is a list of online and free videos covering general preparedness, special needs, pets, safety, hurricanes, and pandemics.

http://www.ready.gov/america/about/instructional.html (general)

http://www.soph.uab.edu/scphp/default.aspx?ID=724 (general)

http://www.utbtsc.edu/safety/video/welcome.html (hurricanes)

http://floridadisaster.org/index.asp and click on the "Media Center" near the top righthand corner (hurricanes)

http://wsfltv.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/wsfl-hurricane-tips,0,3896722.htmlstory?coll=wbzl-home-nav (hurricanes, general)

http://www.cepintdi.org/default.aspx?pageid=174 (Click on "Being Prepared" and then scroll to "Emergency Preparedness Video") for the deaf and hard of hearing.

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/psa.asp (hurricanes, general)

http://www.sanmiguelcounty.org/portal/page?_pageid=118,148583&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL (pandemics)

http://a1881.g.akamai.net/7/1881/26640/v0001/redcross.download.akamai.com/26640/psa/movie/PandemicFlu/PF_Video1.html (pandemics)

http://readymontco.montcopa.org/readymontco/cwp/view,A,1553,Q,64828.asp (pandemics)

http://www.emd.wa.gov/publications/pub_index.shtml * There are PDF documents of a family emergency plan in English, Amharic, Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, Farsi, Ilocano, Korean, Laotian, Romanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Somaly, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrigna, Ukranian, and Vietnamese.

Florida Wildfires

The Florida ESRD Network is currently monitoring the wildfire situation in Florida. If you are in the impacted area, it is vital to listen and obey your local officials' emergency orders. Most importantly, evacuate if you are told to do so.

For individuals with kidney failure, remember to take your medicines, medical records, supplies, food, and insurance information. Call your dialysis clinic and tell them that you had to evacuate and tell them where you are staying.

Wildfires can also cause problems even if you are not in the impacted area. Smoke can reduce visibility on roads which can cause traffic accidents or close important roads. Make sure you know alternate routes to reach your dialysis facility, pharmacy, or family member's home.

The wildfire smoke can hurt your eyes, irritate your nose/throat/lungs, and can worsen illness. If you have respiratory problems, try to stay indoors away from the smoke.

For more information, visit the Wildfire Smoke Health and Safety page from the Arkansas Division of Air Quality.

For information about wildfire safety, visit the American Red Cross site http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_594_,00.html

Tampa Bay Hurricane Expo 2008

The City of Tampa and Hillsborough County are pleased to announce the Hurricane Expo 2008: Are You Ready Tampa Bay? Know your Zone, Make a Plan on May 31, 2008 at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI). The purpose of the Expo is to educate our residents on the importance of knowing their evacuation zone and making an effective plan in the event of a hurricane. The Expo will be a family-friendly, multi-cultural event featuring vendors, live entertainment, educational seminars, and giveaways.

It is important that our community is educated and prepared. In the past both the City and County have hosted similar events that have attracted a wide cross-section of residents from our community. In 2006, the City’s Neighborhood Fair and Expo attracted over 5,000 visitors. It is our goal to expand on that success with this year’s expo. We hope to see you there to learn your zone and how to make a plan to be safe during this hurricane season.

For more information, visit http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/hurricaneexpo/

2008 Atlantic Hurricane Forecast

http://typhoon.atmos.colostate.edu/forecasts/

April 9, 2008
Philip J. Klotzbach1 and William M. Gray
Colorado State University

ATLANTIC BASIN SEASONAL HURRICANE FORECAST FOR 2008

• 15 Named Storms
• 80 Named Storm Days
• 8 Hurricanes
• 40 Hurricane Days
• 4 Intense Hurricanes

Probabilities for at least one major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) landfall on each of the following coastal areas:

1. Entire U.S. coastline - 69% (average for last century is 52%)
2. U.S. East Coast Including Peninsula Florida - 45% (average for last century is 31%)
3. Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle westward to Brownsville - 44% (average for last century is 30%)
4. Above-average major hurricane landfall risk in the Caribbean

Current conditions in the Atlantic basin are quite favorable for an active hurricane season. Both of our early April predictors call for a very active hurricane season in 2008. The current sea surface temperature pattern in the Atlantic is a pattern typically observed before very active seasons. Waters off the coast of Iberia as well as the eastern tropical Atlantic are very warm right now (Figure 6). The Azores High has also been quite weak during the month of March. Typically, a weakened Azores High leads to weaker trade winds that enhance warm SST anomalies due to reduced levels of evaporation, mixing and upwelling in the eastern tropical Atlantic.

ESF-8 ... New FEMA Independent Study Course

FEMA Independent Study (IS) courses are online, free courses available to the public. There is a new course, IS-808 Emergency Support Function (ESF) #8 – Public Health and Medical Services.

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS808.asp

As part of the NRF, Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) are primary mechanisms at the operational level used to organize and provide assistance. This series of courses is designed to overview each of the 15 ESFs. This course provides an introduction to Emergency Support Function (ESF) #8 – Public Health and Medical Services. Support.

This online course is aboue 30 minutes and offers a certificate of completion if you choose to take (and pass) the final exam.