Has your name ever been a hurricane? Has your name been “retired?” (Igor and Fifi, I’m talking to you…) The Wall Street Journal has developed a fun, interactive graphic to show past and future named Atlantic storms. The official practice of giving human names to hurricanes and tropical storms is a recent one, begun in…
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Where Do I Keep Emergency Supplies?
Oregon-based professional organizer and blogger extraordinaire Krista Colvin had the genius idea to do a series of peeks inside the homes and lives of other professional organizers. Today she featured a few of my tips on where to keep emergency supplies, with photos. Pay her blog a visit for the inside scoop on some of…
Homeland Security Asks Us to Use Social Media in an Emergency
This tweet came out this afternoon from @DHSJournal, the twitter account of the Deparment of Homeland Security: Quake: Tell friends/family you are OK via text, email and social media (@twitter & facebook.com). Avoid calls. Never mind the lack of a helpful hash-tag. This government agency clearly understands the uses of social media. When today’s earthquake…
Did You Feel That? The DC/East Coast Quake
What an earthquake feels like is probably the most popular topic on this blog. Everyone wants to know! I’ve written about it before, here: What Does An Earthquake Feel Like? Another View of What an Earthquake Feels Like Guest Post: What the 7.4 New Zealand Earthquake Felt Like Did You Feel That Earthquake? There are…
New Emergency Water Storage
My tap water crosses two of California’s eight major earthquake faults before it arrives in my glass. Though many upgrades have been made, the aqueducts that deliver that water were not built with a major earthquake in mind. If a major earthquake struck right now as I type, the flow of water from the Sierra…
Prepare for Atlantic Hurricane Season – tips for vacationers
A couple of years ago I spent two wonderful weeks in a beach house in South Carolina during September. Beautiful, warm, Atlantic water, palmetto palms, sea turtles, shrimp and grits for breakfast – and the possibility of hurricanes. North Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th, making it coincide with prime vacation…
Dryer, Dryer, Pants on Fire!
Our clothes dryers do more than play hide-the-sock with us. The Consumer Products Safety Commission says they actually cause 14,000 to 17,000 house fires each year. To reduce the risk of “pants on fire,” take a couple of small steps. First, clean the lint filter every time you use the dryer – don’t let lint…
Are You Emergency-Ready? Use the Start of Summer to Update Your Preparations
Once you’ve set up your basic emergency plans and gathered supplies, do you have trouble remembering to do the little tasks of maintaining your emergency preparation? Use the change of the seasons as a reminder to update your plans and supplies. Here is a checklist of simple steps to keep your preparations up to date:…
How Do You Cope With Stress in a Disaster?
Imagine an emergency in your area. Imagine that your neighbors and co-workers are suffering, not just physically, but emotionally as well. Can you help? Last month I completed the “Neighbor to Neighbor” course. Offered by the American Red Cross, it is designed to build coping skills and resilience in those people impacted by disasters….