As Hurricane Earl advances on the East Coast with TS Fiona and Gaston swirling around the Atlantic, be sure to check out the helpful information on the HRSA website. If you are located near the coast of the Eastern US, please monitor your local forecast to stay up to date on Earl’s path.
Hurricane Danielle is slowly dwindling in the North Atlantic while Hurricane Earl is gaining strength. At the time of press, Earl is a Category 4 Hurricane, with sustained winds of almost 135 miles per hour – and it’s still expected to strengthen a bit more.
It’s too early to know where, or even if, Hurricane Earl will impact the Eastern Coast of the United States. As said in past posts, now is the time to review your personal and organizational emergency plan, take a look at your supplies, know what is covered by insurance and how to submit a claim, and most importantly, know where to go for more information specific to your area. If you are in an evacuation area, know the routes to get out of the danger zone, have a plan for where you will go, and how you will communicate with people you love.
To learn more, visit these websites:
Hurricane Danielle, now fully a category 2 and expected to become a major hurricane by Friday, is joined by Tropical Storm Earl and another disturbance with 20% likelihood of becoming a Tropical Cyclone. It is still not clear if any of these systems will make landfall but it’s a good idea to keep an eye on them if you are in hurricane-prone areas. Here are some great sites (thanks to Tom Knox of FACHC for these recommendations):
Some other useful sites for overall preparedness:
Also, check in with your local or state emergency management agency for information specific to your area.
Already a Category 2 Hurricane, Danielle is swirling around the Atlantic Ocean far out at sea. It is still too early to know where, or even if, Hurricane Danielle will make landfall. But it’s not too early to monitor this storm and check your organizational and personal preparedness plans and supplies. For more information on hurricane preparedness, visit this NOAA website. To monitor hurricanes and tropical storms, visit the National Hurricane Center.
Tropical Storm Danielle is expected to become the season’s second hurricane over the next 24 hours. While it is still far from land, this is a good time to review your center’s emergency management plan, remind staff to check their personal go-kits and preparedness supplies, and keep an eye on the forecast. For more information, check the National Hurricane Center’s website.
By: Mollie Melbourne
Helping to keep us safe in future public health threats.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released an examination of the federal government’s system to produce medications, vaccines, equipment and supplies needed for a health emergency, known as medical countermeasures. The Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasure Enterprise Review: Transforming the Enterprise to Meet Long Range National Needs reviews the process and makes recommendations for a better approach.
The report can be found here.
SHAKE, RATTLE, & ROLL! Earthquake Preparedness for Community Health Centers
Did you know that according to FEMA, 24 states and territories have a high or very high risk of experiencing an earthquake? Is your state or territory among them? Find out here – and if your state or territory is on this list, tune in on August 11!
The California Primary Care Association and the National Association of Community Health Centers are teaming up to present SHAKE, RATTLE, & ROLL! Earthquake Preparedness for Community Health Centers – a no-cost webinar on August 11, 2010 from 11:00 – 12:30 PM PT / 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET.
This webinar will cover general earthquake preparedness recommendations, lessons learned from a health center that experienced significant damage in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, and health center specific response guidance from a member of the California Disaster Medical Assistance Team who responded in the Haiti Earthquake. In addition, CPCA and NACHC will describe resources and tools available to the participants to help move organizational and personal preparedness further along.
Registration: To register, please click here. Registration is open through August 9.
By: Mollie Melbourne
Health Center innovation at its best - great job, Coastal!
In response to the devastating oil spill, Coastal Family Health Center in Biloxi, MS is introducing an innovative approach to bring mental health services to the people impacted by this disaster. The purpose of this project is to stretch the already sparse mental health resources on the Coast by teaching community members the skills of listening through the Peer Listener Program found to be so effective in Alaska following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In addition, the project will also increase access to area mental health specialists via referrals to mental health personnel as needed and will encourage a community approach to recovery and resiliency from this coastal disaster. The target population includes all the residents of the three lower counties of coastal Mississippi, particularly those involved in the fishing and seafood processing industry, tourism, small business owners and their employees, and the hospitality industry.
The Project will train at least 50 Peer Listeners during the 12 months of the Program utilizing the expertise of mental health providers including Licensed Therapists, Licensed Professional Counselor, and Outreach Specialist. If you would like more information on this program, please email Joe Dawsey, CEO, Coastal Family Health Center.
By: Mollie Melbourne
As Tropical Depression #3 makes its way to Florida (more info here), how well do you know your weather terminology?
WATCH vs. WARNING – KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
TROPICAL STORM WATCH: An announcement that tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph) are possible within the specified coastal area within 48 hours.
TROPICAL STORM WARNING: An announcement that tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph) are expected somewhere within the specified coastal area within 36 hours.
HURRICANE WATCH: An announcement that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are possible within the specified coastal area. Because hurricane preparedness activities become difficult once winds reach tropical storm force, the hurricane watch is issued 48 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds.
HURRICANE WARNING: An announcement that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are expected somewhere within the specified coastal area. Because hurricane preparedness activities become difficult once winds reach tropical storm force, the hurricane warning is issued 36 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds.
Source: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/basics.shtml
By: Lynn Williams & Mollie Melbourne
Here is a great example of how social media played a critical role in a recent disaster. Many thanks to Lynn Williams, a Regional Field Representative with NACHC, for sharing her story and giving us the chance to learn from this devastating flood.
Here is Lynn’s Account: Sunday morning, May 2, I knew conditions were bad from the minute I woke up. Relentless rain had fallen since the night before. Since I assumed the Nashville Tennessean (local paper) could not be delivered, I turned to Twitter for news.
People I followed were sending out alarms and questions in bursts of tweets. A local television news reporter, Christine Maddela @christnemaddela, tweeted real-time updates before a crew could get video to air. Christine busted rumors and calmed the public with source material and sent out retweets showing personal accounts of rising waters to her network of followers.
I read a tweet announcing River Plantation’s evacuation. My husband’s mother lost her condo in that community – a quarter-mile from the Harpeth River. I alerted my husband who, like many others that day, began searching for a displaced loved one. All day tweets circulated naming people who were lost, which roads and routes were closed, and what services were on their way. Twitter connected people.
Suddenly agencies and services made Twitter work for them. Hands-On Nashville @HONashville, the official volunteer coordination agency for the city, tweeted areas of need and how best to help. Local church congregations tweeted coordinated relief response. Directions to safe haven, food and clothing were circulated on Twitter. Aid and recovery was organized using 140 characters or less.
A woman delivered a baby with the aid of Twitter outreach. The city’s water shortage was bolstered in part with help from Twitter users who chanted an appeal to conserve. After the storm, reports of people and businesses caught washing cars and irrigated lawns were substantiated on Twitter. Soon our city’s water reserves rose.
Through it all there were messages of encouragement, grief, hope and prayer amidst a flow of news and information. Twitter supported a community that was in distress.
I’ve heard it said that Twitter is the new CNN, and in Tennessee that likeness was true. Disaster preparedness, response and recovery were communicated in grassroots fashion here, and now blogs, Facebook updates and photo albums are taking the story to the world.
Photos used by permission courtesy of Ashley Guthrie
