With tornado and hurricane season in full swing, you’ll be reading and hearing about all sorts of emergency organizations. Why are there so many and what do they all do? It’s a fair question and it’s easy to get confused. Unfortunately, scam organizations also pop up every time there is a disaster so it pays to know whom you need to contact in case you find yourself in need of help. Here are the basics:

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security. Their purpose is to coordinate disaster response when the need overwhelms local resources. You’ve heard many times that a governor has declared a “state of emergency.” This declaration precedes a formal request to the president for FEMA assistance. In disasters, FEMA sets up emergency shelters, organizes rescue efforts and organizes emergency supplies from government, private, non-profit and faith-based relief organizations. FEMA also assists disaster survivors with recovery and rebuilding efforts. FEMA has a handy app for mobile devices – download it here.

Center for Disease Control (CDC)

You won’t hear much about the CDC in disasters unless there’s a public health threat. The CDC responds to any situation where there is a risk of infectious outbreaks. The CDC works with local and state health departments to assist with emergency response, critical medical help and restoration of public health after a disaster. The CDC also augments first responder teams with a “Community Emergency Response Team” (CERT) that “helps cover the gap between untrained “good citizen” disaster support and trained emergency personnel”. Anyone who wants to go through training can be part of CERT. Download the CDC’s free app that provides infection disease information, prevention and push alerts.

Army Corps of Engineers

The Army Corps of Engineers responds to disasters all over the world and often remain long after the disaster has passed in order to restore damaged infrastructure. Their mission is to save lives via basic needs and emergency power, assist with recovery and assess the result of disasters in order to mitigate risks of future disasters.

The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is one of the oldest faith-based relief organizations in the country. They provide shelters and organize basic supplies in disaster zones nationally and worldwide. Their mobile app, The Daily Cup doesn’t help much in the middle of an emergency but it does provide some information in disasters.

The American Red Cross

During and after disasters, the Red Cross is one of the most active and visible organizations. The Red Cross was created by Congress to focus on meeting immediate emergency needs caused by disaster. The Red Cross provides shelter, food, and physical health and emotional health services, and helps people get back to normal after a disaster.

The Red Cross also feeds emergency workers, facilitates communication between affected and concerned family members and provides blood and blood products to victims.

The Humane Society of the United States  (HSUS)

The HSUS rescues animals and provides care for thousands of animals at our sanctuaries around the country. They also set up and manage emergency shelters, wildlife rehabilitation centers and mobile veterinary clinics. The HSUS doesn’t have a mobile app (yet) that is helpful in a disaster, but we’re crossing our fingers (and our animals are crossing their paws) they come up with one this year.

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

The ASPCA organizes temporary shelters, organizes rescues and supplies and provides grants for emergency animal care during and after disasters. The ASPCA is on top of their game with a mobile app that warns owners of weather conditions that may be hazardous to pets, and provides news and tips about pet rescues.

Knowing the major players in organized disaster relief will help you make sense of who to contact if you need help.

Your desktop or laptop computer likely contains critical information that helps you run your life. If you’re like most people, you’ve got photographs, financial records and other important files that you don’t want to lose. In an emergency, if you have time to evacuate, the family car is going to be stuffed with kids, suitcases, pets; you probably don’t have room for the desktop computer.  If your home is struck by disaster, you’re in danger of losing all those critical files.

The good news is that modern technology makes it easy and cheap for even the least technical among us to backup the files on our personal computers. Though you can backup files to several types of hardware (flash drives, CD-ROM, external hard drives), the best option is to back up online – or “in the cloud”. After all, in an emergency, that extra hard drive or set of disks is just as vulnerable as your PC.

Online Backup is Best

“The cloud” is really just another word for the Internet and the Internet is just a bunch of networked servers, so don’t get tripped up on terminology. When you copy your personal files to the cloud you’re really just renting storage space on someone else’s server, kind of like renting a safe deposit box at a bank. If you’ve got a backup copy of important files stored online (in the cloud) you don’t have to worry about getting anything out of the house. If your PC is lost or damaged you can just restore your files from the cloud to a new PC once things are back to normal.

There are two basic choices for online backup: Dedicated and cloud synch. With a “dedicated” service you have to drag and drop the critical files you want to protect every time they change. For example, if you upload new vacation photos to your PC you’d also have to manually add them to your backup service. Cloud synch eliminates this manual step by checking at intervals to see if any of the files you marked as important have changed. For example, if you keep a file called “2013 Taxes” on your desktop and you add a document to it, your cloud synch service will notice the change and automatically copy whatever is new.

Two Popular Choices

Mozy is a popular service that synchs changes automatically. It’s very inexpensive and user friendly. Mozy offers different levels of service for home use and for small business use. Home users can backup important files, photos, videos and music for about $6.00 a month and the service includes mobile and remote access to your files, which is extremely important. Many Louisiana homeowners who were eligible for FEMA funds suffered through horrible delays getting the help they needed because they didn’t have access to proof of ownership. If you have all of your important documents scanned and backed up in the cloud, all you need is your Smartphone or access to a public computer with a printer in order to produce the documentation you need for insurance or FEMA claims.

Dropbox is an excellent free service that allows you to drag and drop files into online storage and access them from your mobile phone or another computer. You can also share access with someone else, which can be helpful in emergencies. Preppers can take a note from travelers who use Dropbox to store copies of passports and credit cards. If something is lost or stolen while they’re on the road, they only have to login to their personal Dropbox account for access to all the information they need for help and replacements.

Security

With the Internet, security is always going to be a concern. However, these companies stake their reputations on being secure so they work very hard at staying one step ahead of cybercriminals. You can do your part by encrypting sensitive documents before storing them in the Cloud. There are several products out there that do this easily; BoxCryptor is one. You also need to make your passwords complex and not using one password for all of your accounts. If you’re still nervous about using an online service for sensitive information, it still makes sense to use the service to keep your photos, music and other non-sensitive information safe.

Lately we’ve been writing about the 2013 hurricane season. AccuWeather is predicting more of the same this year – three or four major hurricanes in the US and about eight other storms that will cause damage and outages. Since Hurricane Katrina taught us that the impossible can happen, and Hurricane Sandy taught us that even our greatest commercial and cultural nerve center, New York City, isn’t immune from devastation, we’ve all been taking hurricane season more seriously. More and more people are living and working on the coasts, so every year more and more people and businesses are affected by hurricanes and tropical storms. June 1^st is the beginning of storm season – check out the preparedness lists below and make sure you’re ready.

Essentials

• WaterBob for storing clean drinking and cooking water in the bathtubs
• Non-perishable food – we recommend at least a month supply of freeze-driend or dehydrated long-term emergency food for each person in the household, plus extra so you can be a Good Samaritan.
• A month supply of pet food in a secondary dry container.
• First aid supplies (bandages, burn cream, antiseptic and pain relief) and a month of prescription medications for you and your pets
• Bar soap for hygiene
• Industrial strength plastic garbage bags for hygiene
• A means to easily start a fire without matches – take a look at WiseFire and a FireSteel
• Long-burning candles
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• Dual power weather band radio
• Ax, hammer, nails, duct tape, plywood and plastic
• Cleaning and repair supplies for after the storm – they’ll likely be in short supply
• Protective clothing, rain gear and sturdy shoes
• Games and paperback books

Take a look at some of our earlier blog posts that have more comprehensive preparedness lists:

• Preparing Your House for Evacuation
• Disability Emergency Planning
• Top 5 Prepariphenalia
  

Evacuating:

The time to evacuate is early, even for a category 1 hurricane. You may be able to ride out a hurricane, but veteran coast dwellers will tell you that you don’t want to – not even a category 1!

• From June 1^st through November, keep your car tank filled with gasoline – never let it get below half full. In an evacuation, there will not only be lines at the pump but you will be stuck in traffic on evacuation routes.
• Keep important documents (financial, real estate, contact information, etc.) handy in a waterproof folder or container. You will need proof of ownership and identification in order to get emergency FEMA funds.
• Determine in advance where you and your pets will wait out the storm. If you have pets, make a list of safe-zone hotels that have confirmed they will accept your number, type and size of pets.
• Hotels can be scarce when an entire zip code empties. If possible, arrange in advance to stay with friends or relatives. You’ll save hundreds or thousands of dollars and the stress of trying to find a hotel that isn’t full.
• Identify temporary long-term housing possibilities should your main residence need extensive repairs or is completely destroyed in a storm. 
• Ensure you have enough, and the right combination of, wind and flood insurance so that should it become necessary, you can completely rebuild your home and replace all of your belongings.

In our last post we gave you AccuWeather’s forecast for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season and explained how a downed server in New Jersey can mean suffering in New Mexico. Even if you’re not at risk of being directly impacted by a hurricane or tropical storm, it’s still likely your daily life will be interrupted when supply chains are interrupted.

Computers: Wonderful and Terrible at the Same Time

Remember, businesses and distribution supply lines are entirely reliant on computer servers. Servers run on power. When the power is out, everything stops until it comes back on – and that’s best case. Worst case, if business’s servers are destroyed or damaged, they’ll have to be repaired or replaced. Then they’ll have to have an expert attempt to recover their existing data and programs, and these experts are likely to have a waitlist of their own if a disaster is widespread, which is what we saw when a hurricane hit New York City! This Server 101 lesson is important because you need to understand that they’re fragile and it’s estimated that about 60% of US businesses don’t have a disaster-recovery plan for their computing systems. It’s true that some businesses, like drug manufactures and banks, are required by law to have a plan. But – until it’s really tested by a disaster, who knows if the plan will work. It’s one thing to wait on a part for your lawnmower, it’s another thing to wait on insulin. 

Make a Plan

Last week we asked you to go through a normal week and write down the critical things that keep you, your family and your business going, which have to be shipped. Think about things like:

• Does your pet eat a special food or take medication?
• Do you take medication that is manufactured in or distributed from a different zip code?
• Are you planning to repair or buy a car in the near future?
• Do you need materials to remodel or build a house?
• If the shelves at the grocery store were empty, could you get by?
• Do you require medical equipment in order to live or stay healthy?

Shipping delays and interrupted supply lines can affect you, no matter how far you live from a coast. If you, a pet or livestock need food or medicine that has to be shipped, right now is the time to order a month or three-month supply. Keep in mind that your doctor can usually write a prescription for a three-month supply of most medications – you don’t have to refill them month-by-month.

If you’re planning to buy or repair a car, the time to do it is right now. The last two hurricane seasons have caused delays of up to six months in shipping for cars and car parts, even for American-made models. Same goes for building materials and medical equipment and parts. Of course, everyone should have a long-term food supply stored at all times! 

Stay tuned: Next week we’ll walk you through an updated list of how to prepare for hurricane season if you live on or near the coast.

The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 and ends on November 30. An average season sees 12 tropical storms and six hurricanes, including three major hurricanes, but as more and more people flock to the coasts to live and work, each year the number of people who are affected during the season rises dramatically. As we saw in Hurricane Sandy last year, even after the storm passes, residents can be stranded without supplies for weeks.

Forecasters at AccuWeather are able to outline the coming storm season by analyzing climatic patterns from past years. For 2013, they predict four major hurricanes, four lesser hurricanes and eight other major storms. Three of those hurricanes will hit the US and cause storm surge, wind and damage on par with what we saw in Super Storm Sandy. Although meteorologists are able to predict storms, they can’t predict the strength of the storms or when or where they’ll strike.

Critical Items: A Cautionary Tale

Those living along the East Coast have to be prepared for anything, and those of us in other geographies have to be prepared for what happens when supply chains from the East Coast are interrupted. For example, the top shipping ports in the US are located in Louisiana, Texas, New York and New Jersey, Virginia, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia and Miami and, whether we like it or not, these ports are the gateway for the majority of the every day items that North Americans rely on. When power or supply chains to a major city or port on the East Coast or Gulf Coast is disrupted, everybody feels the effect. In fact, last year a Canadian friend of ours was on a motorcycle trip and got stranded in Arizona for a month after Hurricane Sandy because he needed a part for his motorcycle and it had to come from New Jersey. For the first week after Sandy, nobody could even get the distributor on the phone!

We’re so used to being able to order things online and get them the next day that it’s almost inconceivable that we’d have to wait weeks for anything, especially critical things like medicine, parts or essential materials. In the case of our biker buddy, the manufacturer lost their computer servers during the storm, so all distribution came to a standstill until their servers were repaired. By the time they were repaired (two weeks later) the distributor had to deal with a huge backlog of orders. Coincidentally, the distributor had also been affected by the storm and further delays were caused by their own damaged inventory, delayed shipping and extended power outages. You may be thinking it sounds nice to get stranded in Arizona for month (and we agree!), but what if the item you need is medicine, critical materials for your business or basic necessities for your family? 

Computer Servers: Your Best Friend or Worst Enemy

What we want to drive home this week is that even if everything you need is made in the United States, those things still come from manufacturers and distributors that rely heavily on computer servers. A server is the physical “box” where all the software and data that run a business lives. As important as they are, servers are actually very fragile, and more than one has been destroyed by a spilled Big Gulp.  It goes without saying they do not do well with wind, water and fire. When computer servers are damaged or destroyed, especially when the problem is widespread, it can take weeks to get them back online. When they do come back, the Small Business Association reports that about 40% of them will have lost all of their past data.

Until then, mentally go through your week and make a list of the items that keep you, your family and your business going on a daily basis. Think about what happens if you don’t have those things. In next week’s post we’ll help you get a plan in place.

Tornadoes can develop anywhere, without warning and can totally devastate everything in their path. They have been seen on every continent except Antarctica, although most occur in the United States.  

Tornados are measured on the Fujita Scale, or the F-scale, with 0 being the lowest impact and 5 being the highest. When the scale was introduced in 1971, an F6 was believed to be “inconceivable” – but if we’ve learned anything in the last few years we’ve learned that Mother Nature can do inconceivable things whenever she wants. The history of the scale is fascinating and worth a read. Also interesting is the Tornado History Project, which was created in 2005 and provides data on tornadoes from 1950 to the present; check out their maps and learn about the statistical probability of a tornado striking where you live.

Tornados don’t wait until you’re safely ensconced in a state-of-the-art safe cellar, so whether you live within the infamous Tornado Alley ora geography with a low risk of tornados, if you find yourself in the path of a tornado you’ll have to make fast decisions about how to stay safe. The time to educate yourself and your kids about tornado safety is long before the warning sirens go off.

First, be sure you have a battery or hand-crank powered NOAA Weather Radio. If a storm is approaching, watch for dark, greenish skies, hail and large, low clouds. Listen for a loud roar – most people describe the sound of a tornado like that of a freight train. When these conditions are present, it’s time to take shelter. But – what if…

• You’re in a small house, a high rise, at school, in a hospital or in a store? Go to the lowest level of the building and get to the innermost room. Look for a room with no windows or outside walls. If you can, get under a table or desk. Contrary to urban myth, you should not open windows.

• You’re outside? If you’re in an urban area, find the closest shelter. Otherwise, get into a vehicle and drive to the closest shelter. If you can’t get to shelter, stay in the car with your seatbelt on, duck down and cover your head. If you can get to a ditch that is lower than the roadway, leave the car and lie flat. A low, flat area is safer than a highway overpass. Flying debris cause the most injuries, so covering up with anything you can find is the best way to protect yourself.

• You’re on the water? If you’re on the water, you’ll want to leave the area as soon as you seen dark, low clouds developing. Tornados often follow thunderstorms, so don’t wait it out.

• You’re at work? Get to the lowest floor and the innermost room with no windows or outside walls. Bathrooms usually fit this description, so if you’re working in an unfamiliar building, look for signs that point to the facilities.  

The Best Advice? Take Shelter Early.

When it comes to tornados, the best advice is to be alert and take shelter early. If you’re caught in a tornado, get as low to the ground as you can, avoid windows as much as possible and find something with which to cover yourself. Tornado season lasts from late winter to late summer in most of North America, so now is the time to make sure your family knows what to do in various situations and you have a family emergency communication plan in place.

Class titles include:

• Intro to Hazardous Materials
• A Citizen’s Guide to Disaster Assistance
• Animals in Disasters
• Diversity Awareness
• Orientation to FEMA Logistics
• Multihazard Planning for Childcare
• Household Hazardous Materials
• Workplace Violence Awareness
• Livestock in Disasters

There are many more interesting classes available - for a complete list, click here.  And did I mention they’re online, self-paced and free? There is a final exam at the end of each one, but you’ll feel more confident in your ability to handle disasters once you’ve aced the class. If you’re considering a career change, these classes can also help you move into a career as an emergency management professional.

If you’re already working as an emergency management professional, the Professional Development Series offers seven independent study courses that teach the fundamentals of emergency management.

There are a few application guidelines – you must be a U.S. citizen although there are a limited number of international seats available for each class. Also, classes fill up so you want to note the registration deadlines.

The Emergency Management Institute also offers on-site and remote classes if you’d like to attend on-campus.

For a full course and schedule list, click here.

Most people think of “pickles” as pickled cucumbers and only as a garnish. Did you know you can pickle a wide variety of fruits and vegetables? Pickles of one kind or another have been made for more than 4000 years and are so popular in the United States that at one time 40% of the pickle production was earmarked for soldiers in the field. 

Pickling is great way to preserve food because you create an edible, anti-microbial liquid. It seems that nobody has ever come across a pickle gone bad but general consensus is that pickles can keep for up to 18 months.

Pickles have significant health benefits - as long as they’re made without sugar. Fermented foods are thought to be good for the digestive system and many people believe that the vinegar kills “bad” bacteria in the digestive tract and contributes to better health. Pickles are also a good source of vitamin K, the hard-to-get B vitamins, thiamine and vitamin A. But beware, pickles are made with generous amounts of salt, which can be a problem for people on sodium restricted diets.

What Can I Pickle?

Pickling is the answer to almost any abundance of fruit or vegetables:

• Beets
• Green or red tomatoes
• Carrots
• Onions
• Asparagus
• Garlic
• Zucchini
• Jalapenos
• Celery
• Okra
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Broccoli stems
• Radishes
• Melon rinds
• Grapes
  
  

Pickling Methods:

 There are two methods: chemical and fermentation pickling. The chemical process involves soaking the food in edible liquid such as brine, though technically there are other liquid “pickles” such as oil and alcohol. In fermentation pickling, the food is preserved by creating lactic acid.

How to Pickle

The chemical method is the easiest (especially now that you know how to harvest salt!).

1. Combine 3 cups of distilled white vinegar, 3 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of salt.
2. Add flavorings like Bay leaf, mustard seed, coriander, turmeric, dill, cumin, garlic, ginger or peppers. (If you add peppers or ginger, note that the longer the pickles soak, the hotter they’ll be!)
3. Gather clean glass jars.
4. Wash and cut up vegetables or fruit into bite sized pieces.
5. If you’re using beets, Brussels sprouts, carrots, ginger, green beans, okra or peppers, give them a quick dip in boiling water followed immediately by an ice bath (known as blanching).
6. Place vegetables or fruit in jars then fill with brine. Don’t screw the lids on too tight because the fermentation will create carbon dioxide and you’ll need a little room for air exchange.
7. Let the pickles sit and pickle for two to four weeks

The fermentation process is exactly the same, just eliminate the vinegar. If the food has enough moisture, the salt will draw out the excess liquid. Note if your top vegetables aren’t immersed in water they may mold. You can place a smaller glass jar filled with rocks or pie weights (called a “follower”) on top of the vegetables to keep everything submerged.

The hand tools you’ll need in a survival situation may be different than the hand tools you need to maintain your house. Everybody needs a hammer to hang pictures but most people don’t need an ax…that is, until they need one really bad.

Here are the top ten hand tools you need for survival situations:

Ax – Axes have gotten new respect since emergency preparedness organizations started encouraging homeowners in flood zones to keep an ax in their attic. Evidently, the need for a non-traditional way out the house happens more than you think it would. Axes also are needed to cut wood for fuel or building materials and can be used to cut other things like rope. A dull ax doesn’t do you any good so keep a sharpening stone with it and be sure you learn how to sharpen knives and axes now.

Shovel – Yes, even urbanites need a shovel. The first time you need it for sanitary reasons you’ll understand. Besides digging holes, you’ll need it to garden, hide valuables and dig trenches. In natural disaster situations, it’s not uncommon to have to dig through mud and debris inside dwellings.

Hammer – Hammers come in all shapes and sizes but you’ll want a 16-ounce claw hammer with a steel shaft.

Handsaw – Axes tend to splinter the wood as you chop. If you need to build a permanent or semi-permanent shelter, you’ll need more than an ax. A handsaw will allow you to shape wood – quickly - and to the requirements that fit the job.

Channel-lock wrench - This is an adjustable wrench that comes in especially handy for shutting off gas and other utilities in an emergency. Because they’re adjustable, they’re also useful for repairing almost everything.

Multi-head screwdriver - Screws hold together most of the man made objects around us. If you have a basic screwdriver with interchangeable Phillips and flat heads you’ll be ahead of the game. However, the Enderes XV-1 multi-bit screwdriver is a favorite because it has 15 heads that snap into the handle. And it’s virtually indestructible.

Hex key or Allan wrench – If it doesn’t have a flat or Phillips head, it’s likely got a hexagonal head. Sets of hex keys are small and portable so go ahead and stash a set of 24 sizes. You don’t need them in a big plastic box, go for a fold up set like this one from Tekton. 

Locking pliers – Locking pliers have adjustable jaws that lock in place via a screw on the handle. One of the best emergency-situation uses we’ve heard of for locking pliers are holding open self-locking doors in public buildings, some apartment buildings and houses. Locking pliers can also be used for forcible entries and shutting off utilities.

Knife and whetstone – Actually you made need a couple of types of knives. Be sure to have a sturdy stainless steel knife with a serrated blade. Emergency workers carry serrated blades because they quickly saw through most anything. You may need a more delicate knife for fileting fish, skinning animals and food preparation. Don’t use this one to saw through anything man made. As with an ax, now is the time to learn to sharpen your own blades. It takes a little practice and you don’t want to learn on the fly (or when the local MedCheck is defunct!) Just kidding. Not really.

Leather work gloves – Blisters happen fast and can be debilitating, especially if they get infected. Leather gloves protect your hands from injuries that could turn ugly.

If your emergency location is in your current home it’s easy to ensure you’ve got these tools handy. If you’re planning on going mobile or have a secondary emergency location, you’ll either need a second set or to plan for the space they’ll take up in your vehicle in an emergency.

 It’s rewarding to see new Prepper products continually coming on the market. Not only does it mean that more and more people are paying attention, it means that engineers are busy designing great things for us. The first product that we love is only $25 and we think everyone ought to have one. These three items are investments but they promise long-term returns.

Rain Bladder Tanks

A water storage device made our Spring must-have list: The Rain Brothers Rain Bladder Tank. These things are for serious Preppers who are getting ready for total self-reliance. Rain Bladder Tanks are made from 40 mil flexible PVC sleeved in 18 oz. reinforced PVC. There are three sizes – 800 gallon, 2300 gallon and 3100 gallon. These bladders are large, but they’re flat so they’re perfect for crawl spaces or under decks. They aren’t cheap either – they range from $1600 to $2500, but a great long-term investment. Order from Rain Brothers.

Wood Fired Canning Stove

Arguably, preserving food is an important skill for self-reliance. Canning is a great way to preserve some types of foods that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to store. However, modern canning is done on electric or gas cooktops. How would you can food if that were no longer an option? The wood burning canner and cooker is made from stainless steel, lined with fire brick and holds about 38 quart jars. There is a built-in firebox beneath so it’s entirely self-contained. You can also use this stove for cooking other food and boiling water. About $900 from Antique Stoves.

Hideaway Greenhouse

Most Preppers could benefit from an extended growing season. This hideaway greenhouse comes in a kit and is easy to assemble and it doesn’t require a foundation or concrete pad like many greenhouse kits. The “windows” are sturdy 8-mm clear Polycarbonate, and baked aluminum frame. It’s designed to be a DIY project so you won’t need special skills or tools to put it together. Greenhouses can extend your regions growing season to all year for some plants – giving you a distinct advantage for self-reliance. At around $3000 this is also an investment item, but one that is well worth it.