Things have been busy in the emergency preparedness industry since the 7.7 off the west coast of British Columbia and the superstorm that hit the eastern US.  It has given the general public and the emergency management professionals much more to think about.

This week’s roundup features two articles from Eric Holdeman.  Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management. His blog is located at www.disaster-zone.com.

The first article is one that on the debate of 3 days (72 hours) or 7 days of preparedness supplies.  The superstorm highlighted many instances where a 72 hour supply was simply not enough.  On the west coast, where Eric lives is an earthquake zone and a minimum 7 days is what everyone should plan for.  In interesting point in his post was the hesitancy of officials to tell people what they really should have in way of preparation because it may discourage them from getting prepared.  Hogwash I say!

The second post from Eric is the concept that emergency preparedness should be marketed like Coca-Cola.  Again, I agree with Eric in that Coca-Cola advertises all year round an in as many medium that they can.  This approach keeps the product in the public’s eye at all times.  Brand recognition has been Coca-Cola’s trump card for as long as they have been in business.  Emergency Preparedness needs a similar approach as we never know when a disaster can occur.

Have a great week and Be Prepared.

Good Friday, I am pleased to bring you up to date on this weeks happenings in emergency preparedness.   A few things caught my eye this week that I think should be shared.  The first article is on trying to encourage and bring in younger people to emergency response.  The second is another drill that allowed a city to focus on bringing it to the people and finally, a bit of information

What a great headline: Wanted: Younger Volunteers for Emergency Response Teams.  “CERT is an all age, all ability program, so that’s just fine. Age is not a barrier to volunteering or taking the training. The age of CERT members tends to follow the demographics of the community.”  Kate Hale, Director of Emergency Services for James City County.  CERT stands for “Community Emergency Response Team.”  The call for younger people to volunteer only makes sense as they are often the ones who have young families or are connected in with a mobile, energetic and enthusiastic age demographic.

The City of Springfield received high kudos for their emergency response preparations after a mock drill flattened half of their city. “I think Springfield is one of the most, if not the most, prepared communities I have ever worked with in a capacity such as this, in a training capacity,” said Meghan Van Aken, a FEMA trainer featured in one video. “They really blew us away . . . They were spot on with everything they did.”  Still, after garnering praise from FEMA officials the call still goes out for residents to take a more active role in their own personal preparations.   The article has numerous video links from those involved and is worth a look or two or three!

Our final article sheds light on the National Emergency Preparedness Week.  This from the CDC website: Be Ready! September is National Preparedness Month  More than 3,000 organizations – national, regional, and local public and private organizations – are supporting emergency preparedness efforts and encouraging all Americans to take action.  Although this is a US initiative from Homeland Security, Canada will most assuredly be tuned in.

Have a great week and see you next Friday!

Be Prepared, Keep Calm and Carry On.