28 Sep
Zombies

Friday Roundup – “Food for Thought”, Zombie’s (again) and Politics

Good Friday morning!  We start off this week with a bloggers roundup of his own interesting articles, move into an innovative idea utilizing the zombie theme and finish up with a political group doing their part to inform citizens.

Bill Hammerman is a blogger who runs the site petaluma360.com.  His post titled More Emergency Preparedness “Food for Thought” poses 2 questions with follow up links and 2 flow statements with follow up links all pointing to the excellent resource site Emergency Management.  I especially liked being asked the question:  “Do we pay attention now or continue to hit the snooze button?” which links to a page to be downloaded titled “Disaster Dozen: 12 Myths of Disaster Preparedness”. A great read!  Thanks Bill!

We finish up today with an article from North Texas/South East Oklahoma KTen.com.  There, the Texoma Patriots (a local political group) are informing the public on more than just the government.  They believe there is a great chance of another disaster, this time in the form of a terrorist attack or a nuclear disaster.  The focus will be on water purification. “Water is one of the most important commodities we have today and it’s getting more and more precious so say there’s a nuclear or radioactive attack we are going to want to have water that’s pure,” says Kaaren Teuber, member of Texoma Patriots.  Too true on the water front.

That’s all for this week…. stay safe and be prepared.

14 Sep
Zombies

Friday Roundup – Zombies, Philippines and Pledge to Prepare.

As we move deeper into September, we come across those pesky Zombies again.  Schools in the Philippines are getting disaster awareness curriculum  in the classroom and “Pledge to Prepare” activities for National Preparedness Month in Tennessee.

From ABC News comes this gem about the upcoming Zombie Awareness Month in October.   The zombie apocalypse is spreading according to FEMA’s monthly webinar which attracted almost 400 emergency management professionals from around the nation.   The CDC’s Zombie campaign  continues to roll along unabated.   My take on the whole matter is that whatever works to raise and heighten the need to be prepared for any emergency either man made or natural is good whether you like Zombies or not.

Disaster preparedness is to be taught in the secondary and tertiary level schools in the Philippines.  As a region of the world that regularly gets its fair share of natural disasters, the Department of Education wants the youth to participate more in risk reduction and management activities.  There is a need for involvement in organizing quick-response groups particularly in the disaster prone areas.  The youth are our future leaders, so this is definitely on the right track.

Finally,  the headline “Will you ‘Pledge to Prepare'”? sure catches the eye doesn’t it?  The Northwest Tennessee Chapter of the American Red Cross is encouraging residents to be Red Cross ready with an 8.5 x 14 inch poster encouraging residents to take three basic actions:  Get a Kit, Make a Plan, Be Informed.   The Red Cross also has the smartphones covered with a First Aid app that can be downloaded.  It includes basic emergencies videos, how to give first aid and action plans for droughts, earthquakes, tornadoes and everyday emergencies.  The Red Cross certainly is a leader in innovation.

12 Jun
Zombies

Don’t Let Zombies Ruin Your Day!

You may have a lot of little frustrations throughout your day. A flat tire on the car, a bill collection notice comes in the mail, and your favorite performer bombs on American Idol. But, nothing can ruin the day like those pesky zombies! The best way to avoid that is to be prepared. Make yourself and your family a survival kit.

Plan to make several survival kits. One for your house, one for the car and a few to place in the other various “safe houses” you have designated in case of a zombie attack. Leaving your survival kit behind as you are escaping a shambling horde of zombies surrounding your house makes for a bad day!

Water is your first priority. Purchase large, sealed locking containers to store water at your house. There are many sizes available so get the largest containers you can find that will support you and your family for 2-3 days. Make sure the containers are secured to a floor or wall. Zombies aren’t big drinkers, and they’re not keen on bathing. But they are not very graceful and like to push things over so you don’t want your water source to be inadvertently dumped.

Besides this water source, you will want to keep a water filtration kit and some purification tablets in your survival kit. Zombies are slow moving and not very good at planning, so who knows how long they will hang around the neighborhood. Be ready in case you use up your containers of water and need to tap into rain water or other sources.

Next, consider your food needs. It case of a zombie apocalypse, every survivor will be looting the Oreo’s and Cheese Whiz from the local Mini-Mart so you can’t count on that. Here’s a helpful tip…zombies can’t operate a can opener. Stock up on canned goods that have a long shelf life. And be realistic. After your 100th can of spaghetti, you’ll never want to see another one. Have a variety of foods and throw in some of your favorites as a treat.

Dried foods are good choice, too. Remember to keep it in a sealed, waterproof container. Pulling out a bag of beef jerky for a snack to find it covered in something left behind by a zombie will make you suddenly lose your appetite.

Another very important item for your survival kit is a fire source. After the 100th can of COLD spaghetti, you’ll wish you had learned how to rub two sticks together to make fire. You can stock up on matches and fuel sources, but those will run out, too. Have a flint and steel available in your kit and a fire starting kit. People made fire long before the Zippo lighter was invented; you can, too.

These are a few important items to have in your zombie survival kit. Take some time to be prepared. Don’t let zombies ruin your day!