Archive for June, 2012

Family Preparedness Friday

Friday, June 29th, 2012

Love is Like a Heat Wave

I don’t know how much Martha and the Vandellas really loved the guy in the 1963 hit song, Heat Wave, but I am almost certain they would not love these temps that we are seeing so far this summer.

So far, Summer 2012 has brought extreme and record breaking temps across the US. Take a look at this map from yesterday! Can you believe those temps? And all before July 1.

 

Graphic courtesy of The Weather Channel website.

Did you know that on average there are more heat related deaths than deaths related to any other natural disaster per year. In 2011, 206 individuals died as a result of extreme heat. So what are you doing to prepare your family for the heat?

Prepare:

- Listen to local forecasts. Being aware is being prepared.
- Discuss heat safety with your family. Make a plan for possible power outages.
- Revamp your emergency preparedness kit.Make sure your kit is fully stocked.
- Know those in your neighborhood that are more likely to be victims of extreme heat; like elderly, young, sick, or those without air conditioning.
- Verify that your pets’ needs for shelter and water are met.

During:

- Listen to your NOAA Weather Radio for updates.
- Never leave children or pets in vehicles.
- Stay hydrated.
- Avoid extreme temperature changes.
- Wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing.
- Stay indoors and avoid strenuous activity during the hottest part of the day.
- Take frequent breaks if working outside.
- Check on family, friends, neighbors, and pets.

 

Courtesy of American Red Cross

Stay safe, and have a great holiday next week!

 

Posted in disasters, Drought, Extreme Heat, Families and Communities, Pets and Companion Animals | 4 Comments »

Wildfires

Friday, June 29th, 2012

In April, the forecasters at the National Interagency Coordination Center in Boise, Idaho noted that the continuing exceptional drought across the Southwest would increase the possibility of an above normal significant fire season this year. The states of most concern range from western Texas to California and into the Great Basin. In addition, they pointed to the danger of wildfires on the western slopes of the Rockies in Colorado, parts of southern Georgia and northern Florida, northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, and parts of Hawaii. On April 26, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar discussed the federal capability to respond to wildfires. On average, the USDA Forest Service and the Department of the Interior respond to more than 20,000 wildfires per year. Predictive Services of the National Interagency Coordination Center issues a national wildland fire potential outlook the first of each month.

There currently are large wildfires in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The Firewise Communities program is designed to help homeowners understand wildfire behavior and take steps to reduce the impact of wildfires. Learn wildfire basics and review additional resources by visiting EDEN’s Fire (Wildfire) topic page and eXtension’s Wildfire Information Network (eWIN).

Damage left behind by wildfire is difficult to comprehend. Property, structures, homes, and lives may have been destroyed. What can you do to help survivors cope? In addition to the links above, check these:

Mental Health

LSU

UFL

Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium

Extensión en Español

 

Fire Cleanup

CDC

What resources do you have to add to the list?

Posted in Fire (Wildfire) | No Comments »

No Power, No Connectivity, No Problem

Monday, June 18th, 2012

Sean Gallagher, Ars Technical IT Editor, wrote last week about Africa and cloud-based services. Generally speaking, there are vast areas of Africa with no or very limited Internet access. What is available is cost prohibitive. There is a serious lack of wired infrastructure within and across most of the countries. And then there are the power outages that occur without warning and may last for days at a time.

So people have turned to mobile phones. Gallagher notes, “Out of the one billion people in Africa, only an estimated 140 million use the Internet, but over 600 million use mobile phones, according to data from the World Bank.”

One result has been broad adoption of mobile application services. Forty percent of the adult population in Kenya uses a mobile payment system to transfer money.  Another mobile application in the works is a mobile health platform. Applications such as iCow are popular with farmers.  The advantage to mobile applications in Africa – which could translate into advantages in the United States – include the ability to recharge when electricity is available and access Web content even when electricity is down.

Mr. Gallagher also noted that a lot of cloud applications are being offered for mobile devices rather than as Web-based interfaces (i.e. not for your desktop).  His parting comment sounds a lot like what we say about Extension: success is built on paying attention to local needs.

The American Red Cross has been collaborating on mobile phone applications since 2010. The newest application is First Aid for iPhone and Android.

Is EDEN moving in this new direction? I think so. For instance, Becky Koch and her colleagues in North Dakota have released three mobile applications in the past year.  They are: Heating Fuel Comparison, Winter Survival Kit, and Disaster Recovery Log. The first two are available for Android and iPhones, while the Disaster Recovery Log is available for Androids. Kim Cassel, SDSU Extension, is also working on a mobile application.

What’s your idea for a mobile application?

Posted in Communication, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Family Preparedness Friday

Friday, June 8th, 2012

Play Safe on the Playground

June is the National Safety Council’s National Safety Month. So each Friday this month we are going to highlight a way to keep you and your family safe.

By now most of children are on summer break; which means long days of playing, relaxing, and spending quality time together as a family. Many families will spend a lot of time at playgrounds this summer.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr's cwwycoff1.

While playgrounds are a ton of fun for the whole family (honestly, you can’t tell me that whether your are 5, 25, or 50 swings aren’t fun and you don’t try to compete with the person next to you to see who can swing higher), ever year more than 200,000 children visit hospital emergency rooms because of playground injuries. Many of which can be prevented. Here is a list from the National Safety Council of some tips to help keep your family safe at the playground.

Top 10 Checklist for Playground Safety
1. Surfaces around playground equipment should be filled with at least 12 inches of
loose fill, such as wood chips, mulch, sand or pea gravel.
2. Most stationary equipment should have at least a 6 foot use zone in all directions.
3. Any openings that can trap children (in guardrails or between ladder rungs)
should be less than 3.5 inches apart or more than 9 inches.
4. Guardrails should surround all elevated platforms and should be at least 29 inches
high for preschool-age children and 38 inches high for school-age children.
5. Look for exposed concrete footings, tree roots or rocks that could trip children.
6. Check for sharp edges and dangerous hardware, like open “S” hooks or protruding bolts.
7. Make sure your child plays on age-appropriate equipment.
8. Playgrounds should be maintained regularly. Report any problems.
9. Remove hoods or drawstrings that can get caught on equipment.
10. Supervise children while they play.

Click here for more information on Playground Safety.

What is your favorite summer activity to do with your family?

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Family Preparedness Friday

Friday, June 1st, 2012

What’s the Deal with Those Outdoor Warning Sirens?

Since today is the first of the month, we all know what that means . . . tomorrow morning at 11am is the monthly test of the outdoor warning sirens. (OK, not for everyone, but at least in my hometown in Indiana).

Now let me be the first to say, I love the Saturdays when I get to sleep right through that test, but then again that hasn’t happened since. . . well probably since college. Oh the good old days. And to all of you who know me that just rolled your eyes because you know I’m not that far removed from college, I really haven’t embraced this grown up factor yet and why my body feels the need to wake up by 7:30 on the weekends.

I digress. Back to those outdoor warning sirens.

Photo Courtesy of www.crh.noaa.gov

 

I thought today I would answer some common questions about outdoor warning sirens.

Question 1

What should I do when I hear the sirens?

When the sirens are heard, immediately go inside and tune into local media or your weather radio for further updates and instructions.

Question 2

Why can I not hear the sirens when I am in my house?

Sirens are an outdoor warning system designed only to alert those people that are outdoors that a dangerous situation is approaching.

Question 3

How can my family get alerts when we are at home in our house?

For alerts indoors, every home and business should have a NOAA Weather Radio. NOAA Weather Radios are like a smoke detector for severe weather. They are intended to wake you up from sleep when a warning is issued for your area.

Question 4

Why don’t the outdoor warning sirens sound an all-clear signal?

People should be indoors and monitoring local media for updates on the storm.

What other questions do you have regarding outdoor weather sirens? Let us know, and we will update with an answer.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »