10 Disaster Preparedness Tips You Can Really Use

1. Know what you’ll face

Part of preparation is knowing exactly what kind of disasters you might face and knowing what to do in each situation. Living in Montana? You probably don’t need to worry about hurricanes. California? Better be ready for an earthquake, but don’t overlook your chances of severe weather or pandemic flu. If you can’t think of all the possibilities, here’s a handy list from the Red Cross. If you think you live in a disaster-free zone, you’re probably wrong.

2. Learn your area’s evacuation routes and shelter locations

The time to figure these things out isn’t while a hurricane is bearing down on your home, or after a tsunami warning has been issued. Evacuations are common so it will serve you well to know the details ahead of time. You should also know the escape routes from your own home, including the more obscure ones, like out that ground-level window in your bathroom. If you have kids, draw them a map and post it near their door. You should also plan where your family will regroup if you must evacuate your house. Pick one location right outside your home, and one outside the neighborhood, in case you must leave the area. Decide ahead of time where you would go in case of an evacuation, whether it's a friend’s or relative’s house or a Red Cross shelter.

3. Know how you’ll reconnect with people who matter

If cell networks aren’t working, you don’t just need to worry about how your Netflix stream will be affected. Consider how you will contact your family or your roommates. How will you let others know you are alright? Figuring this out ahead of time can make everything so much easier in a difficult situation. The Red Cross recommends using an out-of-area emergency contact to have family members check in with, since it may be easier to make long distance calls. Everyone should also have a list of emergency contacts and local emergency numbers.

4. Sign up for emergency alerts and know how officials will communicate with you during a disaster

You can get these on your cell phone if you haven’t disabled them already. We know the blaring noise overtaking the silent mode on your phone can be annoying, but this is probably the best way to learn about emergencies if you are constantly attached to your phone. The emergency alert system also broadcasts over the radio and television, and NOAA weather radio can tell you if severe weather is expected 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tune in on social media as well, but don’t expect to rely on it exclusively as you may not keep your Internet connection in an emergency.

5. Learn what to do if you’re caught away from home

Obviously, you may not be at home when disaster strikes. In the case of an unexpected emergency, you should be prepared to react from different locations, including your workplace or car. Most of this is basic information — again, know your evacuation routes, communication plan and how you’ll receive an emergency notification. Have a plan for reconnecting with kids who may be at school, daycare or after-school activities. Talk to schools to see how they will communicate with families in an emergency if they have a shelter-in-place plan and where they will go if they are forced to evacuate.

6. Have a kit and know how to use it

Ok, we’re not talking full-on doomsday status here. We’re talking about some basic necessities. This includes food, water, basic first aid supplies and other emergency equipment that you might already have (think flashlights and duct tape). Check out this full list from FEMA for tips (http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/90354). The key is to have this assembled and ready to use, not scattered all over your house. Make sure everything is in working order and that no one sneaks snacks from your finished kit. Some kits are available for purchase pre-packed, but remember, if you don’t know how to use what you have, it could be useless.

7. Keep in mind people who may need special preparation

Kids, infants, people with disabilities and seniors may all need special considerations while planning for an emergency. If you or a family member need medication or special equipment, make sure you have a plan to bring it with you. Talk to your neighbors about how you can help one another in a disaster and check on each other in case of an emergency.

8. Prepare for your pets

The goal of emergency preparedness is to keep the whole family safe — and that includes our pets. If you need to evacuate, you should never leave your pet behind. Try to evacuate to a friend or family member’s house, as pets may not be allowed in public shelters. Keep a pet emergency kit on hand with food and other important items. The ASPCA recommends microchipping pets so they can be identified and returned to you even without tags (or you may want to invest in a GPS tracker so you can find them yourself). The ASPCA app also helps you keep track of animal records required to board pets at an emergency shelter and has other helpful tips for a variety of situations.

9. Learn emergency skills that can always come in handy

Make sure you know little things that can make a huge difference, like how to use a fire extinguisher or perform basic first aid. Get trained in CPR or the even simpler hands-only CPR, which could help save someone’s life even when you least expect it. You can also learn how to shut off utilities in your house in case of a disaster that may damage gas, water or electrical lines.

10. Find out how to help your community during a disaster

Want to help even more? Learn how you can be a community leader during a disaster or teach others how to be prepared. Volunteer positions with local emergency response agencies or nonprofits are available in a huge range of capacities. The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley has been integral in coordinating disaster services in the past. To learn more about disaster readiness and volunteering, contact the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley at (319) 272-2087, information@vccv.org, or visit www.vccv.org.

The Black Hawk County Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD)

The Black Hawk County Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) serves the entirety of Black Hawk County by providing a place to bring together voluntary agencies, businesses, and governmental agencies to foster a more effective preparedness, response and recovery to the people of Black Hawk County including the municipalities, as needed, in time of disaster through:

• Cooperation: creating a climate of cooperation, information sharing, and meeting together.
• Coordination: encouraging common understanding and providing a liaison with city-county government officials as well as resource management with the community.
• Communications: publishing and disseminating information.
• Preparedness: increasing mutual awareness and encouraging effective disaster relief and procedures.

One main component of the COAD and utilization of services during times of disaster and disaster recovery is the Volunteer Reception Center (VRC). The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley plays a large role in the implementation of the VRC upon activation from the Black Hawk County Emergency Management Coordinator.

A VRC is a one-stop shop for volunteers to register and be placed with volunteer assignments to assist during these times of disasters. The main goal is to have volunteers accounted for and hours served tracked. This is important during disasters as volunteer hours can be counted towards matching dollars to receive disaster recovery dollars from the state and federal governments.

A VRC might become activated to assist with sandbag efforts or tornado debris pick-up, but it can also be utilized to assist with searching for missing persons, too.

Once activated, the VRC begins set-up at a variety of pre-determined and partnered locations (depending on the type of disaster and the availability of locations). As volunteers arrive in the intake area, contact information will be taken during a brief interview process, each volunteer will receive a scan-able bracelet; which will track volunteer from check-in to check-out; a quick training will occur, and volunteers will be loaded onto provided transportation to be delivered to various points in the community to provide assistance.

Upon completion of service, a volunteer will be loaded back on transportation and will be scanned out of the system.

Part of the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley’s mission is to assist with the coordination of community partnerships and the Black Hawk County COAD and the VRC are just that – a huge partnership. 

For more information on the Black Hawk County COAD or to learn more about becoming part of the VRC team, contact the VCCV at information@vccv.org or (319) 272-2087.

Make a Disaster Plan for Your Pets

How to keep pets safe in natural disasters and everyday emergencies

Start getting ready now - ID your pet

Make sure that cats and dogs are wearing collars and identification tags that are up to date. You'll increase your chances of being reunited with pets who get lost by having them microchipped; make sure the microchip registration is in your name. But remember: The average citizen who finds your pet won't be able to scan for a chip, but they will probably be able to read a basic tag!

Put your cell phone number on your pet's tag. It may also be a good idea to include the phone number of a friend or relative outside your immediate area—in case you have had to evacuate.

Put together your disaster kit

Use our checklist to assemble an emergency kit for yourself and your pet.

Find a safe place to stay ahead of time

Never assume that you will be allowed to bring your pet to an emergency shelter. Before a disaster hits, call your local office of emergency management to see if you will be allowed to evacuate with your pets and verify that there will be shelters in your area that take people and their pets.

Contact hotels and motels outside your immediate area to find out if they accept pets. Ask about any restrictions on number, size, and species. Inquire if a "no pet" policy would be waived in an emergency. Keep a list of animal-friendly places handy, and call ahead for a reservation as soon as you think you might have to leave your home.

For help identifying pet-friendly lodgings, check out these websites:

•        Bringfido.com
•        Dogfriendly.com
•        Doginmysuitcase.com
•        Pet-friendly-hotels.net
•        Pets-allowed-hotels.com
•        Petswelcome.com
•        Tripswithpets.com

Make arrangements with friends or relatives. Ask people outside your immediate area if they would be able to shelter you and your pets—or just your pets—if necessary. If you have more than one pet, you may need to arrange to house them at separate locations.

Consider a kennel or veterinarian's office. Make a list of boarding facilities and veterinary offices that might be able to shelter animals in disaster emergencies (make sure to include their 24-hour telephone numbers).

Check with your local animal shelter. Some shelters may be able to provide foster care or shelter for pets in an emergency. But keep in mind that shelters have limited resources and are likely to be stretched during a local emergency.

Plan for your pet in case you're not home

In case you're away during a disaster or evacuation order, make arrangements well in advance for someone you trust to take your pets and meet you at a specified location. Be sure the person is comfortable with your pets and your pets are familiar with them. Give your emergency caretaker a key to your home and show them where your pets are likely to be (especially if they hide when they're nervous) and where your disaster supplies are kept.

If you have a pet-sitter, they may be able to help. Discuss the possibility well in advance.

If you evacuate, take your pet!

1.  If it isn't safe for you, it isn't safe for your pets. You have no way of knowing how long you'll be kept out of the area, and you may not be able—or allowed—to go back for your pets. Pets left behind in a disaster can easily be injured, lost or killed.
Pledge to take your pet with you when disaster strikes.

2.  Evacuate early. Don't wait for a mandatory evacuation order. Some people who have waited to be evacuated by emergency officials have been told to leave their pets behind. The smell of smoke or the sound of high winds or thunder may make your pet more fearful and difficult to load into a crate or carrier. Evacuating before conditions become severe will keep everyone safer and make the process less stressful.

If you stay home, do it safely

If your family and pets must wait out a storm or other disaster at home, identify a safe area of your home where you can all stay together.

• Close off or eliminate unsafe nooks and crannies where frightened cats may try to hide.
• Move dangerous items such as tools or toxic products that have been stored in the area.
• Bring your pets indoors as soon as local authorities say trouble is on the way. Keep dogs on leashes and cats in carriers, and make sure they are wearing identification.
• If you have a room you can designate as a "safe room," put your emergency supplies in that room in advance, including your pet's crate and supplies. Have any medications and a supply of pet food and water inside watertight containers, along with your other emergency supplies. If there is an open fireplace, vent, pet door or similar opening in the house, close it off with plastic sheeting and strong tape.
• Listen to the radio periodically and don't come out until you know it's safe.

After the disaster

Your home may be a very different place after the emergency is over, and it may be hard for your pets to adjust.

• Don't allow your pets to roam loose. Familiar landmarks and smells might be gone, and your pet will probably be disoriented. Pets can easily get lost in such situations.
• While you assess the damage, keep dogs on leashes and cats in carriers inside the house. If your house is damaged, your pets could escape.
• Be patient with your pets after a disaster. Try to get them back into their normal routines as soon as possible. Be ready for behavioral problems caused by the stress of the situation. If these problems persist, or if your pet seems to be having any health problems, talk to your veterinarian.
• If your community has been flooded, check your home and yard for wild animals who may have sought refuge there. Wildlife can pose a threat to you and your pet. Check out our tips for humanely evicting wildlife.

Be ready for everyday emergencies

You can't get home to your pet

There may be times that you can't get home to take care of your pets. Icy roads may trap you at the office overnight, an accident may send you to the hospital—things happen. But you can make sure your pets get the care they need by making arrangements now:

• Find a trusted neighbor, friend or family member and give him or her a key. Make sure this backup caretaker is comfortable and familiar with your pets (and vice versa).
• Make sure your backup caretaker knows your pets' feeding and medication schedule, whereabouts and habits.
• If you use a pet-sitting service, find out in advance if they will be able to help in case of an emergency.

Heatwave

High temperatures can be dangerous. Learn more about hot weather safety for pets.

The electricity goes out

If you're forced to leave your home because you've lost electricity, take your pets with you to a pet-friendly hotel. If it's summer, even just an hour or two in the sweltering heat can be dangerous. If you stay at home during a summer power outage, ask your local emergency management office if there are pet-friendly cooling centers in the area.

If it's winter, don't be fooled by your pets' fur coats; it isn't safe to leave them in an unheated house.

Thanks to the Humane Society of the United States

Top 15 Things to Know When Managing Volunteers in Times of Disaster

This list is for agencies that do not typically handle volunteer management activities, but that may find themselves in such a situation in response to a disaster.

1. Meet Basic Volunteer Needs: Make sure volunteers have access to food, water, and restrooms. Remind volunteers to take breaks to eat, hydrate and call family. Many times, adrenaline will take over in disaster situations and volunteers may need to be reminded to take care of themselves and their families. Ensure that standards of health and hygiene are maintained during long shifts and in any public facility. Arrange for sufficient supplies to sustain these standards.

2. Orient and Train Volunteers: Be sure to take time to orient and train the volunteers to both their position duties and roles and to the situation. Volunteers could be in situations in which they may view and/or experience traumatic situations. Volunteers must be oriented not only to their tasks but also to potentially negative experiences. During particularly active periods, the volunteer leader should give frequent updates to keep all volunteers informed of the most current situations.

3. Inform Volunteers of Logistics: Communicate important logistics to volunteers prior to their shift. In addition to directions and shift times, volunteers may need to bring photo ID, gear, and protective clothing.

4. Develop Position Descriptions: Create a position description for each volunteer activity. Keep it short and simple. Be sure that everyone has a position description regardless of the position they fill. Post these positions in a prominent place and provide a copy to each volunteer to set clear expectations for volunteers. Don’t forget to create position descriptions for volunteer leaders, those volunteers who can take leadership roles and monitor process, as well as complete tasks on an ongoing basis.

5. Identify and Schedule Shifts: Identify and schedule appropriate shifts for each position. Note: It is the effective practice to identify shifts in two- to four-hour increments. Be mindful of volunteers’ needs: To prevent burn-out and fatigue, you should strongly discourage volunteers from filling more than two consecutive shifts. Also, make sure you have at least one volunteer leader (clearly identified) scheduled in each shift.

6. Plan for Knowledge: Transfer Every position description should include an end-of-shift debrief/orientation process whereby the volunteer leaving his or her shift should communicate important information to the incoming volunteer (i.e., what is working well and what is not working, etc.). Volunteer leaders during each shift should ensure that this transfer of knowledge occurs in a timely and clear fashion.

7. Protect Your Volunteers: Make sure your volunteers are only engaged in work in which they are trained. If the scope of work changes, training should be provided to support the development of necessary skills and knowledge. Volunteers should be properly identified for ease of recognition by the public and by each other. Make sure that each has the equipment and tools needed to do his or her job.

8. Protect Your Agency and Be Proactive about Risk: Check with your insurance agent to be sure your agency is fully covered during periods of emergency. You may want to consider adding a rider to your policy. Be sure to have volunteers sign in and out of their shift. Make sure volunteers sign waiver and liability forms as well as any other organizational documentation. Document the orientation and training are given to each volunteer. Ensuring the safety of life and property is critical. By reviewing the volunteer activities for possible hazards and educating volunteers about safety, you will reduce the chance of someone getting hurt. Keep a first aid kit and automated external defibrillators (AED’s) on hand if possible.

9. Provide Ongoing Support: Monitor and support volunteer activities. Thank volunteers for giving their time. If you see volunteers who seem tired and worn out, encourage them to take a break. Remember that disasters may take a heavy toll on the physical and emotional well-being of volunteers and staff alike. Provide resources to volunteers to help take care of their health, such as access to mental health practitioners.

10. Identify Volunteer Leaders: Always make sure you are identifying those volunteers who have the skill set and the drive to manage tasks, processes, and other volunteers. You cannot be everywhere all the time. Therefore, you should leverage the talents of your volunteers and create a communication system whereby you can delegate tasks.

11. Create a Call List: Exchange cell phone numbers with all key contacts and update it regularly. You may also want to secure walkie-talkies for quick communication. Set up redundancies in communications in case cell phones are ineffective. Some suggestions of numbers to have on your call list include, but are not limited to, the following:

· Emergency contacts

· Volunteer Leader contacts

· Volunteer Reception Center contacts

· Disaster response organization contacts

· Contacts for organizations that accept donations

· Media relations contacts

· Mental health service contacts

12. Recognize Volunteers: Volunteers should be thanked continually. You may not get a chance to formally thank your volunteers until after the disaster response is over so take every chance you get to remind the volunteers that you appreciate them and their efforts to respond to the disaster. After the disaster response efforts have subsided, you can plan a more formal way to recognize them (examples include recognition event, formal email or letter, phone call, etc.).

13. Establish and Maintain Standards of Conduct: Instill pride in performance but don’t hesitate to correct behavior that is counter-productive or even injurious to the good name of your agency or the best interests of the public. On rare occasions, it might even be necessary to relieve a volunteer of duty. Ensure at the outset that all your volunteers know their terms of service. Keep handy a printed copy of your Volunteer Policy Manual.

14. Conduct an Event Debriefing: Plan for a debriefing for all staff and volunteers at the conclusion of each shift, as well as the end of the disaster operation. Acknowledge the many positives and identify lessons learned that can be addressed for future disasters. Capture recommendations in your After-Action Report for future reference and development of next steps for your program. Follow through on the key steps.

15. Evaluate Your Efforts: Always be mindful of organizational reporting requirements and develop processes to capture appropriate data. Tracking volunteer data in times of disaster may assist jurisdictions with in-kind matches for federal reimbursement. Capturing data is also important to tell your story to future funders, to your community, and to your volunteers. Ideas for types of data to capture could include:

· Number of volunteer hours

· Number of volunteers

· Number of meals served

· Number of houses built

· Number of families or people served

· Number of agencies served

For complete details on volunteering, contact the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley at (319) 272-2087, information@vccv.org, or visit www.vccv.org.

Thanks to HandsOn Network