#disaster planning

[meeedeee]

To Be Safer, We Need To Be Visible To One Another

Each of us needs to reach out to our neighbors - maybe the house or apartment next door. Maybe the condo floor or block, to identify the seniors & disabled who need help during an evacuation. Those first hours in an emergency - we will need to rescue each other. This is not a failure of government - or not fully a failure. It is the recognition that sometimes help cannot reach us no matter how well we plan or how many resources are set aside. Sometimes really bad shit happens and official help cannot arrive in time. But humans are social beings - and as long as someone is nearby and is thinking ahead, most of us will step up to assist the vulnerable. We just need to know where they/we are. We cannot save what we cannot perceive. And seniors and the disabled are too often hidden and unseen in society.

I set up & maintain yearly an emergency phone tree for our block (you can also set one up for your apartment floor, I have a template below). I printed out the neighbor names & phone numbers & handed it to neighbors who joined. To get access to the list, you need to provide your info.

I update it yearly. It has come in handy - 'Uh guys, what was that weird bump in the night?", 'My dog bolted out the front door', 'Hey did you know there is someone standing on your roof looking a bit confused? (it was a solar panel estimator who went to the wrong house). And yes I once borrowed eggs to bake a cake.

Emergency Phone Tree Template https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UxQv1U2CO0P7eUFgIcnsnMjuo2XC2S23UDvU2tIZtxc/edit?tab=t.0

Your local government isn't ready to evacuate disabled people

California's fire-prone counties left people to die. Other communities don't have to.

[lumalite]

If you're a US citizen and don't have a passport, please get one.

It is the single best identification you could have. Should you only have one ID document, a passport would allow you to:

Replace your birth certificate

Replace your DL/state ID

Replace your social security card

Prove identity for employment/banking/housing

Prove citizenship status to gov entities

Travel by plane within the US

Travel outside the US*

If you do not have easy access to your documents and/or are not able to grab them before evacuating in a disaster, a passport will help you replace other items.

Passports are made according to international standards and, as a result, are recognized IDs internationally. In the event you have to leave the country suddenly, a passport will allow you legal entry to other nations and verify your identity if applying for protection.

Better to be prepared, right?

*Passport Books are good for all international travel. Passport Cards are cheaper to obtain, but only recognized by a handful of countries and only valid for land and sea travel. The card is better than nothing, but the book would be better in the event you had to suddenly leave the states.

[meet-me-on-saturn]

Something I absolutely recommend you do if you live somewhere where a natural disaster could destroy your home, is buy a hard drive.

You can get a whole terabyte for pretty cheap and that will fit everything important on it and then some. Instead of rushing to get your computer during an evacuation you can just grab the hard drive and go.

Mine has all my art on it, the saves of my favorite games, all my photos, and some of my favorite TV shows and movies.

[ivygorgon]

Trans Army

Daily Brief

After yesterday's state of the union (if you haven’t watched it, DO IT). The message couldn’t be clearer, trans people lives are in danger in the US.

We believe that we are currently at stage 8 of a genocide against trans people in the US. Soon it will be stage 9. You need to prepare.

This isn’t fearmongering, it’s the reality. We have multiple reports of violence against trans people in the US. Trans lives are in danger. It's a fact.

We warned you that this time would come, and that it would feel normal until it doesn’t. Now it doesn’t.

You can pretend as hard as you can that you can continue living your daily life as if nothing happened, but the truth is, soon they’ll come for you. You must prepare.

We encourage you to regroup with other trans people. If you are alone and barely make ends meet, you still need to move. You will need to trust and care for one another. Ideologies and slogans won’t defeat this. Enough infighting. You need to unite, or you won’t survive this.

We will provide tips and information here, on bluesky, and our webpage that will come online tonight.

We expect disruptions in social media and major communications platforms. You must have a backup communication method to reach your own. Put your contacts on paper, get road maps on paper; they will come in handy.

Their intentions are very clear. Soon, they will start arresting people including elected officials. When that happens, it will be too late. You must move now.

The Mexican border is unsafe to cross illegally; there’s a lot of military troops stationed, go by car. Air travel might be impossible due to passport policies, but you can travel by road to Canada, and they’ll accept other documents as proof of citizenship. Do not ask for refugee status when you cross the border, do it later or they'll return you (it's a law).

When you travel, remove any signs that might help identify you. No flags, no pronouns. In red states you may want to get a MAGA attire to be able to be less visible. Avoid travelling alone unless it’s necessary. If you bear arms, join groups that require assistance.

If you want to fight. Report to your local trans organization. They’ll find you a purpose. If you need help report to your local trans organization. If you have resources, now’s the time to share them with your local trans organization.

We cannot stress this enough, but these are unprecedented times. You are in danger. The world is preparing for war. Your institutions have failed, your politicians have failed, the law doesn’t matter to them, stop holding onto it. It’s real. We warned you that this time would come.

Do not waste any more time online arguing with strangers or entertaining yourself. That time is needed elsewhere. You need to act. Now.

Democracy won’t be saved by a comment or a post. Stop filling your profiles with useless memes. From this point forward don’t add to the clutter. Information only. Copy and paste essential content on your own profile. It can save someone’s life. Don’t waste time with people who still think that the constitution or the system will protect them. They’re idiots.

Don’t waste the time of other trans people asking them for reassurance or confirmation. Right now, it’s what you can provide that matter. Stop asking. Start doing something.

They want you dead, start believing them.

Breath.

Act now.

(as always, the information in this post was posted in previous posts including sources, just browse the page to get them, we won’t waste any time responding to users in the comments. Everything is available on the page, make the effort to read it.)

[copy/paste our content, we don’t care about credits or reach]

[ilikebigdata]

04.20.2021 // readings & portfolio

I went with a friend to study at a cafe today and it was heavenly, we even managed to get a window seat. I was able to finish two readings for class on Thursday and work on my portfolio analysis that’s due next week. Here’s a peak at my reading notes. I like to annotate my readings and take notes in a digital journal.

[comfortspringstation]

Emergency Planning - Are You Prepared?  With Free Printables

[rjzimmerman]

For Emergency Personnel, Disaster Planning Must Now Factor in Covid-19

As the coronavirus rips through America, vulnerable first responders brace for intense floods, hurricanes, droughts and wildfires.

We know that the tornados, floods, hurricanes and wildfires will happen again this year. This article tells us that planning for these, in addition to implementing the response once the disaster strikes, are going to be really tough. Excerpt from this InsideClimate News story:

Local, state and federal agencies are racing to factor coronavirus into their emergency management plans. Already facing shortages of funding, trained staff and personal protective gear, crisis planners are being forced to rethink everything from advising the public to shelter in place during a tornado to deciding whether to attack a wildfire with small hand crews or huge air tankers—all while following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on hand-washing and social distancing.

"We want to keep in mind that, as we walk into any other disaster, we're walking into it with a strained response system already," said Samantha Montano, assistant professor of emergency management and disaster science at University of Nebraska Omaha.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is considering setting up a second National Response Coordination Center for dealing with non-Covid disasters.

"Covid is the equivalent of Hurricane Katrina hitting 50 states instead of two," former FEMA official Barry Scanlon told Politico. "You have all of the country's public and private resources taxed beyond comprehension."

The states are also anticipating extreme weather. Last week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) issued an executive order to activate the Minnesota National Guard to help patrol dikes, lay down sandbags and provide security in large areas of the state that face a high risk of flooding because of the spring snowmelt.

As the death toll topped 23,000 from the coronavirus last weekend, tornadoes killed dozens across the Southeast. Now, looking ahead, state and federal officials struggle to deal with what could be more than 61,000 Covid-19 deaths by the beginning of August, according to the latest modeling from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.  

At the same time, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting widespread flooding in nearly two dozen states on the heels of historic floods last year and "above-normal" hurricane activity during the 2020 season, which officially begins in June, with higher-than-normal chances that a large hurricane will make landfall.

[hclib]

Minneapolis Civil Defense, 1953

During the Cold War of the 1950s, nuclear war seemed imminent. The Minneapolis Office of Civil Defense, like similar offices nationwide, was responsible for readying a local response to a nuclear disaster. To ensure that the city and its residents were prepared for whatever the Cold War might bring, the Office of Civil Defense mobilized a vast hierarchy of paid and volunteer wardens--Chief Warden, Assistant Chief Wardens, Zone Wardens, District Wardens, Section Wardens, Block Wardens, and even Building Wardens. Volunteer Block Wardens were central to the city’s plan, and this 1953 Warden Manual explained their role.

Each of the 5,800 Block Wardens needed in Minneapolis was expected to be the expert on his or her neighborhood and its defense. Block Wardens created detailed censuses and maps of their blocks (example forms are included in the manual), and they were trained in first aid, fire prevention and firefighting, and defense against atomic and biological warfare. Thanks to this training, Block Wardens could instruct their neighbors on additional preparations for attack, such as the proper construction of “home shelters,” like those pictured in their manual.

With the waning of the Cold War, the urgency of civil defense preparations diminished. Today, the Minneapolis Office of Emergency Management helps residents prepare for unexpected emergencies.

Warden Manual from the Special Collections Vertical Files and available for use in the Hennepin County Library Special Collections Department.