Emergency Preparedness is Green, Part 3

Emergency Preparedness is Green!

Is it possible that emergency preparedness can be “green”? In honor of the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day, Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security is sharing a few ways for local residents to consider being environmentally-friendly when considering how to be prepared for emergencies and hazards that may impact their community.

As a refresher, individuals and families are encouraged to engage in the three steps of emergency preparedness: have a kit, make a plan, and stay informed. The following tips are based on these guidelines:

Parts 1 and 2 can be read here and here, respectively.

Staying Informed

Staying informed during emergencies and disasters is critical. However, it is also important to be able to stay informed after the disaster as well. An easy way to do this is to scan copies of important family and legal documents (ex: birth certificate, wills, etc.) and store them on a mobile storage device (ex: CD or “Jump” drive), which is small in size, nearly universally accepted, and reusable after the emergency or disaster.

Conclusion

Being prepared for emergencies is important and can easily be done as discussed here. These methods are often more efficient, effective, and affordable than traditional methods of preparedness. So thinking “green” can also save you some “green” as well. Be environmentally-friendly and cost effective as you consider your options for emergency preparedness.

Emergency Preparedness is Green, Part 2

Emergency Preparedness is Green!

Is it possible that emergency preparedness can be “green”? In honor of the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day, Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security is sharing a few ways for local residents to consider being environmentally-friendly when considering how to be prepared for emergencies and hazards that may impact their community.

As a refresher, individuals and families are encouraged to engage in the three steps of emergency preparedness: have a kit, make a plan, and stay informed. The following tips are based on these guidelines:

Make a Plan:

Traditionally, individual and family emergency preparedness plans have been handwritten on paper with duplicate copies made for all involved. Over the last several years, the emergency managers throughout the Kansas City area have helped develop the PrepareMetroKC campaign and website (www.preparemetrokc.org), which has many wonderful features including the “MyPlan” concept. This allows individuals and families to complete an emergency preparedness plan and save it to a secured database that can be access and updated at any time for free. Not only does this type of system save time and energy, it also should ultimately reduce the quantity of paper utilized for traditional planning processes.

Part 1 can be read here. Check back for part 3!

Conclusion

Being prepared for emergencies is important and can easily be done as discussed here. These methods are often more efficient, effective, and affordable than traditional methods of preparedness. So thinking “green” can also save you some “green” as well. Be environmentally-friendly and cost effective as you consider your options for emergency preparedness.

Emergency Preparedness is Green, Part 1

Emergency Preparedness is Green!

Is it possible that emergency preparedness can be “green”? In honor of the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day, Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security is sharing a few ways for local residents to consider being environmentally-friendly when considering how to be prepared for emergencies and hazards that may impact their community.

As a refresher, individuals and families are encouraged to engage in the three steps of emergency preparedness: have a kit, make a plan, and stay informed. The following tips are based on these guidelines:

Have a Kit:

Individuals and families are always encouraged to have emergency supplies such as food, water, medicine, and first aid available for use during an emergency or disaster. This step provides many opportunities to be “green”. For instance, milk jugs can be washed out and reused to store emergency water supplies. Although some studies have suggested the possibility that reusing plastic bottles carries some health risk, this has not been validated and therefore represents an excellent way to reuse materials as part of emergency preparedness and eliminate needless waste at the same time.

Additionally, flashlights and radios are valuable components to an emergency supply kit. Because of the possibility of power disruption, these items require alternative sources of power. Therefore, “green” preparedness would include hand-cranked versions and/or rechargeable batteries to reduce the quantity and cost related to preparedness.

Lastly, you can also use canvas totes to store emergency supplies. These are often sturdy, easy to carry, and have no long-term effects when they are no longer needed.

...Check back for parts 2 & 3!

Conclusion

Being prepared for emergencies is important and can easily be done as discussed here. These methods are often more efficient, effective, and affordable than traditional methods of preparedness. So thinking “green” can also save you some “green” as well. Be environmentally-friendly and cost effective as you consider your options for emergency preparedness.

22 Risks to Johnson County

Did you know that Johnson County has twenty-two (22) different types of hazards that could cause an impact to our community through an emergency or disaster? The following lists all hazards in order of most significant to vulnerability to the entire state of Kansas:

1) Tornado

2) Flood

3) Winterstorm

4) Wildfire

5) Windstorm

6) Hazardous Materials

7) Utility/Infrastructure damage

8) Drought

9) Hailstorm

10) Terrorism

11) Major Disease Outbreak

12) Land Subsidence

13) Agriculture Infestation

14) Lightning

15) Extreme Temperatures

16) Dam and Levee Failure

17) Landslide

18) Expansive Soils

19) Soil Erosion and Dust

20) Radiological

21) Earthquake

22) Fog

Remember, these hazards can lead to physical, social, or economic emergencies or disasters. For Johnson County, do you think this list is accurate for our hazards? Would you add or take away any? Move any up or down the list?

Let us know!

Public Outreach

Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security has had a great 2010 as far as public outreach! We have conducted nearly 30 presentations and spoken to more than 800 people about all the great things we are doing. That includes the update of the
County Emergency Operations Plan, Severe Weather Preparedness, Organizational Readiness, and social media campaigns like the Preparedness Piggy.

Do you know of any local community organizations (big or small) interested in hearing about what we have to say/share with our citizens? If so, check out our speakers bureau page.

Summary of Severe Weather Awareness Week 2010

Severe Weather Awareness Week was a fantastic emphasis week for Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security. The highlights for the week are as follows:

TORNADO DRILL

The outdoor warning sirens were tested on Thursday (3/11) at 1:30 in the afternoon in conjunction with Statewide tornado drills in Missouri and Kansas in support of Severe Weather Awareness. Many businesses and schools participated in the annual drill.

EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS

Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security releases several educational videos on the YouTube Channel. The video topics included a National Weather Service Overview, How Radars Work, Simulated Weather Event, and a new Preparedness Piggy video.

SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS SEMINAR SERIES

Several sessions were also provided to local organizations and businesses with unique vulnerability to severe weather. The seminar series hosted 42 individuals from 35 different organizations in community sectors including entertainment, parks & recreation, special needs providers, and community & faith centers.

All in all, it was a great week of emphasis!

Outdoor Warning Siren Test will be Delayed Until March 11

In conjunction with the Statewide efforts related to Severe Weather Awareness Week, the test of the outdoor warning siren system that was scheduled for tomorrow at 1:30 has been postponed due to a slight risk of severe weather.

It has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 11, at 1:30 PM.

This change was necessary to minimize confusion to the general public. Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security appreciates the public’s patience as we strive to continue to make Johnson County – A Community Prepared!

For more information about emergency management or notification, please visit www.jocoem.org.

Severe Weather Awareness Week - March 8-12

Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security in conjunction with the Kansas Division of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service (NWS) will conduct a Statewide Severe Weather Tornado Drill at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 9, 2010. Every school, citizen and business is encouraged to participate in the drill by practicing seeking secure, safe shelter from a "tornado". In the event of severe weather, the test day will be postponed to Thursday, March 11th, 2010 also at 1:30 p.m.

Area residents, businesses, and schools are urged to treat the drill as if it were an actual tornado emergency. The purpose of the annual drill is to test everyone’s readiness for life-threatening severe weather events such as tornadoes, flash floods, large hail, and damaging winds.

Kansas experiences a variety of severe weather including tornadoes, severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and large hail, and flash flooding. Residents are encouraged to use this week, and the annual test day, to review their severe weather safety plans. Practice what you would do as if there were a real tornado warning.

For more information click here.

The Use and Training of Weather Spotters

The Emergency Communication Service (ECS) is a group of amateur radio operators who serve as the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) group for the county and who’s primary mission is to be storm spotters during extreme weather events. With over 100 volunteers on the roster they become the eyes (and ears) of Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security during threatening weather such as severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Each operator is required to take advanced storm spotter training provided by the National Weather Service (NWS) as well as training on how to make proper reports back the Emergency Management Office.

That “Protocols Training” class was provided this past Saturday, Feb 27^th and included several hours of instruction as well as an exercise that deployed all the spotters in attendance to one of the over 20 predetermined locations around the county. Once there experienced spotters shared their past experiences and demonstrated how to call in reports via their radios with the new spotters. This will prepare those new spotters to work through out the storm season to provide Emergency Management as well as the NWS with “ground truth” weather observations and helping to get warning out to the public in a timely and accurate manner.