ARRLWeb: Michigan Hams Activated Due to Storms and Tornado

ARRLWeb: Michigan Hams Activated Due to Storms and Tornado: "As the county's fire departments started to move toward the building collapse in Fenton, hams were already on the scene. Bond and Mike Schafer, KB8RVP, shifted gears from weather spotters to Fire Coordination operators. At the request of the fire chief at the scene, Bond went to the Fenton City fire station and, using ham radio, assisted their dispatch center; the storm had damaged their radio fire communications tower, so Bond and Schafer started working dispatch for them using their ham radios until the dispatch center was able to resume normal fire communications."

Chertoff touts Coast Guard changes, new FEMA warning system | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Chertoff touts Coast Guard changes, new FEMA warning system | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "raising the Coast Guard's daring rescues of Katrina flood victims, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff said Tuesday that new initiatives, including text-messaged warnings, will make responders even more effective in a future major disaster. Chertoff also said a realignment of the Coast Guard will make other homeland security efforts stronger. On the eve of the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which wrecked and flooded New Orleans and left much of coastal Mississippi in ruins, Chertoff spoke to dozens of Coast Guard aviators and flight crew members who led the Katrina rescue efforts in the hours after the storm. 'As we reflect back on the events of two years ago, we reflect on how difficult and dangerous the missions were, flying in the dark, around hazards like light poles in confined spaces to rescue people from rooftops and attic windows,' he said."

Victoria Advocate - Victoria News

Victoria Advocate - Victoria News: "Whitaker said it wouldn't take much for cell phone service to crash when everyone swamps the system during a disaster. Landline service can crash in a similar manner. 'They won't be able to use cell phones,' he said. 'It won't work.' If everything else failed, ham operators would set up at relief shelters to relay information back and forth across the area. 'If some elderly person needs insulin, we need to call for insulin,' he said. A ham radio license comes in handy in emergency situations."

Teens Can Get CERT Qualified (LakeFront Hartwell)

Teens Can Get CERT Qualified (LakeFront Hartwell): "ANDERSON, SC - The Community Emergency Response Team of Anderson County is reaching out to one of the County’s most precious resources and most motivated groups our teenagers. The Teen CERT program is designed to teach life-saving skills to tees or special interest groups such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Explorers, 4-H Clubs or service clubs. Students will leave with the skills to establish a Teen CERT program in their own schools, which can assist in the event of an emergency or disaster. There will also be opportunities for free CPR and Automatic Emergency Defribillator (AED) training in the future."

Nation & World | Troops to battle postquake looting in Peru | Seattle Times Newspaper

Nation & World | Troops to battle postquake looting in Peru | Seattle Times Newspaper: "In a soccer stadium in the port city of Pisco, more than 500 people rushed a lone truck that ran out of packets of crackers, candy and toilet paper, screaming that they had not eaten and accusing rescue workers of keeping supplies for themselves. As many as 80 percent of the people in quake-hit urban areas may not have access to clean water and many rural communities still have not been reached to assess the damage, said Dominic Nutt, of the relief agency Save the Children. President Alan Garcia sent 1,000 troops to stop the looting. 'We're going to establish order, regardless of what it costs,' he said."

Peru quake disaster area hit by powerful aftershock�|�Reuters.ca

Peru quake disaster area hit by powerful aftershock�|�Reuters.ca: "Some 510 people have been confirmed dead and 1,000 wounded since the big quake, the United Nations said on Friday, quoting national and local authorities. Thousands of people were homeless and forced to sleep outside. They complained of a lack of medical attention and emergency supplies."

Mini-Seaside becomes Oregon test model for tsunami effects - NewsFlash - OregonLive.com

Mini-Seaside becomes Oregon test model for tsunami effects - NewsFlash - OregonLive.com: "CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — A tsunami is headed for a miniature version of the city of Seaside in an Oregon State University research lab. Scientists at the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory have built a small model of downtown Seaside to study the effects of a tsunami in a project that is likely to continue for years. It will encompass everything from numerical models to wave heights, to the amount of water that will remain after a significant event, to possible places of safety. 'It's an interesting project,' said Solomon Yim, a professor of civil engineering and the primary researcher."

mydesert.com | New life-saving device helps Palm Springs battle Sudden Cardiac Arrest

mydesert.com | New life-saving device helps Palm Springs battle Sudden Cardiac Arrest: "About the AutoPulse
The AutoPulse is an automated chest compression system that delivers
consistent, uninterrupted chest compressions in compliance with the 2005 AHA Guidelines and not possible with manual CPR. Its easy-to-use, load-distributing LifeBand compresses the entire chest in a consistent, uninterrupted 'handsfree' manner, improving blood flow to the heard and brain during cardiac arrest."

Managing Volunteer Resources: Homeland Defense & Terror News at Officer.com

Managing Volunteer Resources: Homeland Defense & Terror News at Officer.com: "As has been shown again after the attacks of September 11 and Hurricane Katrina, there is never a shortage of help after a disaster, but often an overabundance of volunteer help and donated resources. The effective and efficient managing of these volunteer resources is important to avoid a second disaster. While the vast majority of people who respond are actual members of a recognized organization, there are those who show up who are neither legitimate volunteers, or who have self-deployed themselves. In other words, freelancers."

Japanese elderly suffer hardest shocks in quake - International Herald Tribune

Japanese elderly suffer hardest shocks in quake - International Herald Tribune: "'The earthquake hurt a lot of old people because we couldn't move fast enough to escape,' Shimizu said Wednesday, sitting between groups of people camped out on the gym floor. 'It's hard for old people after the earthquake is over, too.'

Earthquakes have long been a fact of life in natural disaster-prone Japan, but tremors this week exposed a growing new challenge facing the nation's crisis planners. All 10 of the people killed, and many of the thousands left homeless, were older than 65, reflecting the rising vulnerabilities of one of the world's most rapidly aging societies."

Japanese quake kills 9 - Asia-Pacific - MSNBC.com

Japanese quake kills 9 - Asia-Pacific - MSNBC.com: "KASHIWAZAKI, Japan - A strong earthquake shook Japan’s northwest coast Monday, setting off a fire at the world’s most powerful nuclear power plant and causing a reactor to spill radioactive water into the sea — an accident not reported to the public for hours."

IS-317 Introduction to Community Emergency Response Teams

IS-317 Introduction to Community Emergency Response Teams: "FEMA Independent Study Program:
IS-317 Introduction to Community Emergency Response Teams"

Life - StatesmanJournal.com

Life - StatesmanJournal.com: "Owners interested in learning what it takes to train search-and-rescue dogs can tune into Oregon Public Broadcasting's 'Oregon Field Guide' on July 12 and July 15 to see the skill development in action.

Among the most valuable tool a rescue team has, search-and-rescue dogs can pick up minute traces of human scent in the air and track it."

FEMA trailer debacle worsens amid chemical exposure and closures

FEMA trailer debacle worsens amid chemical exposure and closures: "A recent poll commissioned by the organizers of the 2007 National Hurricane Survival Initiative stated that nearly 90 percent of those who were interviewed along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts have not taken action to fortify their homes in preparation for the hurricane season. However, another threat is emerging from within the makeshift trailer homes supplied by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and occupied by hundreds of thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors: Exposure to formaldehyde gas."

San Jose Mercury News - Dozens flee imagined tsunami

San Jose Mercury News - Dozens flee imagined tsunami: "Dozens flee imagined tsunami
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 06/29/2007 04:26:20 PM PDT

SAMOA, Calif.—A simulated tsunami drove three-fourths of the population of this tiny town to high ground within 10 minutes of an emergency siren blast."

Residents of flooded Texas area begin clean up | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Residents of flooded Texas area begin clean up | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "MARBLE FALLS, Texas — More rain fell Thursday in Central and North Texas, where evacuations were under way and residents were bracing for more of the constant downpours that have claimed 11 lives in the past 11 days.

Officials reported calls for dozens of high-water rescues in San Antonio, and hundreds of people were being ordered to leave their homes near the bloated Brazos River in North Texas. Brownwood officials passed out sandbags to residents as a precaution. Forty-four of the state's 254 counties were under flood warnings until 2 a.m. Friday as rains continued to move across portions of the state."

SunHerald.com : FEMA beefed up, improved, officer says

SunHerald.com : FEMA beefed up, improved, officer says: "FEMA officials have made many changessince Katrina, Russo said.

'The success or failure of these changes depends on our relationship with you,' he said. 'It's no secret that all disasters are local. The people in this room will always be first-responders, but it is our job to support you.'

R. David Paulison, the director of FEMA, reviewed all the agency's policies and developed priorities after Katrina, Russo said. The agency has hired more employees to work with local governments to identify problems so they can be fixed before a disaster.

Agency workers also have improved the way resources are distributed after a disaster.

Russo said it took an event like Katrina to make FEMA understand its flaws and know what changes were needed.

'We didn't have the policies in place to deal with that type of event,' he said. 'Now we're ready to move things faster and people faster. You really are the partners for us.'"