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.'"

FEMA hijacks Midwest broadcast signals with mistaken presidential alert - On Deadline - USATODAY.com

FEMA hijacks Midwest broadcast signals with mistaken presidential alert - On Deadline - USATODAY.com: "A FEMA spokeswoman tells the paper that this 'unintentional disruption' occurred after a new piece of equipment in Springfield, Ill., picked up test signals that were being sent between Cleveland and Richmond, Va. WLS-TV expands on this explanation: 'The federal emergency management agency is adapting satellites to handle emergency messages, and a government contractor Tuesday was testing it for Illinois, except he used active codes to send the message.'

The Congressional Research Service has a report on the emergency alert system."

St. Helena Star .::. CommunityFeatures

St. Helena Star .::. CommunityFeatures: "Neighborhood Watch, disaster preparedness finally join forces


Thursday, June 28, 2007 12:27 AM PDT

After months of preparation, St. Helena’s Neighborhood Watch program is finally operating in conjunction with disaster preparedness, a related program that trains residents to be ready for an emergency such as an earthquake."

: "Residents from local subdivision assist rescuers in disaster preparation
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Rick Thomford was watching a disaster unfold in his Barrow County neighborhood.
There in the streets of Beringer Pointe subdivision, emergency personnel were helping people with cuts and bruises. Emergency vehicles waited to provide more care for other victims. "

Journal Newspapers Online: Volunteers will ‘CERTainly’ help during crises

Journal Newspapers Online: Volunteers will ‘CERTainly’ help during crises: "Volunteers will ‘CERTainly’ help during crises"

George Vaughn was training his dog not to spook with the Coast Guard helo hovering overhead. Reports were that his dog stood ramrod straight.

Study results of Java tsunami killed 600 persons | Huliq: Breaking News: "Study results of Java tsunami killed 600 persons

Though categorized as magnitude 7.8, the earthquake could scarcely be felt by beachgoers that afternoon. A low tide and wind-driven waves disguised the signs of receding water, so when the tsunami struck, it caught even lifeguards by surprise. That contributed to the death toll of more than 600 persons in Java, Indonesia.

“The general assumption was that if you were near the coast where the earthquake took place, you would feel it and be able to run to higher ground,” said Hermann Fritz, first author of a new Geophysical Research Letters paper about the July 17, 2006 tsunami. “This event caught people by surprise and showed that it’s not always that simple.”"

abc7.com: L.A. County Tests Tsunami Alarm Systems in Marina Del Rey

abc7.com: L.A. County Tests Tsunami Alarm Systems in Marina Del Rey: "To Lieutenant Nelson and the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, the 130 decibel bursts are music to their ears. He's part of the county's efforts to install tsunami alarm sirens in low laying Marina del Rey, a move spurred in part by images from the Indonesian tsunami, though these alarms would be used for any type of emergency."