National Preparedness Month couldn’t be more relevant
Beware! It’s peak hurricane season and this is not a time for complacency. We may see fewer hurricanes this year, but scientists conclude that hurricanes are getting wetter and slower.
- Find a wealth of information on the FEMA Ready website.
- You should have an emergency plan covering four basic areas: How will I receive emergency alerts and warnings? What is my shelter plan? What is my evacuation route? What is my family/household communication plan? Check out the New York City Emergency Management pocket guides outlining the very basic steps all New Yorkers should take to prepare for an emergency available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Bengali, French, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Polish, Urdu, Yiddish
- Know your zone. New York City refined its Evacuation Zones after Sandy. Take a look at the NYC Hurricane Zone Finder and for Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester.
- Get notified. Sign up for emergency alerts from NYC, Nassau, Suffolk and/or Westchester(temporarily unavailable).
- Stock up. As we know from Texas and Florida, storms bring power outages and limited mobility. Build or restock your emergency preparedness kit. Include food and water sufficient for at least three days, medications, a flashlight, batteries, cash, and first aid supplies.
- Halacha. The Jewish holiday season continues, so think about how severe weather can affect synagogue services and religious observances. Remember, wind conditions in the metropolitan areas in 2015 led emergency planners to advise those with Sukkahs (Sukkot) to dismantle or secure them (See our post Sukkahs in the Wind and an excellent teshuvah on severe weather considerations here).
New “reduce your risk” tools
New York City’s dense population and geographic location make it especially vulnerable to emergencies caused by natural and man-made hazards. While it is important for you to protect yourself and your families from emergencies, it is also important to protect your property. The hazards faced by Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester residents are similar, with some exceptions (e.g., Westchester planners are concerned with an Indian Point event).
The New York City Emergency Management Department, in partnership with the New York City Department of City Planning and the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, is pleased to announce the launch of NYC’s Risk Landscape: A Guide to Hazard Mitigation. Based on the FEMA-approved and locally adopted 2014 Hazard Mitigation Plan, NYC’s Risk Landscape focuses on a targeted group of hazards that pose a risk to the city, and includes information on how the City approaches risk management in a user-friendly and accessible format. Additionally, the guide includes informative maps, infographics, and images to help New Yorkers gain a deeper understanding of specific hazards as well as best practices in risk reduction. Hazards addressed in this guide include coastal erosion, coastal storms, earthquakes, extreme heat, flooding, pandemic influenza, strong windstorms, water shortage, and winter weather.
For more information, please visit nyc.gov/hazardmitigation or click here for the guide. Click for specific guidance for Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties and for New York State.
For more information about how to Reduce Your Risk, please visitnyc.gov/reduceyourrisk or click here for the Ready New York: Reduce Your Risk brochure.
Webinar: Emergency Preparedness Resources for Houses of Worship
The Department of Homeland Security Center for Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships
the Small Business Administration Center for Faith-based & Community Initiatives
(Both Centers of the White House Office of Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships)
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency
invite you to join us for:
A Webinar on Emergency Preparedness Tools & Resources for Houses of Worship and Community Organizations
WEBINAR________________
Learn more about tools, resources and partnerships strategies to help faith-based and community organizations prepare for emergencies! |
WEBINAR DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this webinar is to provide participants with information on emergency preparedness tools, resources and engagement strategies that are available to faith-based and community leaders and emergency managers. Presentations will explain how faith-based and community-based organizations can engage in National Preparedness Month 2014 and National PrepareAthon Day! activities. The presentations will also highlight engagement best practices at the state and local level between faith-based and community leaders and emergency managers to prepare faith and community-based organizations and the larger community.WHO SHOULD JOIN THE WEBINAR? This webinar is for anyone interested in learning more about resources to help faith-based and community-based organizations get prepared for emergencies and help their communities to do the same.
WHEN IS THE WEBINAR? August 19, 2014 HOW DO I JOIN THE WEBINAR? Adobe Connect Web Link: https://icpd.adobeconnect.com/faithtoolsa/event/registration.html Please sign in as a guest. Be sure to test your Adobe Connect connection prior to the meeting by clicking here. PRESENTERS. Representatives from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, County of Los Angeles Office of Emergency Management and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department’s Office of Emergency Management will present. The Small Business Administration Center for Faith-based & Community Initiatives and Department of Homeland Security Center for Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships, will also provide remarks in support of houses of worship and community organizations engaging in preparedness activities. |
Resources to prepare your organization’s technology for a disaster
Tech Soup is a respected and valuable technology resource for nonprofits (If you don’t know about their deeply-discounted software, you should). They recently published an excellent disaster planning guide: The Resilient Organization. Find their links to the new guide and related webinars below.
Disaster preparedness isn’t just about being ready for a fire or earthquake; it’s a nimble, flexible approach to your organization’s day-to-day programs and operations. A natural disaster may never hit your office, but by adopting certain technologies and strategies, you can deepen your nonprofit’s impact and make your work faster and more efficient. The resources in this toolkit will not only prepare you for a crisis, but also deepen the impact of your nonprofit or charity in times of health.
The Resilient Organization is a holistic guide to disaster planning and recovery. This book is intended both for organizations striving to be better prepared for an emergency and for organizations striving to rebuild and maintain operations after a disaster. Download The Resilient Organization and browse other disaster planning and recovery resources below. The book comes in four formats:
Entertaining Disaster Preparedness 101 videos
“A Tale of Disaster and Preparedness,” the fun and informative video series created by the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee of Greater Kansas City, won first place in the Public Awareness Award of the IAEM. The episodes are 2-3 minutes each, with a lot of good information. View the entire video series on YouTube.
- Episode 1: Meet Disaster and Preparedness
- Episode 2: Keep Mayhem to a Minimum
- Episode 3: It’s Not Rocket Science
- Episode 4: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
- Episode 5: Don’t Let Disaster Have the Last Word
- Episode 6: What’s Your Next Move?
- Episode 7: Put Disaster Down for the Count