Next week is Hurricane Preparedness Week, leading up to June 1st, the beginning of hurricane season.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has put together a nice website filled with hurricane preparedness information.  The primary emphasis of the site is on preparing for associated hazards such as storm surge, high winds, tornadoes, and flooding; however, you will also find links to state preparedness information as well as a Historical Hurricane Tracks website.  A Spanish version is also available.

Heritage Preservation is encouraging cultural institutions to observe May Day this year by reviewing our preparedness situations, starting with “Do one thing for emergency preparedness.” There are some good suggestions for all of us with regard to our disaster plans and preparedness activities, plus some information about classes and other resources available for use in planning. Check it out here: http://www.heritagepreservation.org/PROGRAMS/TFlessons/MayDayInfo.html

The Specialized Information Services (SIS) Division of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) has released a web page containing a wealth of resources on emergency preparedness for special populations. Included on the site are links to resources for employers, law and policy, and lessons learned from past disasters.

See: Special Populations: Emergency & Disaster Preparedness

Ready.gov is making available a wealth of information about preparation for and strategies for dealing with winter weather.  They have instructions about what to do if you’re trapped in your car during a blizzard, how to recognize and begin treatment for hypothermia, a list of supplies to have on hand at home “just in case.”  Winter storms are called “deceptive killers” because it is their side-effects, the peripheral damage, such as power outages and traffic accidents that cause the most deaths.  The info is helpful to know even if you don’t live in a winter-weather prone area; it might come in handy if you’re travelling, plus power-outages happen everywhere and any time!

Ready.gov is making available a wealth of information about preparation for and strategies for dealing with winter weather.  They have instructions about what to do if you’re trapped in your car during a blizzard, how to recognize and begin treatment for hypothermia, a list of supplies to have on hand at home “just in case.”  Winter storms are called “deceptive killers” because it is their side-effects, the peripheral damage, such as power outages and traffic accidents that cause the most deaths.  The info is helpful to know even if you don’t live in a winter-weather prone area; it might come in handy if you’re travelling, plus power-outages happen everywhere and any time!

Microsoft has released a new software and services platform, HealthVault, to help people store and manage their health information online, as well as search for health information.  This looks like an excellent resource for use by people in disaster-prone areas, such as hurricane and tornado alleys.  Keeping health-related records “off-site” through a service such as HealthVault would enable people who are suddenly displaced to retrieve information about prescriptions, medical records, etc. from anywhere.  We know, from the lessons learned courtesy of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, that many people who were forced to evacuate were not able to remember the names of their medications in many cases, recalling only the color and the number of pills they usually took.

Could promoting this be a role for librarians, especially in hospital settings?

SOLINET is offering a new online class called Security Alert! How to Protect People, Property and Collections. The emphasis of the class is on the basics of securing collections and safeguarding people. Click here for further information.

Case Western Reserve University recently staged a mock emergency and subsequent response drill (read about it here).  It reminded me that no matter how good our written plans are, we don’t know how they will play out until we give them a test-drive.  Even if we can’t manage a drill as extensive as CWRU’s, we can get people together to run through a tabletop drill, or just stage an event for our own staff without involving the community of responders.  Something to think about during the break between semesters for those of us in academic settings….

Case Western Reserve University recently staged a mock emergency and subsequent response drill (read about it here).  It reminded me that no matter how good our written plans are, we don’t know how they will play out until we give them a test-drive.  Even if we can’t manage a drill as extensive as CWRU’s, we can get people together to run through a tabletop drill, or just stage an event for our own staff without involving the community of responders.  Something to think about during the break between semesters for those of us in academic settings….

The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) has released a new edition of its preparedness toolkit which includes some excellent guidelines for creating a “continuity of operations” (COOP) plan in the event of a pandemic or epidemic. The site has links to directions for creating a manual, and worksheets to walk you through the planning process for service continuity. Take a look for some thought-provoking information for us to consider about keeping our essential services up and running if staff are out with the flu. Thanks, VDEM!