Surviving Emergencies and Disasters

Being prepared will always better then not being prepared.

Drills - Survival - Alarmist - Climate - Viruses

Risks - Public Services - Security - Shelter

Emergency Medical Services - 911

First Aid Tips - Drug Overdose - Trauma

Having a well thought out plan makes it a lot easier to make good decisions during an emergency, especially in the mist of chaos. Having a plan also helps people to avoid being consumed by panic and Fear, which could cause you to make costly mistakes and thus lower your chances of surviving.

Disaster Distress Hotline: 1-800-985-5990.

Distress Signal is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals are communicated by transmitting radio signals, displaying a visually observable item or illumination, or making a sound audible from a distance.

SOS is the International Morse Code Distress Signal. (...- - -...) Dot Dot Dot, Dash Dash Dash, Dot Dot Dot.

Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications.

Emergency Broadcast System is a former emergency warning system used in the United States. EBS replaced the previous CONELRAD system and was used from 1963 to 1997, at which point it was replaced by the Emergency Alert System, which is a national warning system in the United States put into place on January 1, 1997. Informing the Public.

Alert is to warn or arouse to a sense of danger or call to a state of preparedness. A warning serves to make you more alert to danger. Condition of heightened watchfulness or preparation for action. Engaged in or accustomed to close observation. Mentally perceptive and responsive.

Warning is a message informing of danger, potential harm, or risk. Cautionary advice about something imminent, especially imminent danger or other unpleasantness. A notification of something, usually in advance. Emergency Planning.

Warning Sign is a type of sign which indicates a potential hazard, obstacle or condition requiring special attention. Some are traffic signs that indicate hazards on roads that may not be readily apparent to a driver. Red Flag Warning.

Warning Label is a label attached to a product, or contained in a product's instruction manual, warning the user about risks associated with its use, and may include restrictions by the manufacturer or seller on certain uses. Most of them are placed to limit civil liability in lawsuits against the item's manufacturer or seller. Many safe products intended for human consumption may require warning labels due to the health risks associated with using them. That sometimes results in labels which for some people seem to state the obvious, like "Smoking Kills", dah..

Warning System is any system of biological or technical nature deployed by an individual or group to inform of a future danger. Its purpose is to enable the deployer of the warning system to prepare for the danger and act accordingly to mitigate or avoid it. Warnings cannot be effective unless people react to them. People are more likely to ignore a system that regularly produces false warnings (the cry-wolf effect), but reducing the number of false warnings generally also increases the risk of not giving a warning when it is needed. Some warnings are non-specific: for instance, the probability of an earthquake of a certain magnitude in a certain area over the next decade. Such warnings cannot be used to guide short-term precautions such as evacuation. Opportunities to take long-term precautions, such as better building codes and disaster preparedness, may be ignored. Global Warming.

Alarm is a device that signals a warning of danger and the occurrence of some undesirable event. Warn or arouse to a sense of danger or call to a state of preparedness. Fear resulting from the awareness of danger.

Alarm Device gives an audible, visual or other form of alarm signal about a problem or condition. Alarm devices are often outfitted with a siren. Alarm devices include: Burglar alarms, designed to warn of burglaries; this is often a silent alarm: the police or guards are warned without indication to the burglar, which increases the chances of catching him or her. Alarm clocks can beep, buzz or ring off as an alarm at a set time to wake a person up or for other reminders. Distributed control systems (DCS), found in nuclear power plants, refineries and chemical facilities also generate alarms to direct the operator's attention to an important event that he or she needs to address. Alarms in an operation and maintenance (O&M) monitoring system, which informs the bad working state of (a particular part of) the system under monitoring. First-out alarm. Safety alarms, which go off if a dangerous condition occurs. Common public safety alarms include: Civil defense siren also known as tornado sirens or air raid sirens. Fire alarm systems. fire alarm notification appliance. "Multiple-alarm fire", a locally specific measure of the severity of a fire and the fire-department reaction required. Smoke detector. Car alarms. Autodialer alarm, also known as community alarm. Personal alarm. Video Alarm Verification System provides instant notifications upon the detection of a possible threat verified through a video feed. Tocsin – a historical alarm mechanism. Alarms have the capability of causing a fight-or-flight response in humans; a person under this mindset will panic and either flee the perceived danger or attempt to eliminate it, often ignoring rational thought in either case. A person in such a state can be characterised as "alarmed". With any kind of alarm, the need exists to balance between on the one hand the danger of false alarms (called "false positives") — the signal going off in the absence of a problem — and on the other hand failing to signal an actual problem (called a "false negative"). False alarms can waste resources expensively and can even be dangerous. For example, false alarms of a fire can waste firefighter manpower, making them unavailable for a real fire, and risk injury to firefighters and others as the fire engines race to the alleged fire's location. In addition, false alarms may acclimatise people to ignore alarm signals, and thus possibly to ignore an actual emergency: Aesop's fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf exemplifies this problem. Alarm Fatigue.

Amber Alert is a message distributed by a child abduction alert system to ask the public for help in finding abducted children. It originated in the United States in 1996. AMBER is a backronym for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. The alert was named after Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl abducted and murdered in Arlington, Texas, in 1996. Alternative regional alert names were once used; in Georgia, "Levi's Call" (in memory of Levi Frady); in Hawaii, "Maile Amber Alert" (in memory of Maile Gilbert); and Arkansas, "Morgan Nick Amber Alert" (in memory of Morgan Nick) and Utah, "Rachael Alert" (in memory of Rachael Runyan). In the United States, amber alerts are distributed via commercial and public radio stations, Internet radio, satellite radio, television stations, text messages, and cable TV by the Emergency Alert System and NOAA Weather Radio (where they are termed "Child Abduction Emergency" or "Amber Alerts"). The alerts are also issued via e-mail, electronic traffic-condition signs, commercial electronic billboards, or through wireless device SMS text messages. AMBER Alert has also teamed up with Google, Bing, and Facebook to relay information regarding an AMBER Alert to an ever-growing demographic: AMBER Alerts are automatically displayed if citizens search or use map features on Google or Bing. With the Google Child Alert (also called Google AMBER Alert in some countries), citizens see an AMBER Alert if they search for related information in a particular location where a child has recently been abducted and an alert was issued. This is a component of the AMBER Alert system that is already active in the US (there are also developments in Europe). Those interested in subscribing to receive AMBER Alerts in their area via SMS messages can visit Wireless Amber Alerts, which are offered by law as free messages. In some states, the display scrollboards in front of lottery terminals are also used. The decision to declare an AMBER Alert is made by each police organization (in many cases, the state police or highway patrol) that investigates each of the abductions. Public information in an AMBER Alert usually consists of the name and description of the abductee, a description of the suspected abductor, and a description and license plate number of the abductor's vehicle if available. Activation criteria: Law enforcement must confirm that an abduction has taken place. The child must be at risk of serious injury or death. There must be sufficient descriptive information of child, captor, or captor's vehicle to issue an alert. The child must be under 17 years of age.

All-Points Bulletin a radio message sent to every officer in a police force giving details of a suspected criminal or stolen vehicle. is a broadcast issued from any American or Canadian law enforcement agency to its personnel, or to other law enforcement agencies. It typically contains information about a wanted suspect who is to be arrested or a person of interest, for whom law enforcement officers are to look. They are usually dangerous or missing persons. As used by American police, the term dates to at least 1832. An all-points bulletin can also be known as a BOLO or BOL, which stands for "be on (the) look-out". Such an alert may also be called a lookout or ATL ("attempt to locate"). A similar, longer acronym used by Australian law enforcement is KALOF or KLO4 (for "keep a look-out for"). The United Kingdom uses a similar system known as the all-ports warning or APW, which circulates a suspect's description to airports, ports and international railway stations to detect an offender or suspect leaving the country. Because of the great numbers of commuters at such places, British police forces often prefer to contact specific airports, ports or stations and circulate descriptions individually.

Dangerous Situations - Difficult - Challenging

Crisis is any event that is, or is expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society. "Most big catastrophes have a chain of events, but very few people understand the events that took place that lead and caused the catastrophe to happen, so catastrophes tend to repeat themselves throughout history". Crisis Training Manual (PDF).

Existential Crisis is an extremely dangerous situation that threatens human existence and survival.

Health Crisis is a difficult situation or complex health system that affects humans in one or more geographic areas (mainly occurred in natural hazards), from a particular locality to encompass the entire planet. Health crises generally have significant impacts on community health, loss of life, and on the economy. They may result from disease, industrial processes or poor policy. Its severity is often measured by the number of people affected by its geographical extent, or the disease or death of the pathogenic process which it originates. Ignorance is a Public Health Crisis.

Dooms Day - Armageddon - Apocalypse - Global Warming - Pandemic

Emergency is a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer palliative care for the aftermath.

Emergency Management - Rescue Equipment - Emergency Kits - Medical Emergency

State of Emergency alerts citizens to change their normal behavior and orders government agencies to implement emergency plans.

Urgency is pressing importance requiring speedy action. An urgent situation calling for prompt action. Compelling immediate action.

Critical is a turning point of a crisis or emergency. An abrupt change especially having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction. Criticality is a state of critical urgency.

Calamity is an event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster, catastrophe, tragedy, cataclysm, adversity, tribulation, affliction, misfortune, misadventure. Danger - Risk - Chaos.

Tragedy is an event resulting in great loss and misfortune. Rescue - First Aid.

Disaster is a state of extreme ruin and misfortune that may be impossible to remedy or correct.

Adversity is a state of misfortune or affliction. A stroke of ill fortune or a calamitous event. Resilient.

Hardship is something hard to endure that causes or entails suffering.

Difficulty is something not easy and requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or to endure. A factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result. A condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome. An effort that is inconvenient. Something hard to control.

Challenging is a demanding or stimulating situation requiring full use of your abilities or resources. (demanding, testing, difficult, hard, formidable, onerous, laborious, burdensome, strenuous, grueling) Life Will Test You - Challenge a Rule.

Arduous is something difficult and tiring to accomplish that demands considerable amount of strenuous mental effort, physical effort and skill, sometimes to the point of exhaustion that tests powers of endurance.

Tough is something very difficult that severely tests your stamina or resolution. Something unfortunate or hard to bear that makes great mental demands and makes something hard to comprehend, solve or believe. A feeling physical discomfort or pain.

Complex Problem is a problem that requires more than one solution because the problem is systemic with many working parts and several determining factors. Several things will have to change in order to effectively solve a complicated problem.

Distress is psychological suffering or extreme physical pain.

Trouble is a source of difficulty. An angry disturbance. An event causing distress or pain. An effort that is inconvenient. A strong feeling of anxiety.

Tumultuous is characterized by unrest, disorder or insubordination.

Havoc is a violent and needless disturbance or widespread destruction.

Pandemonium is a wild uproar or a state of extreme confusion and noisy disorder.

Disturbance is an activity that is a malfunction, intrusion, or interruption. An unhappy and worried mental state. A disorderly outburst or a violent agitation. A noisy fight. The act of disturbing something or someone; setting something in motion.

Disrupt is to interfere in someone else's activity or to break from a normal routine. To be thrown into disorder. Tuneout.

Interrupt is to temporally stop the peace or the tranquility that someone is experiencing, or to interfere in someone else's activity.

Interfere is to come between so as to be hindrance or an obstacle. To get involved in a situation through force or the threat of force so as to alter or hinder an action.

Surprise is a sudden unexpected event. The astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you. Attack by storm; attack suddenly. A brief mental and physiological state, a startle response experienced by animals and humans as the result of an unexpected event. Surprise can have any valence; that is, it can be neutral/moderate, pleasant, unpleasant, positive, or negative. Surprise can occur in varying levels of intensity ranging from very-surprised, which may induce the fight-or-flight response, or little-surprise that elicits a less intense response to the stimuli.

Unexpected is something not expected or anticipated.

Obstacle is something that stands in the way and must be avoided or dealt with successfully. An obstruction is something that is in the way, something that you either go around or you move it or remove it.

Fraught is causing distress or filled with distress.

Daunting is something difficult to deal with in anticipation. Something intimidating or discouraging through fear.

Precarious is a situation fraught with danger. Providing no ease, security or reassurance that would restore someone's confidence.

Peril is a state of danger involving risk. A source of danger and a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune. Put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or a difficult position that poses a threat.

Sinking Ship is something which is doomed. An impending debacle or an ongoing disaster.

Doomed is a situation marked for certain death or people who are destined to die soon. A certainty of failure or destruction. Marked by or promising bad fortune. Danger of the eternal punishment of Hell. Society Collapse.

When your Life is Turned Upside Down it means that things are inverted and mess up or in a state of disorder and confusion. Chaos.

Drastic Turn of Events or Dramatic Turn of Events is a sudden change or alteration in a situation or circumstance. After an unexpected turn of events, a new development or change in a situation has occurred.

All Hell Breaks Lose describes a disruptive situation, or a noisy confusing disorder that begins suddenly. A sudden destructive argument, a disagreement, a violent conflict, or a dispute or controversy, or quarrel  or misunderstanding, or a wild fight or squabble.

Trials is an annoying, frustrating or catastrophic event. Trials can also mean the act of testing something. A trial of something to see if or how it works. Put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to. Trials in law is the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law.

Tribulation is a cause of great trouble or suffering. Great Tribulation is a relatively short period of time where everyone will experience worldwide hardships, persecution, disasters, famine, war, pain, and suffering, which will affect all of creation, and precede judgment of all when the Second Coming takes place.

Psychological Pain is an unpleasant feeling and suffering of a psychological, non-physical origin. Mental suffering or mental torment.

Misfortune is unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event. Bad luck or bad planning?

Midlife Crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle-aged individuals, typically 45–55 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a person's growing age, inevitable mortality, and possibly shortcomings of accomplishments in life. This may produce feelings of intense depression, remorse, and high levels of anxiety, or the desire to achieve youthfulness or make drastic changes to their current lifestyle or feel the wish to change past decisions and events.

Trials and Tribulations are troubles and events that will cause suffering. There will be difficult situations and unpleasant experiences that you will have to contend with.

Keep learning and learn how to adapt and know how to be resilient. These are skills you will need to have.

Disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. Disasters that can happen around your Home.

Natural Disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth; examples include floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other geologic processes. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or property damage, and typically leaves some economic damage in its wake, the severity of which depends on the affected population's resilience, or ability to recover and also on the infrastructure available. "Why do we call it a natural disaster when there is nothing natural about it, everything is cause and effect." In 2017, the US shattered its record in disaster costs with $306 billion spent in climate and weather disasters.

Disturbance in Ecology - Global Catastrophic Risk - Extinction Event (Environmental Collapse)

Global Nuclear War - Prevention

Hazards (negligence or man made)

When natural disasters strike locally, urban networks spread the damage globally. Secondary economic impacts of cyclones can be three times greater than local costs.

Planning - Problem Solving

When disaster strikes it's a good idea to have a well thought out plan. Whether it's a natural disaster, financial disaster, health problem, war, currency collapse, or what ever the problem, changes will happen and sacrifices will have to be made. But this doesn't mean a catastrophic end, death or suffering, or does it mean the End of Days, or Armageddon. Or does this mean that we have to resort to violence, looting and lose control, which will just make the situation worse. Things will only get out of control if we let them. Life always has Cycles, we always have new obstacles, new challenges and new beginnings. Fear, stress and desperation can be overwhelming, but we have the abilities to survive if we stick together and act logical.

List of Natural Disasters by Death Toll (wiki)
List of Accidents and Disasters by Death Toll (wiki)

25 Biggest Man Made Environmental Disasters Of History (youtube)
25 Biggest Man Made Environmental Disasters in History
List of industrial Disasters (wiki)

Risks to Civilization, Humans and Planet Earth (wiki)

Risk Management

Global Medic Canadian volunteers around the world to aid in the aftermath of disaster and crises.

Humanitarian Work (Feeding the Hungry - Housing the Homeless - Medial Services)

Food Emergencies - Water Emergencies - Shelter Emergencies
Disaster Monitoring (hot spots)

You must stay calm and focus on the plan and your responsibilities. Avoid Stress and worrying for they will only distract you and waste precious time and energy. Don't ignore the children. Children must continue to be educated and also be assured that these types of things have happened throughout human history and that we have always found a way to survive and recover. Use these moments to train and teach problem solving. Children are our most reliable investment that humans have.

Relief-Web is the leading humanitarian information source on global crises and disasters. It is a specialized digital service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). We provide reliable and timely information, enabling humanitarian workers to make informed decisions and to plan effective response. We collect and deliver key information, including the latest reports, maps and infographics and videos from trusted sources. ReliefWeb is also a valuable resource for job listings and training programs, helping humanitarians build new skills and discover exciting new career opportunities.

Beware of Disaster Criminals

Disaster Capitalism - Vultures who prey on the less fortunate and the elderly who are vulnerable after a disaster. And sometimes it's the same people who caused the disaster to happen who are doing most of the victimizing. These criminals also exploit weak governments to force legislation and pass laws that only benefit the wealthy and powerful. These scumbags have no shame.

False Flag Attacks - Evictions - Land Grabs - War Profiteers

The Shock Doctrine centers on the exploitation of national crises to push through controversial policies while citizens are too emotionally and physically distracted by disasters or upheavals to mount an effective resistance.

Economic Collapse describes a broad range of bad economic conditions, ranging from a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment (such as the Great Depression of the 1930s), to a breakdown in normal commerce caused by hyperinflation (such as in Weimar Germany in the 1920s), or even an economically caused sharp rise in the death rate and perhaps even a decline in population (such as in countries of the former USSR in the 1990s). Often economic collapse is accompanied by social chaos, civil unrest and sometimes a breakdown of law and order. An example of an economic collapse is the Great Depression. Cost Analysis.

Financial Collapse - Societal Collapse - Media Collapse

How Federal Disaster Money Favors The Rich. The federal government spends billions of dollars annually helping communities rebuild and prevent future damage. But an NPR investigation has found that across the country, white Americans and those with more wealth often receive more federal dollars after a disaster than do minorities and those with less wealth. Federal aid isn't necessarily allocated to those who need it most; it's allocated according to cost-benefit calculations meant to minimize taxpayer risk.

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq., and Related Authorities.

Preparation - Planning - Precautions - Coordinating Disaster Relief Efforts

Are you Prepared? What's the plan? You need a phone number to call people for help and to offer services. You need to notify people about the locations of relief centers. You need to Setup command center, business support system and network operations center. You need to Setup bulletin boards and Setup information stations. You need to setup website to help coordinate volunteers and for people to list their needs, and to List items already donated, and to list items that are needed, like tools, supplies, food, water and so on. You need people to document everything. You need to use all media outlets and communication tools available to inform the public so that everyone has the necessary information.

Blind Spots - Risks - Insurance - Security - Prevention

Family Emergency Kit Checklist (PDF) - Emergency Kits - Emergency Housing - Public Services

Prepare is to make ready or be ready and suitable and equipped in advance for a particular purpose or for some use or event. To arrange by systematic planning and united effort. To educate for a future role or function. Create by training and teaching. Undergo training or instruction in preparation for a particular role, function, or profession. Prepared is the cognitive process of thinking about what you will do in the event of something happening. The activity of putting or setting in order in advance of some act or purpose. Made ready or fit or suitable beforehand. Activity leading to skilled behavior. Undergo training or instruction in preparation for a particular role, function, or profession. Equipped or prepared with necessary intellectual resources. Arrange by systematic planning and united effort. Create by training and teaching.

Preparedness refers to a very concrete research based set of actions that are taken as precautionary measures in the face of potential disasters. These actions can include both physical preparations (such as emergency supplies depots, adapting buildings to survive earthquakes and so on) and trainings for emergency action. Preparedness is an important quality in achieving goals and in avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes. There are different types of preparedness, such as public health preparedness and local emergency preparedness or snow preparedness (i.e.: Snow Preparedness Teams - SPT), but probably the most developed type is "Disaster Preparedness", defined by the UN as involving "forecasting and taking precautionary measures prior to an imminent threat when advance warnings are possible". This includes not only natural disasters, but all kinds of severe damage caused in a relatively short period, including warfare. Preparedness is a major phase of emergency management, and is particularly valued in areas of competition such as sport and military science. Methods of preparation include research, estimation, planning, resourcing, awareness, education, practicing and rehearsing. Responsibilities.

Precaution is an action taken in advance to protect against possible danger or failure. Precautionary measures that are taken to ward off impending danger, damage or injury. The trait of practicing caution in advance. Judiciousness in avoiding harm or danger. Awareness.

Fire Drill is practicing emergency procedures and going through the necessary actions that are needed to take that would allow you to get to safety and also show you how to safely save others from a real fire. Methods of practicing should show how a building would be evacuated in the event of a fire or other emergencies. Usually, the building's existing fire alarm system is activated and the building is evacuated as if a real emergency had occurred. Generally, the evacuation is timed to ensure that it is fast enough, and problems with the emergency system or evacuation procedures are identified to be remedied.

Evacuation Simulation is a method to determine evacuation times for areas, buildings, or vessels. It is based on the simulation of crowd dynamics and pedestrian motion.

Emergency Evacuation is the urgent immediate egress or escape of people away from an area that contains an imminent threat, an ongoing threat or a hazard to lives or property. Examples range from the small-scale evacuation of a building due to a storm or fire to the large-scale evacuation of a city because of a flood, bombardment or approaching weather system, especially a Tropical Cyclone. In situations involving hazardous materials or possible contamination, evacuees may be decontaminated prior to being transported out of the contaminated area. List of Mass Evacuations (wiki).

Where can we find each other if we get Lost or Separated? How do we stay in contact? Where can we meet if we get separated? What's the plan if we get separated in a crowd? What's the plan if we get separated during an emergency? Family Separation in an Emergency. Family Meeting Place: Designate a meeting place that your family will immediately go to when disaster strikes. The place you choose should be outside your neighborhood in the event that it is not safe to return to your home or stay in its surrounding areas. Each family member should be capable of reciting the address of the meeting place or locating it on their own if need be. Choose a long-distance relative or close friend that your family will all contact if separated. Teach your household to use this number as a form of communicating and letting one know that the other is safe. Lastly, don’t forget to talk with your out-of-state contact to make them aware of the plan and ensure they are comfortable with this role. Plan what to do in case you are separated during an emergency. Choose two places to meet up: Right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, such as a fire Outside your neighborhood, in case you cannot return home or are asked to evacuate. Choose an out-of-area emergency contact person. It may be easier to text or call long distance if local phone lines are overloaded or out of service. Everyone should carry emergency contact information in writing and saved on their cell phones. Make sure places where your children spend time also have these contact numbers, like at school or daycare. Your plan should account for family members who may live elsewhere during the year, such as members of the military on deployment or students away at college, or those who travel frequently. How will you need to adapt your plan if they are at home? What will you need to do differently if they are away? Have your Identification. Bracelets have prepared customized information engraved on the inside including a first and last name, home address, emergency contacts, severe allergies or health restrictions, and a long distance phone number to a close friend or relative. Request that everyone wear the bracelet at all times especially if your children are young or living with a disability. Make cards for the whole family in case you are separated during an emergency. Plan for the emergencies that are most likely to happen where you live. Be familiar with natural disaster risks in your community. Consider how you will respond to emergencies that can happen anywhere, such as home fires and floods. Consider how you will respond to emergencies that are unique to your region, such as volcanoes, tsunamis or tornadoes. Think about emergencies that may require your family to shelter in place (such as a winter storm), vs. emergencies that may require evacuation (such as a hurricane). Consult our emergency resource library for tips on preparing for, responding to, and recovering from specific disasters. Plan what to do if you have to evacuate. Decide where you would go and what route you would take to get there, such as: A hotel/motel The home of friends or relatives a safe distance away An evacuation shelter. Practice evacuating your home twice a year. Grab your emergency kit, just like you will in a real emergency, then drive your planned evacuation route. Plot alternate routes on your map in case roads are impassable. Make sure you have locations and maps saved on devices such as cell phones and GPS units and on paper. Plan ahead for your pets. Keep a phone list of pet-friendly hotels/motels and animal shelters that are along your evacuation routes. Remember, if it’s not safe for you to stay home, it’s not safe for your pets either. Plan for everyone in your home. Some members of your household may need special accommodation during an emergency, which means planning ahead is even more crucial. Senior Citizens. People with Disabilities. Children. Pets. Plan to let loved ones know you’re safe. If your community experiences a disaster, be sure to register on the American Red Cross Safe and Well website to let your family and friends know you are safe. Or, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) and select the prompt for "Disaster" to register yourself and your family. Ready.gov.

Safety Plan is a personalized, practical plan that can help you avoid dangerous situations and know the best way to react when you are in danger. This plan includes ways to remain safe while in the relationship, planning to leave, or after you leave.

First Aid Tips - CPR Training

Disaster Recovery Plan is a documented process or set of procedures to recover and protect a business IT infrastructure in the event of a disaster. Such a plan, ordinarily documented in written form, specifies procedures an organization is to follow in the event of a disaster. It is "a comprehensive statement of consistent actions to be taken before, during and after a disaster". The disaster could be natural, environmental or man-made. Man-made disasters could be intentional (for example, an act of a terrorist) or unintentional (that is, accidental, such as the breakage of a man-made dam). Given organizations' increasing dependency on information technology to run their operations, a disaster recovery plan, sometimes erroneously called a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), is increasingly associated with the recovery of information technology data, assets, and facilities.

Emergency Response Plans (gov) - Do you have an Evacuation Plan? (gov)

Disaster Recovery involves a set of policies and procedures to enable the recovery or continuation of vital technology infrastructure and systems following a natural or human-induced disaster. Disaster recovery focuses on the IT or technology systems supporting critical business functions, as opposed to business continuity, which involves keeping all essential aspects of a business functioning despite significant disruptive events. Disaster recovery is therefore a subset of business continuity.

Recovers Organizing Toolkit - (413-219-5613)

Military Exercise War Game - False Alarms

Hurricane Rehearsal of Concept Drill was organized by U.S. Army North, the Army component of U.S. Northern Command, as part of its mission to support civil authorities during disasters. Officials from the National Guard Bureau, Army Reserve, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and many others were present to lay out their respective courses of action in the event of a hurricane response.

Planning - Quality Control - Communication in Communities (social Intelligence)

Prepper is a person who believes a catastrophic disaster or emergency is likely to occur in the future and makes active preparations for it, typically by stockpiling food, ammunition, and other supplies. Preppers want peace of mind, they want insurance, they want to have backup plan, and they want to survive. But what most preppers don't do, is learn how to live, and learn how to give.

Volunteers Organizing
Disasters Info
Incident Response Management
Americas Prepareathon
Group Home

Disaster Management Cycle: Mitigation - Minimizing the effects of disaster.  Examples: building codes and zoning; vulnerability analyses; public education. Preparedness - Planning how to respond. Examples: preparedness plans; emergency exercises/training; warning systems. Response - Efforts to minimize the hazards created by a disaster. Examples: search and rescue; emergency relief. Recovery - Returning the community to normal. Examples: temporary housing; grants; medical care.

Damage Control is the emergency control of situations that may cause the sinking of a watercraft. Examples are: Rupture of a pipe or hull especially below the waterline and damage from grounding (running aground) or hard berthing against a wharf. Temporary fixing of bomb or explosive damage. Back Up Plan.

Defense Production Act of 1950 requires businesses to sign contracts or fulfill orders deemed necessary for national defense. It also allows the president to designate materials to be prohibited from hoarding or price gouging. The second section authorizes the President to establish mechanisms (such as regulations, orders or agencies) to allocate materials, services and facilities to promote national defense. The third section authorizes the President to control the civilian economy so that scarce and/or critical materials necessary to the national defense effort are available for defense needs. The Act also authorizes the President to requisition property, force industry to expand production and the supply of basic resources, impose wage and price controls, settle labor disputes, control consumer and real estate credit, establish contractual priorities, and allocate raw materials towards national defense. In 2011, under President Barack Obama, the law was invoked to force telecommunications companies, under criminal penalties, to provide detailed information to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security on the use of foreign-manufactured hardware and software in the companies' networks, as part of efforts to combat Chinese cyberespionage. On March 18, 2020, President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Although President Trump invoked the DPA, he indicated that he would not make immediate use of DPA authority, writing, "Hopefully there will be no need", and indicating that he would do so in a "worst-case scenario".

Manufacturing Readiness Level is a measure developed by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) to assess the maturity of manufacturing readiness, similar to how Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) are used for technology readiness. They can be used in general industry assessments, or for more specific application in assessing capabilities of possible suppliers. The Government Accountability Office has described it as best practice for improving acquisition outcomes. The United States Department of Defense adopted the usage of MRLs in 2005, but the GAO continued to note inconsistent application across DOD components. In 2011, consideration of manufacturing readiness and related processes of potential contractors and subcontractors was made mandatory as part of the source selection process in major acquisition programs. MRLs are quantitative measures used to assess the maturity of a given technology, component or system from a manufacturing perspective. They are used to provide decision makers at all levels with a common understanding of the relative maturity and attendant risks associated with manufacturing technologies, products, and processes being considered. Manufacturing risk identification and management must begin at the earliest stages of technology development, and continue vigorously throughout each stage of a program’s life-cycles. Manufacturing Readiness Level definitions were developed by a joint DOD/industry working group under the sponsorship of the Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Panel (JDMTP). The intent was to create a measurement scale that would serve the same purpose for manufacturing readiness as Technology Readiness Levels serve for technology readiness – to provide a common metric and vocabulary for assessing and discussing manufacturing maturity, risk and readiness. MRLs were designed with a numbering system to be roughly congruent with comparable levels of TRLs for synergy and ease of understanding and use.

Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication: Lessons from the Elk River Spill.

Effective government saves lives in cyclones, other disasters.

Crisis & Emergency Risk Communication or CERC has 6 Principles to teach effective communication before, during, and after an emergency.  1. Be First - 2. Be Right - 3. Be Credible - 4. Express Empathy - 5. Promote Action - 6. Show Respect.

Emergency Shelters

Emergency Shelter is a place for people to live temporarily when they cannot live in their previous residence, similar to homeless shelters. The main difference is that an emergency shelter typically specializes in people fleeing a specific type of situation, such as natural or man-made disasters, domestic violence, or victims of sexual abuse. A more minor difference is that people staying in emergency shelters are more likely to stay all day, except for work, school, or errands, while homeless shelters usually expect people to stay elsewhere during the day, returning only to sleep or eat. Emergency shelters sometimes facilitate support groups, and/or provide meals. Post-disaster emergency shelter is often provided by organizations or governmental emergency management departments, in response to natural disasters, such as a flood or earthquake. They tend to use tents or other temporary structures, or buildings normally used for another purpose, such as a church or school. These settlements may be inhabited for the entire duration of the reconstruction process and should be thought of more as settlements than shelter, and need to be planned with respect to water / sanitation, livelihoods. A newer category of emergency shelter is the warming center. Warming centers typically open during particularly cold or rainy nights. They are available to persons who decline to accept homeless shelters, are not allowed to use homeless shelters, or are not homeless, but have inadequate or malfunctioning heat in their homes. Stadiums.

Homeless Shelter are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community. They are similar to, but distinguishable from, various types of emergency shelters, which are typically operated for specific circumstances and populations—fleeing natural disasters or abusive social circumstances. Extreme weather conditions create problems similar to disaster management scenarios, and are handled with warming centers, which typically operate for short durations during adverse weather. Homeless shelter directory - Homeless Assistance Programs.

Safe Room is a fortified room that is installed in a private residence or business to provide a safe shelter, or hiding place, for the inhabitants in the event of a break in, home invasion, tornado, terror attack, or other threat. Safe rooms usually contain communications equipment, so that law enforcement authorities can be contacted. a room in a house or other building that is invulnerable to attack or intrusion, and from which security operations can be directed.

Storm Cellar is a type of underground bunker designed to protect the occupants from violent severe weather, particularly tornadoes. They are most frequently seen in the Midwest ("Tornado Alley") and Southeastern United States where tornadoes are generally frequent and the low water table permits underground structures.

Storm Door storm door is a type of door that is installed in front of an exterior access door to protect it from bad weather and allow ventilation. Storm doors generally have interchangeable glass panels and window screen panels to provide visibility and prevent flying insects from entering the home.

Storm Window are windows that are mounted outside or inside of the main glass windows of a house. Storm windows can be made of glass, rigid plastic panels, or flexible plastic sheets; and may be permanently or temporarily mounted. They function similarly to insulated glazing. The term may also refer to a small openable flap found in the side window on light aircraft. On modern houses they serve on existing windows in order to improve their thermal insulation and soundproofing. Aside from insulation, storm windows provide an additional measure of protection for homes against damages to costly glass panes during inclement weather such as hail. On older houses, storm windows were installed in autumn when window screens were removed. Later units combined the storm and screen pieces. Similarly, storm doors (also called "screen doors") allow similar energy savings with less efficient primary doors – and allow a screen for summer ventilation.

Bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs or other attacks. Bunkers are mostly underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. They were used extensively in World War I, World War II, and the Cold War for weapons facilities, command and control centers, and storage facilities. Bunkers can also be used as protection from tornadoes.

Bomb Shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb.

Blast Shelter is a place where people can go to protect themselves from blasts and explosions, like those from bombs, or in hazardous worksites, such as on oil and gas refineries or petrochemical facilities. It differs from a fallout shelter, in that its main purpose is to protect from shock waves and overpressure instead of from radioactive precipitation, as a fallout shelter does. It is also possible for a shelter to protect from both blasts and fallout.

Fallout Shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War. During a nuclear explosion, matter vaporized in the resulting fireball is exposed to neutrons from the explosion, absorbs them, and becomes radioactive. When this material condenses in the rain, it forms dust and light sandy materials that resemble ground pumice. The fallout emits alpha and beta particles, as well as gamma rays. Much of this highly radioactive material falls to earth, subjecting anything within the line of sight to radiation, becoming a significant hazard. A fallout shelter is designed to allow its occupants to minimize exposure to harmful fallout until radioactivity has decayed to a safer level.

Emergency Preparedness Plans - Is your City, Town or Government Prepared?

Continuity of Government is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of nuclear war or other catastrophic event. Emergency Kits - Prepared.

Intelligence Cycle is the fundamental cycle of intelligence processing in a civilian or military intelligence agency or in law enforcement as a closed path consisting of repeating nodes. The stages of the intelligence cycle include the issuance of requirements by decision makers, collection, processing, analysis, and publication of intelligence. The circuit is completed when decision makers provide feedback and revised requirements. The intelligence cycle is also called the Intelligence Process by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the uniformed services The intelligence cycle is an effective way of processing information and turning it into relevant and actionable intelligence.

Incident Command System is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response providing a common hierarchy within which responders from multiple agencies can be effective and also meet the needs of a jurisdiction to cope with incidents of any kind or complexity (i.e. it expands or contracts as needed). The Incident Command System (ICS) is a management system designed to enable effective and efficient domestic incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure. ICS allows personnel from a wide variety of agencies to meld rapidly into a common management structure with common terminology. Provide logistical and administrative support to operational staff. Be cost effective by avoiding duplication of efforts, and continuing overhead. Provide a unified, centrally authorized emergency organization. Weaknesses in incident management were often due to: Lack of accountability, including unclear chain of command and supervision. Poor communication due to both inefficient uses of available communications systems and conflicting codes and terminology. Lack of an orderly, systematic planning process. No predefined methods to integrate inter-agency requirements into the management structure and planning process effectively. Freelancing by individuals within the first responding team without the direction from team leader (IC) and those with specialized skills during an incident without coordination with other first responders. Lack of knowledge with common terminology during an incident.

National Incident Management System is a standardized approach to incident management to facilitate coordination between all responders (including all levels of government with public, private, and nongovernmental organizations).

Command Center is any place that is used to provide centralized command for some purpose. Teams of communications people who monitor and listen to the media and the public, respond to inquiries, and synthesize opinions to determine the best course of action. A command center enables an organization to function as designed, to perform day-to-day operations regardless of what is happening around it, in a manner in which no one realizes it is there but everyone knows who is in charge when there is trouble. a command center is a source of leadership and guidance to ensure that service and order is maintained.

Control Room is a room serving as a central space where a large physical facility or physically dispersed service can be monitored and controlled. A control room will often be part of a larger command center. Control rooms are usually equipped with elaborate fire suppression and security systems to safeguard their contents and occupants, and to ensure continued operation in emergencies. In hazardous environments, the control room may also serve as an area of refuge for personnel trapped onsite. The rooms are typically crammed with equipment, mounted in multi-function rack mount cabinets to allow updating. The dense concentration of equipment often requires special electrical uninterruptible power supply (UPS) feeds and air conditioning. Since the control equipment is intended to control other items in the surrounding facility, these (often fire-resistance rated) service rooms require many penetrations for cables. Due to routine equipment updates these penetrations are subject to frequent changes, so that a control room maintenance program must include vigilant firestop maintenance for code compliance. Due to the nature of the sensitive equipment inside control room cabinets, it is useful to ensure the use of "T-rated" firestops, that are massive and thick enough to resist heat transmission to the inside of the control room. It is also common to place control rooms under positive pressure ventilation to prevent smoke or toxic gases from entering. If used, gaseous fire suppressants must occupy the space that is to be protected for a minimum period of time to be sure a fire can be completely extinguished. Openings in such spaces must, therefore, be kept to a minimum to prevent the escape of the suppression gas. A mobile control room is designated as particularly in high risk facilities, such as a nuclear power station or a petrochemical facility.It can provided a guaranteed life support for the anticipated safety control.

White House Situation Room is a conference room and intelligence management center in the basement of the West Wing of the White House. It is run by the National Security Council staff for the use of the President of the United States and their advisors (including the National Security Advisor, the Homeland Security Advisor and the White House Chief of Staff) to monitor and deal with crises at home and abroad and to conduct secure communications with outside (often overseas) persons. The Situation Room is equipped with secure, advanced communications equipment for the President to maintain command and control of U.S. forces around the world.

Supply Chain

Emergency Management is the creation of plans through which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Disaster management does not avert or eliminate the threats; instead, it focuses on creating plans to decrease the effect of disasters. Failure to create a plan could lead to human mortality, lost revenue, and damage to assets. Events covered by disaster management include acts of terrorism, industrial sabotage, fire, natural disasters (such as earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.), public disorder, industrial accidents, and communication failures.

National Intelligence Emergency Management - National Intelligence Strategy (PDF)

International Association of Emergency Managers

Business Support Systems are the components that a telecommunications service provider uses to run its business operations towards customers. Together with operations support systems, they are used to support various end-to-end telecommunication services. BSS and OSS have their own data and service responsibilities. Business Process Framework is an operating model framework for telecom service providers in the telecommunications industry. The model describes the required business processes of service providers, and defines key elements and how they should interact. The Business Process Framework (eTOM) is a standard maintained by the TM Forum, an association for service providers and their suppliers in the telecommunications and entertainment industries.

Insurance Broker (wiki) - Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety

75w DC AC Power Inverter for Car Emergency Power (amazon)

National Emergency Training Center library The National Emergency Training Center’s (NETC) library provides information and resources on fire, emergency management and other all-hazards subjects. With our collection of more than 208,000 books, reports, audiovisual materials and indexed articles, the library supports National Fire Academy and Emergency Management Institute student and faculty research, classroom lectures, and development of course materials.

Survival Tips - Medical Kits

Flooding Risks - Driving on Flooded Streets - Flooded Roads

Network Operations Center is one or more locations from which network monitoring and control, or network management, is exercised over a computer, telecommunication or satellite network.

RUN. HIDE. FIGHT. Surviving an Active Shooter Event (youtube)

Disasters Websites - Civi Guard

Emergency Preparedness focuses on preparing equipment and procedures for use when a disaster occurs. This equipment and these procedures can be used to reduce vulnerability to disaster, to mitigate the impacts of a disaster or to respond more efficiently in an emergency.

Emergency Preparedness Tips for Storms and Power Outages (youtube)

Radio (radio technology)

Winter Power Outage Tips - Power Outage Tips

Hurricane Safety Tips - Winter Storm Tips - Weather Warnings - Weather Information Websites

Emergency Supplies, Food and Water Tips from FEMA (PDF)

International Search and Rescue Advisory Group is a network of disaster-prone and disaster-responding countries and organizations dedicated to urban search and rescue (USAR) and operational field coordination. It aims to establish standards and classification for international USAR teams as well as methodology for international response coordination in the aftermath of earthquakes and collapsed structure disasters. The INSARAG Secretariat is located in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Search and Rescue - Search & Rescue Task Force

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was designed to strengthen the UN's response to complex emergencies and natural disasters. Earlier UN organizations with similar tasks were the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA), and its predecessor, the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator (UNDRO). In 1998, due to reorganization, DHA merged into OCHA and was designed to be the UN focal point on major disasters. It is a sitting observer of the political debate United Nations Development Group. After merging with the DHA, its mandate was expanded to encompass the coordination of humanitarian response, policy development and humanitarian advocacy.

Emergency Foods - Emergency Medical Services

Public Safety - Stressful Situations

Federal Emergency Management Agency - FEMA - Lessons Learned - FEMA

The International Association for Disaster Preparedness and Response (DERA) - DERA Online Emergency Operations Center

Disaster Center Resources - Red Cross Chapters

White Helmets in the Syrian Civil War are officially known as Syria Civil Defense, is a volunteer civil defense organization that currently operates in parts of rebel-controlled Syria. The White Helmets should not be confused with the Syrian Civil Defense Forces which have been a member of the ICDO (International Civil Defense Organization) since 1972. White Helmets website.

Civil Defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from military attacks and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation and recovery. Programs of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s and were implemented in some countries during the 1930s as the threat of war and aerial bombardment grew. It became widespread after the threat of nuclear weapons was realized.

United States Civil Defense refers to the use of civil defense in the history of the United States, which is the organized non-military effort to prepare Americans for military attack. Over the last twenty years, the term and practice of civil defense have fallen into disuse and have been replaced by emergency management and homeland security.

Emergency Social Services is a component of the Provincial Emergency Program of the Province of British Columbia. ESS are those services required to preserve the well-being of people affected by an emergency or disaster. Teams are established in local municipalities and assemble together for meetings and contingency planning.

Doomsday Drill Includes Local Agencies

Mitigation are measures that eliminate or reduce the impacts and risks of hazards through proactive measures taken before an emergency or disaster occurs.

To act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious. The action of lessening in severity or intensity.

Hazard Mitigation Planning is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. It is most effective when implemented under a comprehensive, long-term mitigation plan. State, tribal, and local governments engage in hazard mitigation planning to identify risks and vulnerabilities associated with natural disasters, and develop long-term strategies for protecting people and property from future hazard events. Mitigation plans are key to breaking the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage.

Developing Hazard Mitigation Plans enables State, Tribal, and local Governments to: Increase education and awareness around threats, hazards, and vulnerabilities; Build partnerships for risk reduction involving government, organizations, businesses, and the public; Identify long-term, broadly-supported strategies for risk reduction; Align risk reduction with other state, tribal, or community objectives; Identify implementation approaches that focus resources on the greatest risks and vulnerabilities; and Communicate priorities to potential sources of funding.

Moreover, a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan is a condition for receiving certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance, including funding for mitigation projects. Ultimately, hazard mitigation planning enables action to reduce loss of life and property, lessening the impact of disasters.

Hazus Software is a nationally applicable standardized methodology that contains models for estimating potential losses from earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tsunamis. Hazus uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to estimate physical, economic, and social impacts of disasters. It graphically illustrates the limits of identified high-risk locations due to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and tsunamis. Users can then visualize the spatial relationships between populations and other more permanently fixed geographic assets or resources for the specific hazard being modeled, a crucial function in the pre-disaster planning process. Users can download the Hazus Software for Free from the FEMA Flood Map Service Center (MSC).

A new study shows natural disasters have caused more than $7 trillion and left over eight million people dead over the past century. (many more deaths then what is reported).

Infectious Disease Control - Virus Containment

Biocontainment is the physical containment of pathogenic organisms or agents such as bacteria, viruses, and toxins. Containment is usually done by isolation in environmentally and in biologically secure cabinets or rooms, to prevent accidental infection of workers or the release into the surrounding community during scientific research or pandemics. Laboratory context primary containment is the first container in direct contact with bio-hazardous material as well as protection of personnel and the immediate laboratory environment from exposure to infectious agents. Primary containment requires using proper storage containers, good microbiological technique, and the use of appropriate safety equipment such as biological safety cabinets. Secondary containment is the protection of the environment external to the laboratory from exposure to infectious materials and is provided by a combination of facility design and operational practices. The term bio-containment was first used in 1985, but the concept stretches back at least to the 1940s. Positive Pressure Room.

Containment is to stop something from spreading. A system designed to prevent the accidental release of a toxin.

Isolation - Quarantine - Social Distancing - Lock Down - Contagious

Nonpharmaceutical Interventions are actions that people and communities can take to help slow the spread of illnesses like pandemic influenza. What you do personally is to stay home when you are sick. Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue. Wash your hands often with soap and water. What communities do is implement social distancing interventions in schools, workplaces, and at events. What everyone can do to keep the environment germ-free is clean frequently touched surfaces and objects like door knobs.

Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza - United States, 2017 - pdf.

Mitigation the action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something. Mitigation is the reduction of something harmful or the reduction of its harmful effects. It may refer to measures taken to reduce the harmful effects of hazards that remain a threat, or to manage harmful incidents that have already occurred. It is a stage or component of emergency management and of risk management.

Critical Care Decontamination System - Personal Protective Equipment

Pandemics - Epidemic Outbreaks - Pesticides - COVID-19

Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases Map (Johns Hopkins University) - WHO - CDC

Take everyday preventive actions: Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, or touching things in a public place. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. To the extent possible, avoid touching high-touch surfaces in public places – elevator buttons, door handles, handrails, handshaking with people, etc. Use a tissue or your sleeve to cover your hand or finger if you must touch something. Wash your hands after touching surfaces in public places. Avoid touching your face, nose, eyes, etc. Clean and disinfect your home to remove germs: practice routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces (for example: tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, toilets, faucets, sinks & cell phones). Avoid crowds, especially in poorly ventilated spaces. Your risk of exposure to respiratory viruses like COVID-19 may increase in crowded, closed-in settings with little air circulation if there are people in the crowd who are sick. Avoid all non-essential travel including plane trips, and especially avoid embarking on cruise ships. Stay home when you are sick. What to do if You are Sick? Call Your Doctor.

Bio-Containment Unit - After Ebola: Nebraska and the Next Pandemic Apr 19, 2017 (youtube)

Contact Tracing is the process of identification of persons who may have come into contact with an infected person ("contacts") and subsequent collection of further information about these contacts. By tracing the contacts of infected individuals, testing them for infection, treating the infected and tracing their contacts in turn, public health aims to reduce infections in the population. Diseases for which contact tracing is commonly performed for include tuberculosis, vaccine-preventable infections like measles, sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), blood-borne infections, some serious bacterial infections, and novel infections (e.g. SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2). The goals of contact tracing are: To interrupt ongoing transmission and reduce spread of an infection. To alert contacts to the possibility of infection and offer preventive counseling or prophylactic care. To offer diagnosis, counseling and treatment to already infected individuals. If the infection is treatable, to help prevent reinfection of the originally infected patient. To learn about the epidemiology of a disease in a particular population. Contact tracing has been a pillar of communicable disease control in public health for decades. The eradication of smallpox, for example, was achieved not by universal immunization, but by exhaustive contact tracing to find all infected persons. This was followed by isolation of infected individuals and immunization of the surrounding community and contacts at-risk of contracting smallpox. In cases of diseases of uncertain infectious potential, contact tracing is also sometimes performed to learn about disease characteristics, including infectiousness. Contact tracing is not always the most efficient method of addressing infectious disease. In areas of high disease prevalence, screening or focused testing may be more cost-effective. Partner notification, also called partner care, is a subset of contact tracing aimed specifically at informing sexual partners of an infected person and addressing their health needs. Testing - Lab Work.

COVID-19 Apps are mobile software applications designed to aid contact tracing in response to the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic, i.e. the process of identifying persons ("contacts") who may have been in contact with an infected individual. Numerous applications were developed or proposed, with official government support in some territories and jurisdictions. Several frameworks for building contact tracing apps have been developed. Privacy concerns have been raised, especially about systems that are based on tracking the geographical location of app users. Less intrusive alternatives include the use of Bluetooth signals to log a user's proximity to other cellphones. On 10 April 2020, Google and Apple jointly announced that they would integrate functionality to support such Bluetooth-based apps directly into their Android and iOS operating systems. Contact-Tracing Apps.

Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that spoils, corrupts, infects, makes unfit, or makes inferior a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc.

Cross Contamination is the process by which bacteria or other microorganisms are unintentionally transferred from one substance or object to another, with harmful effect. Food Safety.

Safe Grocery Shopping in COVID-19 Pandemic – UPDATED PSA!!! (youtube) - This is the most current video for New CDC data, safe takeout food practices, and an updated practice for safe grocery shopping/handling. Food Waste.

Biosafety is the prevention of large-scale loss of biological integrity, focusing both on ecology and human health. These prevention mechanisms include conduction of regular reviews of the biosafety in laboratory settings, as well as strict guidelines to follow. Biosafety is used to protect from harmful incidents. Many laboratories handling biohazards employ an ongoing risk management assessment and enforcement process for biosafety. Failures to follow such protocols can lead to increased risk of exposure to biohazards or pathogens. Human error and poor technique contribute to unnecessary exposure and compromise the best safeguards set into place for protection.

Biosafety Level is a set of biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in an enclosed laboratory facility. At the lowest level of biosafety, precautions may consist of regular hand-washing and minimal protective equipment. At higher biosafety levels, precautions may include airflow systems, multiple containment rooms, sealed containers, positive pressure personnel suits, established protocols for all procedures, extensive personnel training, and high levels of security to control access to the facility.

Aeromedical Isolation Team was a military rapid response team with worldwide airlift capability designed to safely evacuate and manage contagious patients under high-level (BSL-4) bio-containment conditions.

Infectious Disease Emergency Preparedness Plan (IDEPP) (PDF)

Emergency Containment Plan to Respond to a Virus Infection.

CDC Planning - CDC Outbreaks - Outbreak Alerts

Control of Viral Infections and Diseases - Immunoprophylaxis against viral illnesses includes the use of vaccines or antibody-containing preparations to provide immune protection against a specific disease. Active Prophylaxis (Vaccines). Active immunization involves administering a virus preparation that stimulates the body's immune system to produce its own specific immunity. Viral vaccines now available for use include the following types: (1) attenuated live viruses; (2) killed viruses; (3) recombinant produced antigens. A vaccinee is a person who has been vaccinated. Immune Response to Vaccines: Vaccination evokes an antibody response and stimulates T lymphocytes. Vaccine effectiveness is assessed in terms of percentage of recipients protected and the duration and degree of protection. Most effective viral vaccines protect more than 90 percent of recipients and produce fairly durable immunity. Passive Prophylaxis. Passive immunity is conferred by administering antibodies formed in another host. Human immunoglobulins remain a mainstay of passive prophylaxis (and occasionally therapy) for viral illnesses; they are usually used to protect individuals who have been exposed to a disease and cannot be protected by vaccination. Sanitation and Vector Control. Many viral diseases are controlled by reducing exposure to the virus by (1) eliminating nonhuman reservoirs, (2) eliminating the vector, and (3) improving sanitation. Antiviral Chemotherapy. There are three types of antiviral agents: (1) virucidal agents, which directly inactivate viruses, (2) antiviral agents, which inhibit viral replication, and (3) immunomodulators, which boost the host immune response. Interferons. Virus-infected cells and cells induced with other agents, e.g., double-stranded polynucleotides, can secrete proteins called interferons, which protect normal cells from viral infection. Therapeutic administration of interferon alpha has proven effective for several human viral illnesses. Cytokines are molecules produced by cells which modify the biological responses of the same or other cells.

Biological Hazard is a biological substance that poses a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can adversely affect human health. A biohazard could also be a substance harmful to other animals.

Biomedical Waste is any kind of waste containing infectious (or potentially infectious) materials. It may also include waste associated with the generation of biomedical waste that visually appears to be of medical or laboratory origin (e.g., packaging, unused bandages, infusion kits, etc.), as well research laboratory waste containing biomolecules or organisms that are mainly restricted from environmental release. As detailed below, discarded sharps are considered biomedical waste whether they are contaminated or not, due to the possibility of being contaminated with blood and their propensity to cause injury when not properly contained and disposed of. Biomedical waste is a type of biowaste. Biomedical waste may be solid or liquid. Examples of infectious waste include discarded blood, sharps, unwanted microbiological cultures and stocks, identifiable body parts (including those as a result of amputation), other human or animal tissue, used bandages and dressings, discarded gloves, other medical supplies that may have been in contact with blood and body fluids, and laboratory waste that exhibits the characteristics described above. Waste sharps include potentially contaminated used (and unused discarded) needles, scalpels, lancets and other devices capable of penetrating skin. Biomedical waste is generated from biological and medical sources and activities, such as the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of diseases. Common generators (or producers) of biomedical waste include hospitals, health clinics, nursing homes, emergency medical services, medical research laboratories, offices of physicians, dentists, and veterinarians, home health care, and morgues or funeral homes. In healthcare facilities (i.e., hospitals, clinics, doctor's offices, veterinary hospitals and clinical laboratories), waste with these characteristics may alternatively be called medical or clinical waste. Biomedical waste is distinct from normal trash or general waste, and differs from other types of hazardous waste, such as chemical, radioactive, universal or industrial waste. Medical facilities generate waste hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials. While such wastes are normally not infectious, they require proper disposal. Some wastes are considered multihazardous, such as tissue samples preserved in formalin.

Hazardous Waste Hazardous waste is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known or tested to exhibit one or more of the following hazardous traits: Ignitability, Reactivity, Corrosivity, Toxicity. Listed hazardous wastes are materials specifically listed by regulatory authorities as hazardous wastes which are from non-specific sources, specific sources, or discarded chemical products. Hazardous wastes may be found in different physical states such as gaseous, liquids, or solids. A hazardous waste is a special type of waste because it cannot be disposed of by common means like other by-products of our everyday lives. Depending on the physical state of the waste, treatment and solidification processes might be required.

Select Agent is something that has potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety.

High Containment Pathogen Preparation in the Intensive Care Unit.

World Health OrganizationGeneva2004Laboratory biosafety manualThird edition. Sequences of steps of the safety procedure for the containment of pathogenic organisms.

Biosafety in the laboratory 3rd revised edition, May 2004.

Guidelines for Safe Work Practices in Human and Animal Medical Diagnostic Laboratories.

Disaster Response - Preparedness

CIDRAP - Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy - Academic Health Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Global Health Security Index finds gaps in preparedness for epidemics and pandemics. Even high-income countries are found lacking and score only in the average range of preparedness.

Disease Outbreak News - Health Travel Alerts

Air Quality Reports - Earth Observatory Map (pollution) - Weather

Water Quality - Soil - Safety Engineering

Passive Surveillance gathers disease data from all potential reporting health care workers. Health authorities do not stimulate reporting by reminding health care workers to report disease nor providing feedback to individual health workers. Passive surveillance is the most common type of surveillance in humanitarian emergencies. Most surveillance for communicable diseases is passive. The surveillance coordinator may provide training to health workers in how to complete the surveillance forms, and may even send someone to periodically collect forms from health facilities. But little attention is given to individual health workers who report the information. The data requested of each health worker is minimal. Nonetheless, passive surveillance is often incomplete because there are few incentives for health workers to report.

Active Surveillance system provides stimulus to health care workers in the form of individual feedback or other incentives. Often reporting frequency by individual health workers is monitored; health workers who consistently fail to report or complete the forms incorrectly are provided specific feedback to improve their performance. There may also be incentives provided for complete reporting. Active surveillance requires substantially more time and resources and is therefore less commonly used in emergencies. But it is often more complete than passive surveillance. It is often used if an outbreak has begun or is suspected to keep close track of the number of cases. Community health workers may be asked to do active case finding in the community in order to detect those patients who may not come to health facilities for treatment.

Sentinel Surveillance selects, either randomly or intentionally, a small group of health workers from whom to gather data from instead of attempting to gather surveillance data from all health care workers. These health workers then receive greater attention from health authorities than would be possible with universal surveillance. Sentinel surveillance also requires more time and resources, but can often produce more detailed data on cases of illness because the health care workers have agreed to participate and may receive incentives. It may be the best type of surveillance if more intensive investigation of each case is necessary to collect the necessary data. For example, sentinel influenza surveillance in the United States collects nasopharyngeal swabs from each patient at selected sites to identify the type of influenza virus. Collection of such data from all health workers would not be possible. A sentinel surveillance system is used when high-quality data are needed about a particular disease that cannot be obtained through a passive system. Selected reporting units, with a high probability of seeing cases of the disease in question, good laboratory facilities and experienced well-qualified staff, identify and notify on certain diseases. Whereas most passive surveillance systems receive data from as many health workers or health facilities as possible, a sentinel system deliberately involves only a limited network of carefully selected reporting sites. For example, a network of large hospitals might be used to collect high-quality data on various diseases and their causative organisms, such as invasive bacterial disease caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b, meningococcus or pneumococcus. Data collected in a well-designed sentinel system can be used to signal trends, identify outbreaks and monitor the burden of disease in a community, providing a rapid, economical alternative to other surveillance methods. Because sentinel surveillance is conducted only in selected locations, however, it may not be as effective for detecting rare diseases or diseases that occur outside the catchment areas of the sentinel sites. The following criteria should be considered in selecting a sentinel health facility (usually a general or infectious disease hospital) : It should be willing to participate. It serves a relatively large population that has easy access to it. It has medical staff sufficiently specialized to diagnoze, treat and report cases of the disease under surveillance. It has a high-quality diagnostic laboratory.

U.S. Influenza Surveillance System: Purpose and Methods. Find out when and where influenza activity is occurring; Determine what influenza viruses are circulating; Detect changes in influenza viruses; and Measure the impact influenza is having on outpatient illness, hospitalizations and deaths. It is important to maintain a comprehensive system for influenza surveillance for the following reasons: Influenza viruses are constantly changing (referred to as antigenic drift), and thus ongoing data collection and characterization of the viruses are required; Influenza viruses can also undergo an abrupt, major change (referred to as antigenic shift) that results in a virus that is different than currently circulating influenza viruses; surveillance of viruses will detect these changes and inform the public health response;Vaccines must be administered annually and are updated regularly based on surveillance findings; Treatment for influenza is guided by laboratory surveillance for antiviral resistance; and Influenza surveillance and targeted research studies are used to monitor the impact of influenza on different segments of the population (e.g. age groups, underlying medical conditions).

Stockpile - Beefing Up Supplies

Strategic National Stockpile is the nation’s largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out. When state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency. Organized for scalable response to a variety of public health threats, this repository contains enough supplies to respond to multiple large-scale emergencies simultaneously. SNS has large quantities of medicine and medical supplies to protect the American public if there is a public health emergency.

Stockpile is something kept back or saved for future use or a special purpose. A storage pile accumulated for future use. To have on hand in an emergency. Savings Account.

Supply is an amount of something available for use. Supply Chain - Aid Assistance.

Stockpiling is Not the Same as Hoarding or saving things for an emergency. There's a big difference between planning and over reacting because you're paranoid or selfish.

Why are people hoarding paper towels, toilet paper and hand sanitizer? Because most people are ignorant and selfish. There is no rational reason to hoard, unless you are a psychopath with malicious intent to cause people to panic by buying large amounts of products. People need to respect quantity limits so that everyone can share the supplies. There are people who actually need certain things to do their job and also provide services that keeps everyone safe. There’s no need to hoard stuff when a particular product is unlikely to suffer from a shortage. Media people spread rumors and fears, and people are easily influenced by herd mentality, and people can easily over-react and panic, which could cause supply and demand problems, shortages and price gouging.

Panic Buying occurs when consumers buy unusually large amounts of a product in anticipation of, or after, a disaster or perceived disaster, or in anticipation of a large price increase or shortage. Panic buying is a type of herd behavior. It is of interest in consumer behavior theory, the broad field of economic study dealing with explanations for "collective action such as fads and fashions, stock market movements, runs on nondurable goods, buying sprees, hoarding, and banking panics." Panic buying can lead to genuine shortages regardless of whether the risk of a shortage is real or perceived; the latter scenario is an example of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Scarcity in social psychology is when humans place a higher value on an object that is scarce, and a lower value on those that are in abundance. if a product is sold out, or inventory is extremely low, humans interpret that to mean the product must be good since everyone else appears to be buying it. If someone has already committed themselves to something, then find out they cannot have it, it makes the person want the item more. Scarcity principle is an economic theory in which a limited supply of a good, coupled with a high demand for that good, results in a mismatch between the desired supply and demand equilibrium. Marketing Tactics.

Social Distancing - Isolation - Quarantine

Social Distancing are infection control actions taken by public health officials to stop or slow down the spread of a highly contagious disease. The objective of social distancing is to reduce the probability of contact between persons carrying an infection, and others who are not infected, so as to minimize disease transmission, morbidity and ultimately, mortality. Social distancing is most effective when the infection can be transmitted via droplet contact (coughing or sneezing); direct physical contact, including sexual contact; indirect physical contact (e.g. by touching a contaminated surface such as a fomite); or airborne transmission (if the microorganism can survive in the air for long periods).Social distancing may be less effective in cases where the infection is transmitted primarily via contaminated water or food or by vectors such as mosquitoes or other insects, and less frequently from person to person. Drawbacks of social distancing can include loneliness, reduced productivity, and the loss of other benefits associated with human interaction. It can also make it more difficult for a community to monitor the health of its members. One of the earliest references to social distancing dates to the seventh century BC in the Book of Leviticus, 13:46: "And the leper in whom the plague is...he shall dwell alone; [outside] the camp shall his habitation be." Historically, leper colonies and lazarettos were established as a means of preventing the spread of leprosy and other contagious diseases through social distancing, until transmission was understood and effective treatments were invented. U.N. Warns global lockdowns resulting In horrifying surge in Domestic Violence.

Living Alone Skills (introverts) - Isolation Dangers

Shelter in Place is to seek safety within the building one already occupies, rather than to evacuate the area or seek a community emergency shelter. The American Red Cross says the warning is issued when "chemical, biological, or radiological contaminants may be released accidentally or intentionally into the environment" and residents should "select a small, interior room, with no or few windows, taking refuge there.

Isolation in health care represents one of several measures that can be taken to implement infection control: the prevention of contagious diseases from being spread from a patient to other patients, health care workers, and visitors, or from outsiders to a particular patient (reverse isolation). Various forms of isolation exist, in some of which contact procedures are modified, and others in which the patient is kept away from all others. In a system devised, and periodically revised, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), various levels of patient isolation comprise application of one or more formally described "precaution". Isolation is most commonly used when a patient is known to have a contagious (transmissible from person-to-person) viral or bacterial illness. Special equipment is used in the management of patients in the various forms of isolation. These most commonly include items of personal protective equipment (gowns, masks, and gloves) and engineering controls (positive pressure rooms, negative pressure rooms, laminar air flow equipment, and various mechanical and structural barriers). Dedicated isolation wards may be pre-built into hospitals, or isolation units may be temporarily designated in facilities in the midst of an epidemic emergency.

Self-Isolation is an effective precautionary measure to protect those around you, like your family, friends, colleagues from contracting a virus. It means taking simple, common-sense steps to avoid close contact with other people as much as possible, like you would with the seasonal flu virus. We know it’s a stressful time, but taking these measures will help protect you, your family. As much as possible, you should limit your contact with people other than the family members/companions you travelled with. You should avoid having visitors to your home, but it is okay for friends, family or delivery drivers to drop off food and supplies. If you are in a home where the others who live with you haven’t travelled or been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, you should minimise close contact with them by avoiding situations where you have face-to-face contact closer than 2 metres for more than 15 minutes. The other household residents do not need to self-isolate provided these precautions are followed. You should not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, pillows or other items with other people in your home. After using these items, you should wash them thoroughly with soap and water, place them in the dishwasher for cleaning or wash them in your washing machine. Staying at home and self-isolating presents its own challenges, but there are things you can do to make the 14 days easier. If you are self-isolating after travelling internationally, plan ahead and think about what you need to be able to stay at home for the full 14 days before your return to your home country. Talk to your employer, friends and family to ask for their help to access the things you will need. Talk to your employer to see if you can work from home during this time. Where possible, ask friends or family to drop off anything you need or order supplies online. Make sure any deliveries are left outside your home for you to collect. Many companies are now offering a ‘contactless’ delivery option, where they notify you when they have delivered your order but remain nearby to ensure you receive it. You can keep in touch with friends and family over the phone or internet, but don’t have physical contact with anyone who isn’t isolating with you. Physical exercise is good for your wellbeing. Look for online classes or courses to help you take light exercise in your home. You can go outside, but you need to limit your contact with others. It’s ok to go for a walk, run or ride your bike, as long as you avoid people who aren’t self-isolating. Don’t use public transport, taxis or similar transport methods during your 14-day period. You can use public transport after you arrive in New Zealand for the sole purpose of returning to your home, but cannot use it after that. You can use your own transport means (car, bike etc) whenever you wish. You can live with others during your 14 days, but you need to avoid close contact with them. This means you shouldn’t share beds, linen or food.

Curfew is an order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically it refers to the time when individuals are required to return to and stay in their homes. Such an order may be issued by public authorities but also by the owner of a house to those living in the household. For instance, an au pair is typically given a curfew, which regulates when they must return to the host family's home in the evening.

Quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been exposed to a communicable disease, but do not have a confirmed medical diagnosis. The term is often used synonymously with medical isolation, in which those confirmed to be infected with a communicable disease are isolated from the healthy population. Quarantine is a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed. Number Needed to Treat.

Mobile Quarantine Facility is a converted airstream trailer used by NASA to quarantine astronauts returning from Apollo lunar missions for the first few days after splashdown. The MQF was on the aircraft carrier that picked up the capsule. Once the aircraft carrier reached port, the MQF was flown to Houston, and the crew served the remainder of the 21 days of quarantine in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. The purpose of the quarantine was to prevent the spread of any contagions from the Moon, though the existence of such contagions was considered unlikely. It functioned by maintaining a lower pressure inside and filtering any air vented.

Martial Law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civilian functions by a government, especially in response to a temporary emergency such as invasion or major disaster, or in an occupied territory. Can be used to separate and restrict the movement of persons; it is a 'state of enforced isolation'. This is often used in connection to disease and illness, such as those who may possibly have been exposed to a communicable disease.

Lockdown is an emergency protocol that usually prevents people or information from leaving an area. Containment.

Focused Lockdown is the isolation and containment of infected people, as well as those who were in close contact with the infected people. Freedom to Assemble - The fucken lockdown kid (youtube).

House Arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all. House arrest is an alternative to being in a prison while awaiting trial or after sentencing. While house arrest can be applied to criminal cases when prison does not seem an appropriate measure, the term is often applied to the use of house confinement as a measure of repression by authoritarian governments against political dissidents. In these cases, the person under house arrest often does not have access to any means of communication with people outside of the home; if electronic communication is allowed, conversations may be monitored. (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring).

Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges, and thus no trial. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply mean imprisonment, it tends to refer to preventive confinement rather than confinement after having been convicted of some crime. Use of these terms is subject to debate and political sensitivities. Interned persons may be held in prisons or in facilities known as internment camps, also known as concentration camps. This involves internment generally, as distinct from the subset, the Nazi extermination camps, commonly referred to as death camps.

Open Prison is any jail in which the prisoners are trusted to serve their sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and are often not locked up in their prison cells. Prisoners may be permitted to take up employment while serving their sentence.

Mobile Phone Data Show More Americans Are Leaving Their Homes, Despite Orders. Nation Saw Decline In Social Distancing In Late April. The data provided was anonymized, meaning the locations of exact devices were hidden, with only general trends shown. What these metrics don't account for is how people practice social distancing when they leave their homes. A picnic in an empty park, for example, would be counted the same as a trip to a crowded grocery store.

Containment Actions: Employees in essential jobs and government personnel can continue to work. All other people are ordered to work from home. Citizens should stay home where possible. Essential businesses like grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies will remain open. Visits to nursing homes are prohibited. Solitary walks and outdoor exercise are permitted but all team sports are banned. Gatherings of more than 10 people at a time are prohibited. Residents are allowed to go to the grocery store and run errands. Residents much stay at least six feet away from one another at all times and wear masks if available and also follow hygiene protocol. Say it don't spray it. Schools will close. Restaurants and bars can still deliver to homes. All non-essential businesses statewide must close their premises. Liquor and wine stores are classified as essential and will remain open, as can pharmacies, grocery stores, and restaurants and bars offering takeout and delivery only. Churches or other religious series are allowed to continue if they meet outdoors, stream online, or adhere to social distancing inside their facilities. Mass transit and roadways are not affected. All roads remain open. Buses and trains continue to operate but should be used only for essential travel. Some States have Different Requirements.

Vampire Bats practice social distancing while sick. New research shows that when vampire bats feel sick, they naturally socially distance themselves from groupmates in their roost , with no public health guidance required. Sick bats lead to marked change in colony social network.

Risk Management

Risk is the potential of losing something of value. Risk is the amount of harm that can be expected to occur during a given time period due to a specific harm or threat event. Vulnerabilities - Risk Perception - Uncertainty - Statistics.

Risk Management (management) - Liabilities - Actuary - Conservation.

Danger is the condition of being susceptible to harm, injury, pain or loss. Pesticides - Toxins - Global Warming.

Hazard is a source of danger with a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune. Sometimes a hazard is an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another. Hazard is an agent which has the potential to cause harm to a vulnerable target. A hazard is any agent that can cause harm or damage to humans, property, or the environment. Risk is defined as the probability that exposure to a hazard will lead to a negative consequence, or more simply, a hazard poses no risk if there is no exposure to that hazard. Hazards can be dormant or potential, with only a theoretical probability of harm. An event that is caused by interaction with a hazard is called an incident. The likely severity of the undesirable consequences of an incident associated with a hazard, combined with the probability of this occurring, constitute the associated risk. If there is no possibility of a hazard contributing towards an incident, there is no risk. Hazards can be classified as different types in several ways. One of these ways is by specifying the origin of the hazard. One key concept in identifying a hazard is the presence of stored energy that, when released, can cause damage. Stored energy can occur in many forms: chemical, mechanical, thermal, radioactive, electrical, etc. Another class of hazard does not involve release of stored energy, rather it involves the presence of hazardous situations. Examples include confined or limited egress spaces, oxygen-depleted atmospheres, awkward positions, repetitive motions, low-hanging or protruding objects, etc. Hazards may also be classified as natural, anthropogenic, or technological. They may also be classified as health or safety hazards, by the populations that may be affected, and the severity of the associated risk. In most cases a hazard may affect a range of targets, and have little or no effect on others. Identification of hazards assumes that the potential targets are defined, and is the first step in performing a risk assessment. Prepared.

Does having Insurance cause people to take more risks? Does having safety equipment cause people to take more risks?

Taking Risks is Not the Problem. It's why you take a risk, it's when you take a risk, it's how you take a risk, it's where you take a risk and how many times do you keep taking a particular risk? Showing off or just trying to prove yourself is not a good reason for taking a risk. And there are times when people are not aware that they are taking risks, like with bad habits. A calculated risk can only happen when you have accurately calculated the risk and compared the consequences with the benefits, and measured the pros and cons. Children take risks for different reasons, it's not so much a risk to them, it's more about exploring, learning, testing their abilities and building skills. Kids feel indestructible, invincible and immortal because they lack the experience of how vulnerable they are. Kids want to have fun and they want to play.

Self-Licensing describe the subconscious phenomenon whereby increased confidence and security in one's self-image or self-concept tends to make that individual worry less about the consequences of subsequent immoral behavior and, therefore, more likely to make immoral choices and act immorally. In simple terms, self-licensing occurs when people allow themselves to indulge after doing something positive first; for example, drinking a diet soda with a greasy hamburger and fries can lead one to subconsciously discount the negative attributes of the meal's high caloric and cholesterol content. Risk Perception.

Moral Hazard occurs when someone increases their exposure to risk when insured, especially when a person takes more risks because someone else bears the cost of those risks. A moral hazard may occur where the actions of one party may change to the detriment of another after a financial transaction has taken place. A party makes a decision about how much risk to take, while another party bears the costs if things go badly, and the party isolated from risk behaves differently from how it would if it were fully exposed to the risk. Moral hazard can occur under a type of information asymmetry where the risk-taking party to a transaction knows more about its intentions than the party paying the Consequences of the risk. More broadly, moral hazard can occur when the party with more information about its actions or intentions has a tendency or incentive to behave inappropriately from the perspective of the party with less information. Moral hazard also arises in a principal-agent problem, where one party, called an agent, acts on behalf of another party, called the principal. The agent usually has more information about his or her actions or intentions than the principal does, because the principal usually cannot completely monitor the agent. The agent may have an incentive to act inappropriately (from the viewpoint of the principal) if the interests of the agent and the principal are not aligned. "Better Safe than Sorry" - "Risk has its own Reward" - Investments.

Playing it Safe is deciding not to take unnecessary risks. When the risk and danger is not worth the anticipated reward, then playing it safe may be a good idea. But even if you do play it safe, it may not stop you from failing. Passivity.

Risk Aversion is the behavior of humans who, when exposed to uncertainty, attempt to lower that uncertainty. It is the hesitation of a person to agree to a situation with an unknown payoff rather than another situation with a more predictable payoff but possibly lower expected payoff. For example, a risk-averse investor might choose to put their money into a bank account with a low but guaranteed interest rate, rather than into a stock that may have high expected returns, but also involves a chance of losing value. Over Thinking.

Risk Compensation is a theory which suggests that people typically adjust their behavior in response to the perceived level of risk, becoming more careful where they sense greater risk and less careful if they feel more protected. Although usually small in comparison to the fundamental benefits of safety interventions, it may result in a lower net benefit than expected. By way of example, it has been observed that motorists drove faster when wearing seatbelts and closer to the vehicle in front when the vehicles were fitted with anti-lock brakes. There is also evidence that the risk compensation phenomenon could explain the failure of condom distribution programs to reverse HIV prevalence and that condoms may foster disinhibition, with people engaging in risky sex both with and without condoms. By contrast, shared space is a highway design method which consciously aims to increase the level of perceived risk and uncertainty, thereby slowing traffic and reducing the number of and seriousness of injuries. Altered behavior and brain activity among people wearing bike helmets - Concussions.

Risk–Benefit Ratio is the ratio of the risk of an action to its potential benefits. Risk–benefit analysis is analysis that seeks to quantify the risk and benefits and hence their ratio. Analyzing a risk can be heavily dependent on the human factor. A certain level of risk in our lives is accepted as necessary to achieve certain benefits. For example, driving an automobile is a risk most people take daily, also since it is mitigated by the controlling factor of their perception of their individual ability to manage the risk-creating situation. When individuals are exposed to involuntary risk (a risk over which they have no control), they make risk aversion their primary goal. Under these circumstances individuals require the probability of risk to be as much as one thousand times smaller than for the same situation under their perceived control (a notable example being the common bias in the perception of risk in flying vs. driving). Pros and Cons - Number Needed to Treat.

Risk Difference is the difference between the risk of an outcome in the exposed group and the unexposed group.

Relative Risk Reduction is the relative decrease in the risk of an adverse event in the exposed group compared to an unexposed group. Absolute risk reduction is the absolute difference in outcome rates between the control and treatment groups. The absolute risk reduction does not involve an explicit comparison to the control group as in the relative risk reduction and thus, does not confound the effect size with the baseline risk.

Risk Assessment is the determination of quantitative or qualitative estimate of risk related to a well-defined situation and a recognized threat or hazard.

Probabilistic Risk Assessment is a systematic and comprehensive methodology to evaluate risks associated with a complex engineered technological entity.

Risk Factor is a variable associated with either increased or decreased risk.

Relative Risk is the ratio of the probability of an event occurring. Risk ratio is the ratio of the probability of an outcome in an exposed group to the probability of an outcome in an unexposed group. Relative risk is commonly used to present the results of randomized controlled trials. This can be problematic, if the relative risk is presented without the absolute measures, such as absolute risk, or risk difference. In cases where the base rate of the outcome is low, large or small values of relative risk may not translate to significant effects, and the importance of the effects to the public health can be overestimated. Equivalently, in cases where the base rate of the outcome is high, values of the relative risk close to 1 may still result in a significant effect, and their effects can be underestimated. Thus, presentation of both absolute and relative measures is recommended. Population Impact Measures are biostatistical measures of risk and benefit used in epidemiological and public health research. They are used to describe the impact of health risks and benefits in a population, to inform health policy.

Absolute Risk is the probability or chance of an event. It is usually used for the number of events (such as a disease) that occurred in a group, divided by the number of people in that group. Absolute risk is one of the most understandable ways of communicating health risks to the general public. Absolute Risk Reduction is the change in the risk of an outcome of a given treatment or activity in relation to a comparison treatment or activity. It is the inverse of the number needed to treat.

Extreme Risk are risks of very bad outcomes or "high consequence", but of low probability. They include the risks of terrorist attack, biosecurity risks such as the invasion of pests, and extreme natural disasters such as major earthquakes.

Global Catastrophic Risk is a hypothetical future event which could damage human well-being on a global scale, even endangering or destroying modern civilization. An event that could cause human extinction or permanently and drastically curtail humanity's potential is known as an existential risk.

Criticality Index is mainly used in risk analysis. The Criticality Index allows you to identify tasks that are likely to cause delays to the project. By monitoring tasks with a high Criticality Index a project is less likely to be late. If a task has a 100% Criticality Index it means that during the analysis no matter how the task durations varied, the critical path always included the task. The task is therefore likely to be key in completing the project on time. Conversely tasks with a low or zero Criticality Index are much less likely to cause a delay in the project finish date.

Credit Risk is the risk of default on a debt that may arise from a borrower failing to make required payments. In the first resort, the risk is that of the lender and includes lost principal and interest, disruption to cash flows, and increased collection costs. The loss may be complete or partial. In an efficient market, higher levels of credit risk will be associated with higher borrowing costs. Because of this, measures of borrowing costs such as yield spreads can be used to infer credit risk levels based on assessments by market participants. Losses can arise in a number of circumstances, for example: A consumer may fail to make a payment due on a mortgage loan, credit card, line of credit, or other loan. A company is unable to repay asset-secured fixed or floating charge debt. A business or consumer does not pay a trade invoice when due. A business does not pay an employee's earned wages when due. A business or government bond issuer does not make a payment on a coupon or principal payment when due. An insolvent insurance company does not pay a policy obligation. An insolvent bank won't return funds to a depositor. A government grants bankruptcy protection to an insolvent consumer or business. To reduce the lender's credit risk, the lender may perform a credit check on the prospective borrower, may require the borrower to take out appropriate insurance, such as mortgage insurance, or seek security over some assets of the borrower or a guarantee from a third party. The lender can also take out insurance against the risk or on-sell the debt to another company. In general, the higher the risk, the higher will be the interest rate that the debtor will be asked to pay on the debt. Credit risk mainly arises when borrowers are unable to pay due willingly or unwillingly. A credit risk can be of the following types: Credit default risk – The risk of loss arising from a debtor being unlikely to pay its loan obligations in full or the debtor is more than 90 days past due on any material credit obligation; default risk may impact all credit-sensitive transactions, including loans, securities and derivatives. Concentration risk – The risk associated with any single exposure or group of exposures with the potential to produce large enough losses to threaten a bank's core operations. It may arise in the form of single-name concentration or industry concentration. Country risk – The risk of loss arising from a sovereign state freezing foreign currency payments (transfer/conversion risk) or when it defaults on its obligations (sovereign risk); this type of risk is prominently associated with the country's macroeconomic performance and its political stability.

Downside Risk is the financial risk associated with losses. That is, it is the risk of the actual return being below the expected return, or the uncertainty about the magnitude of that difference.

Red Flag is a sign of some particular problem requiring attention. A signal of danger or a problem can be referred to as a red flag. Red Flag Warning - Fire Fighting.

Safety (security) - Preparedness

Mitigate is to make something less severe or harsh or lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or the extent of a bad situation.

Micromort is a unit of risk defined as one-in-a-million chance of death. Micromorts can be used to measure riskiness of various day-to-day activities. A microprobability is a one-in-a million chance of some event; thus a micromort is the microprobability of death. The micromort concept was introduced by Ronald A. Howard who pioneered the modern practice of decision analysis. Micromorts for future activities can only be rough assessments as specific circumstances will always have an impact. However past historical rates of events can be used to provide a ball-park, average figure.

Statistics - Coincidence

Hazard Prevention is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities. Risk management’s objective is to assure uncertainty does not deflect the endeavor from the business goals. (defined in ISO 31000 as the effect of uncertainty on objectives).

Ecological Risk Assessments are used to support many types of actions, including: regulation of hazardous waste sites, industrial chemicals, and pesticides; or the management of watersheds or. other ecosystems affected by multiple chemical, physical, or biological stressors.

Operational Risk is "the risk of a change in value caused by the fact that actual losses, incurred for inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from external events (including legal risk), differ from the expected losses".

Operational Risk Management is defined as a continual cyclic process which includes risk assessment, risk decision making, and implementation of risk controls, which results in acceptance, mitigation, or avoidance of risk. ORM is the oversight of operational risk, including the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes and systems; human factors; or external events.

Human Error is a deviation from intention, expectation or desirability and human actions that fail to achieve the desired goal. It has been cited as a primary cause contributing factor in disasters and accidents. Prevention of human error is generally seen as a major contributor to reliability and safety of (complex) systems. Human error is one of the many contributing causes of risk events. Focus.

Risk Matrix is used during risk assessment to define the various levels of risk as the product of the harm probability categories and harm severity categories. This is a simple mechanism to increase visibility of risks and assist management decision making.

Risk Management Tools allow planners to explicitly address uncertainty by identifying and generating metrics, parameterizing, prioritizing, and developing responses, and tracking risk. These activities may be difficult to track without tools and techniques, documentation and information systems.

Health Impact Assessment is defined as "a combination of procedures, methods, and tools by which a policy, program, or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population.

Intelligence Assessment is the development of forecasts of behavior or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership in order to inform decision making.

Intelligence Organizations - Problem Solving.

Negligible Risk is a risk so small or unimportant or of so little consequence as to warrant little or no attention.

Negligible is something so small as to be meaningless or insignificant and not worth considering.

Risk is not always Accurately Perceived or Understood in the Same Way by Everyone

People can interpret warnings differently. Cognitive Biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment. Some people wait for a visual confirmation and some people tend to base their future decisions on what happened in the past. And some people just pretend to know things that they really don't fully understand.

Risk Communication refers to the exchange of real-time information, advice and opinions between experts and people facing threats to their health, economic or social well-being. The ultimate purpose of risk communication is to enable people at risk to take informed decisions to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Preventive Maintenance - Planning - Preventive Healthcare

Dilution Effect is a judgment bias in which people underutilize diagnostic information when nondiagnostic information is also present. Diagnostic information is useful in making a particular judgment. Nondiagnostic information is knowledge that is not relevant to the judgment being made. When both kinds of information are present, people tend to underrely on diagnostic information in making judgments. Thus, the presence of nondiagnos-tic information weakens, or dilutes, the impact of diagnostic information on judgment.

Information Deficit Model attributes public scepticism or hostility to science and technology to a lack of understanding, resulting from a lack of information. It is associated with a division between experts who have the information and non-experts who do not. The model implies that communication should focus on improving the transfer of information from experts to non-experts.

Risk Perception is the subjective judgment that people make about the characteristics and severity of a risk. The phrase is most commonly used in reference to natural hazards and threats to the environment or health, such as nuclear power. Several theories have been proposed to explain why different people make different estimates of the dangerousness of risks. Three major families of theory have been developed: psychology approaches (heuristics and cognitive), anthropology/sociology approaches (cultural theory) and interdisciplinary approaches (social amplification of risk framework). Doom and Gloom.

Public Awareness of Science are terms relating to the attitudes, behaviours, opinions, and activities that comprise the relations between the general public or lay society as a whole to scientific knowledge and organisation. It is a comparatively new approach to the task of exploring the multitude of relations and linkages science, technology, and innovation have among the general public.

Science Communication is the public communication of science-related topics to non-experts.

Science Outreach is a variety of activities by research institutes, universities, and institutions such as science museums, aimed at promoting public awareness (and understanding) of science and making informal contributions to science education.

Popular Science is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad-ranging.

Assess is to evaluate or estimate the nature, quality, ability, extent, value or the significance of something.

Acceptable Loss are casualties or destruction inflicted by the enemy that is considered minor or tolerable, but only to them and not the victims or the actual people who suffer from the destruction.

Acceptable Risk refers to the level of human and property loss that can be tolerated by an individual, household, group, organization, community, region, state, or nation.

Problem Transference - Externalization - Negligence - Blowback

Vulnerability Assessment is the process of identifying, quantifying, and prioritizing (or ranking) the vulnerabilities in a system. Examples of systems for which vulnerability assessments are performed include, but are not limited to, information technology systems, energy supply systems, water supply systems, transportation systems, and communication systems. Such assessments may be conducted on behalf of a range of different organizations, from small businesses up to large regional infrastructures. Vulnerability from the perspective of disaster management means assessing the threats from potential hazards to the population and to infrastructure. It may be conducted in the political, social, economic or environmental fields. Vulnerability assessment has many things in common with risk assessment. Assessments are typically performed according to the following steps: Cataloging assets and capabilities (resources) in a system. Assigning quantifiable value (or at least rank order) and importance to those resources. Identifying the vulnerabilities or potential threats to each resource. Mitigating or eliminating the most serious vulnerabilities for the most valuable resources.

Vulnerability refers to the inability of a system or a unit to withstand the effects of a hostile environment. A window of vulnerability (WoV) is a time frame within which defensive measures are diminished, compromised or lacking.

Insurance - Gamble - Safe Sex

Zero-Risk Bias is is a tendency to prefer the complete elimination of a risk in a sub-part even when alternative options produce a greater overall reduction in risk. It often manifests in cases where decision makers address problems concerning health, safety, and the environment. Its effect on decision making has been observed in surveys presenting hypothetical scenarios and certain real-world policies (e.g. war against terrorism as opposed to reducing the risk of traffic accidents or gun violence) have been interpreted as being influenced by it. Another example involves a decision to reduce risk in one manager's area at the expense of increased risk for the larger organization.

Hazard Quotient is the ratio of the potential exposure to a substance and the level at which no adverse effects are expected. If the Hazard Quotient is calculated to be less than 1, then no adverse health effects are expected as a result of exposure. If the Hazard Quotient is greater than 1, then adverse health effects are possible. The Hazard Quotient cannot be translated to a probability that adverse health effects will occur, and is unlikely to be proportional to risk. It is especially important to note that a Hazard Quotient exceeding 1 does not necessarily mean that adverse effects will occur.

Hazard Ratio is the ratio of the hazard rates corresponding to the conditions described by two levels of an explanatory variable.

Hazard Risk is any agent that can cause harm or damage to humans, property, or the environment.

Threat Assessment comprises strategies or pathways used to determine the credibility and seriousness of a potential threat, as well as the likelihood that it will be carried out in the future. Threat assessment is a violence prevention act that involves: Identifying the threats to commit violent act, Determining seriousness of threat. Developing intervention plans that protect potential victims and address underlying problem that stimulated the threatening behaviour.

Odds Ratio is one of three main ways to quantify how strongly the presence or absence of property A is associated with the presence or absence of property B in a given population.

Advanced Measurement Approach is when banks are allowed to develop their own empirical model to quantify required capital for operational risk. (Bad Idea).

Hierarchy of Hazard Control is a system used in industry to minimize or eliminate exposure to hazards.

Margin of Error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results.

Research (science)

Precautionary Principle states that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public, or to the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus (that the action or policy is not harmful), the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those taking that action.

Process Safety Management is a regulation, promulgated by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). A process is any activity or combination of activities including any use, storage, manufacturing, handling or the on-site movement of highly hazardous chemicals (HHCs) as defined by OSHA and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Hazard and Operability Study is a structured and systematic examination of a complex planned or existing process or operation in order to identify and evaluate problems that may represent risks to personnel or equipment. The intention of performing a HAZOP is to review the design to pick up design and engineering issues that may otherwise not have been found. The technique is based on breaking the overall complex design of the process into a number of simpler sections called 'nodes' which are then individually reviewed. It is carried out by a suitably experienced multi-disciplinary team (HAZOP) during a series of meetings. The HAZOP technique is qualitative, and aims to stimulate the imagination of participants to identify potential hazards and operability problems. Structure and direction are given to the review process by applying standardised guide-word prompts to the review of each node. The relevant international standard calls for team members to display 'intuition and good judgement' and for the meetings to be held in 'a climate of positive thinking and frank discussion'.

Pollution Prevention reduces the amount of pollution generated by a process, whether by industry, agriculture or consumers. In contrast to most pollution control strategies, which seek to manage a pollutant after it is emitted and reduce its impact upon the environment, the pollution prevention approach seeks to increase the efficiency of a process, thereby reducing the amount of pollution generated at its source. Although there is wide agreement that source reduction is the preferred strategy, some professionals also use the term pollution prevention to include pollution reduction. With increasing human population, pollution has become a great concern. Pollution from human activities is a problem that does not have to be inevitable. With a comprehensive pollution prevention program, most pollution can be reduced, reused, or prevented. The US Environmental Protection Agency works to introduce pollution prevention programs to reduce and manage waste. Reducing and managing pollution may decrease the number of deaths and illnesses from pollution-related diseases.

Prevent Defense aims to prevent a big play, like a 25-yard or longer pass or run. The defense concedes short gains, such as four to eight yards per play, as long as the clock keeps running. Preventive Healthcare.

COE Technologies for Law Enforcement and Emergency Response

Tools - Technology Description

Coastal Hazards Model (ADCIRC) Couples rain and wind forecasts with hydrologic, storm surge, and wave models to make pinpoint coastal flooding predictions. 

Climate Changes - Quality Control

Hazard Mitigation Planning Website Interactive website gives practitioners step-by-step guidance for developing a FEMA-approved local hazard mitigation plan.

Assistant for Randomized Monitoring Over Routes (ARMOR) Allows end users to identify vulnerabilities and assets and develop optimal patrol schedules.

Mobile Computing Applications Platform (MCAP) Provides situational awareness, and command and control for first responders in major emergencies.

Scatterblog Real-time twitter analysis for monitoring of events.

Visual Analytics Law Enforcement Toolkit (VALET) Analyzes high-volume criminal, traffic and civil incidents.

Unmanned Port Security Vessel (UPSV) Autonomously surveys the seabed and is a sensor platform for other optical, chemical and environmental sensors, including real-time video.

Drones - Robotics

MAGELLO User-friendly, high-resolution atmospheric and ocean data to identify movement of spills or toxic releases in rivers, ocean and air. 

Pollution

Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real Time (AVATAR) Uses artificial intelligence and non-invasive sensors to flag anomalous behaviors for more investigation by trained professionals.

Apps for mass-casualty preparedness

Emergency Mass Casualty Planning Scenarios (EMCAPS 2.0 )
Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG)
Mobile Emergency Response Guide (MERGE)

Medical Surge Capacity application

Flu Cast

Viruses Knowledge - Surveillance Knowledge

Ag CONNECT Suite Enables real-time collection, distribution and analysis of bio-surveillance, veterinary, emergency response and business continuity data in one format.

Disease Outbreaks (relevance today)

Global Terrorism Database (GTD) others GTD is the world's largest open-source database of (110,000) terrorist events from and 1970–2012. It is the "go-to" source for terrorism researchers and analysts. Hot Spots.

Video Analytic Surveillance Transition (VAST) finds anomalies in surveillance video in near-real-time that detect threats such as reverse- flow, piggy-back entry, threat gestures, and flash-mobs.

Survival Kits

Survival Kit is a package of basic tools and supplies prepared in advance as an aid to survival in an emergency. Civil and military aircraft, lifeboats, and spacecraft are equipped with survival kits. Survival kits, in a variety of sizes, contain supplies and tools to provide a survivor with basic shelter against the elements, help him or her to keep warm, meet basic health and first aid needs, provide food and water, signal to rescuers, and assist in finding the way back to help. Supplies in a survival kit normally contain a knife (often a Swiss army knife or a multi-tool), matches, tinder, first aid kit, bandana, fish hooks, sewing kit, and a flashlight. Civilians such as forestry workers, surveyors, or bush pilots, who work in remote locations or in regions with extreme climate conditions may also be equipped with survival kits. Disaster supplies are also kept on hand by those who live in areas prone to earthquakes or other natural disasters. For the average citizen to practice disaster preparedness, some towns will have survival stores to keep survival supplies in stock. The American Red Cross recommends an emergency preparedness kit that is easy to carry and use in the event of an emergency or disaster. Life Rafts & Survival Gear.

Medical Supply Kits

Bug-out Bag is a portable kit that normally contains the items one would require to survive for 72 hours when evacuating from a disaster, although some kits are designed to last longer periods. Other names for such a bag are a 72-hour kit, battle box, grab bag, go bag, GOOD bag (get out of Dodge), INCH bag (I'm never coming home), personal emergency relocation kit (PERK), or quick run bag (QRB). The focus is on evacuation, rather than long-term survival, distinguishing the bug-out bag from a survival kit, an aviation or a boating emergency kit, or a fixed-site disaster supplies kit. The kits are also popular in the survivalism subculture. Gear Disciple.

Emergency Go Bag

Basic Emergency Supply Kit could include the following recommended items:
Water - one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation.
Food - at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food.
Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert.
Flashlight.
First aid kit.
Extra batteries.
Whistle to signal for help.
Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place.
Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation.
Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities.
Manual can opener for food.
Local maps.
Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery.
Additional Emergency Supplies:
Consider adding the following items to your emergency supply kit based on your individual needs:
Prescription medications.
Non-prescription medications such as pain relievers, anti-diarrhea medication, antacids or laxatives.
Glasses and contact lense solution.
Infant formula, bottles, diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream.
Pet food and extra water for your pet.
Cash or traveler's checks.
Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records saved electronically or in a waterproof, portable container.
Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person.
Complete change of clothing appropriate for your climate and sturdy shoes.
Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper to disinfect water.
Fire extinguisher.
Matches in a waterproof container.
Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items.
Mess kits, paper cups, plates, paper towels and plastic utensils.
Paper and pencil.
Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children.
Maintaining Your Kit:
After assembling your kit remember to maintain it so it’s ready when needed:
Keep canned food in a cool, dry place.
Store boxed food in tightly closed plastic or metal containers.
Replace expired items as needed.
Re-think your needs every year and update your kit as your family’s needs change.
Kit Storage Locations:
Since you do not know where you will be when an emergency occurs, prepare supplies for home, work and vehicles.
Home: Keep this kit in a designated place and have it ready in case you have to leave your home quickly. Make sure all family members know where the kit is kept.
Work: Be prepared to shelter at work for at least 24 hours. Your work kit should include food, water and other necessities like medicines, as well as comfortable walking shoes, stored in a “grab and go” case.
Vehicle: In case you are stranded, keep a kit of emergency supplies in your car.
Scan all your important documents, and save them on a flash drive:
You could also save them onto a cloud server if you have an encryption service you trust.
These documents include:
Driver’s license.
The deed to your house.
Your will and/or trust.
Proof of insurance.
Medical records.
Passports.
Social security cards.
Birth certificates.
A list of personal contacts with their addresses and phone numbers.
Your kids’ immunization records.
Your pet’s paperwork for vaccinations and medical history. Emergency Kits.

First Aid Tips

First Aid Tips - Emergency Services - Rescue

CPR - Burns - Bleeding

Everyday-First-Aid (red cross)

First Aid Tips - First Aid Index (mayo clinic)

Poisoning Prevention First Aid.

Wilderness First Aid - Wild Med

Adventure Medical Kits

Katadyn Survivor 06 Desalinator (amazon)
The Solar Still Water Purification Kit (amazon)
Solar Pure Water
Life Saver Water Bottle Filter Systems
Water Knowledge

Emergency First Response
Wilderness Schools
Freedom of the Hills Deck: 52 Playing Cards (amazon)
Wilderness Medicine Schools

Being relative to particular conditions, the average person can live for 3 minutes without air, 3 hours in below freezing temperatures, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. Emergencies.

Rescue Equipment

Search and Rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search is conducted over. These include mountain rescue; ground search and rescue, including the use of search and rescue dogs; urban search and rescue in cities; combat search and rescue on the battlefield and air-sea rescue over water. International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) is a UN organization that promotes the exchange of information between national urban search and rescue organizations. The duty to render assistance is covered by Article 98 of the UNCLOS.

Rescue is to save someone from a dangerous or distressing situation or to free someone from harm or evil. The recovery or preservation from loss or danger. An act of saving or being saved from danger or distress. Emergency Services.

Save is to free or keep someone or something from danger or harm. To keep from being ruined. To preserve To put aside for later use or to save money instead of spending it or wasted. Energy Saving.

Atlas Devices rescue equipment technologies, ropes and ladders.

CMC Rescue - Rescue Tech - Rock n Rescue

Security - Medical Exams - Ambulance

Winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank. In larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and elevators. The spool can also be called the winch drum. More elaborate designs have gear assemblies and can be powered by electric, hydraulic, pneumatic or internal combustion drives. Some may include a solenoid brake and/or a mechanical brake or ratchet and pawl device that prevents it from unwinding unless the pawl is retracted.

Survival Tips - Wilderness Survival Knowledge - Preppers

Survival Skills are techniques that a person may use in order to sustain life in any type of natural environment or built environment. These techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for human life which include water, food, and shelter. The skills also support proper knowledge and interactions with animals and plants to promote the sustaining of life over a period of time. Survival skills are often associated with the need to survive in a disaster situation. Survival skills are often basic ideas and abilities that ancients invented and used themselves for thousands of years. Outdoor activities such as hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, fishing, and hunting all require basic wilderness survival skills, especially in handling emergency situations. Bush-craft and primitive living are most often self-implemented, but require many of the same skills.

Expecting the best but also being prepared for the worse. It's all about increasing your chances and odds for survival. After that it's about having clear Goals and doing your best to Preserve knowledge.

Survival Websites - Survival Films - Adapting - Preparedness

Survive is to continue to live or exist through hardship, danger or adversity. Support oneself.

Survival is a state of surviving and remaining alive.

Bushcraft is a popular term for wilderness survival skills that include firecraft, tracking, hunting, fishing, shelter-building, navigation by natural means, the use of tools such as knives and axes, foraging, water sourcing, hand-carving wood, container construction from natural materials, and rope and twine-making, among others.

Woodsman is a competitive, co-ed intercollegiate sport in the United States, Canada and elsewhere based on various skills traditionally part of forestry educational and technical training programs.

Survivalism is a movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or preppers) who are actively preparing for emergencies, including possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales from local to international. The words prepper and prep are derived from the word prepare. Survivalists often acquire emergency medical and self-defense training, stockpile food and water, prepare to become self-sufficient, and build structures (e.g., a survival retreat or an underground shelter) that may help them survive a catastrophe. Survival Guilt.

Psychological Resilience is defined as an individual's ability to successfully Adapt to life tasks in the face of social disadvantage or other highly adverse conditions. Adversity and stress can come in the shape of family or relationship problems, health problems, or workplace and financial worries, among others. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from a negative experience with "competent functioning". Resilience is not a rare ability; in reality, it is found in the average individual and it can be learned and developed by virtually anyone. Resilience is a process, rather than a trait to be had. It is a process of individuation through a structured system with gradual discovery of personal and unique abilities.

Handling Difficult Situations - Confidence - Over Reacting

Survival Analysis is a branch of statistics for analyzing the expected duration of time until one or more events happen, such as death in biological organisms and failure in mechanical systems. Extinction.

Survival Rate is a part of survival analysis. It is the percentage of people in a study or treatment group still alive for a given period of time after diagnosis. Survival rates are important for prognosis, but because the rate is based on the population as a whole, an individual prognosis may be different depending on newer treatments since the last statistical analysis as well as the overall general health of the patient.

Knowing how to Fend for Yourself, or for others, is a skill that millions everyday have to use.

Fend is to manage without help from others. Defend oneself. Look After Yourself - Provide for Oneself.

System D is a shorthand term that refers to a manner of responding to challenges that requires one to have the ability to think fast, to adapt, and to improvise when getting a job done.

But of course when we work together as a team our survival rate increase tremendously.

Combining Efforts and Working Together

Having a good support system and a good Network of Friends, Family and Neighbors, people who understand that combining efforts and working together will always be more beneficial for everyone. And there's plenty of people, so it's just a matter of bringing people together, like Joining a Club.

It's a good idea to have good connections. Have a place to meet when normal communication methods breakdown. 

Safe and Well - File of Life Form (PDF)

Buddy System is a procedure in which two people, the "buddies", operate together as a single unit so that they are able to monitor and help each other. Collaboration - Working Together.

Having multiple ways to communicate is essential? It's good to be dependent on each other instead of just the government and people in power. It might be better to clan together with friends, family and colleagues. Make sure you set up your own personal network that has connections to other networks. Trust is a must, criminals are here now and they will be around later. Trusting the wrong people could put you at risk.  Know someone who has contacts with important services like food distribution, water, energy and so on. Start locally with friends, family, farms, water, energy and so on. 

You have to know where your food comes from, your options and choices? How much of your food depends on imports and exports? What shortages will you expect when trade is disrupted? Do you understand how a Black Market works? Can you make bread? Can you grow food? How much food can you grow? Hording and stock piling food and supplies is Ok but how will you replenish your supplies?

You have to know where your water comes from? Options and choices? Do you know what contaminants are in your drinking water or rivers? Do you have access to water testing supplies? You have to know where your energy comes from? Options and choices?

Know your workforce. Know who's willing to work? What skills do people have? Do people know their responsibilities? Make sure that the people who are providing needed services are taken care of and will not be vulnerable to criminals or corruption. When it comes to money, it is just one of many tools that we have. So it is a good idea to know alternative methods for acquiring needed supplies. Money will always be a convenient tool as long as we use it under different rules that will not allow it to control and manipulate people unfairly.

But we must beware that criminals will try to control money again, they murdered Lincoln for the green backs and they murdered Kennedy too because he also wanted a national currency that would be controlled by the people, and not by criminal organizations, of course that's another story.

Share your plan with people you want in your network. Let them know the ways that they can help and what information you will need.

Survivorship Curve is a graph showing the number or proportion of individuals surviving to each age for a given species or group (e.g. males or females). Survivorship curves can be constructed for a given cohort (a group of individuals of roughly the same age) based on a life table. There are three generalized types of survivorship curves: Type I or convex curves are characterized by high age-specific survival probability in early and middle life, followed by a rapid decline in survival in later life. They are typical of species that produce few offspring but care for them well, including humans and many other large mammals. Type II or diagonal curves are an intermediate between Types I and III, where roughly constant mortality rate/survival probability is experienced regardless of age. Some birds and some lizards follow this pattern. Type III or concave curves have the greatest mortality (lowest age-specific survival) early in life, with relatively low rates of death (high probability of survival) for those surviving this bottleneck. This type of curve is characteristic of species that produce a large number of offspring (see r/K selection theory). This includes most marine invertebrates. For example, oysters produce millions of eggs, but most larvae die from predation or other causes; those that survive long enough to produce a hard shell live relatively long. The number or proportion of organisms surviving to any age is plotted on the y-axis (generally with a logarithmic scale starting with 1000 individuals), while their age (often as a proportion of maximum life span) is plotted on the x-axis. In mathematical statistics, the survival function is one specific form of survivorship curve and plays a basic part in survival analysis.

Survival Resources

Wilderness Solutions
Survivor Library
Survival School - Midwest Native Skills Institute
Survival Stories
Expert Survival Tips
Simple Survival
Fox Fire is the fascinating world of Appalachian pioneer folk.
Emergency Shelters
Disasters Websites and Information
Civi Guard
Recommended Gear
Emergency Alert (amazon)
Severe Weather Warning (amazon)
Warnings Radio with S.A.M.E Specific Area Message Encoding & NOAA Reception (amazon)
Weather Info Websites
Ultimate Survival
Crisis Education
Basis Gear
Wilderness Schools

CPR Training - Emergency Preparedness

SAS Survival Guide App (iOS, Android; $5.99) first aid and extreme climate survival.

Adventure Checklist - Travel Tips - Travel Advice

Nature Skills
Survival Tips
Survival Outdoor Skills
Tips on Survival
Wilderness Survival

The National Preppers and Survivalists Expo

Steve Brill Foraging Wild Foods - Insects and Bugs

Wild Life Management

Phospholipase A2 are enzymes that release fatty acids from the second carbon group of glycerol. This particular phospholipase specifically recognizes the sn-2 acyl bond of phospholipids and catalytically hydrolyzes the bond releasing arachidonic acid and lysophosphatidic acid. Upon downstream modification by cyclooxygenases, arachidonic acid is modified into active compounds called eicosanoids. Eicosanoids include prostaglandins and leukotrienes, which are categorized as anti-inflammatory and inflammatory mediators.

Varespladib is an inhibitor of the IIa, V, and X isoforms of secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2). The molecule acts as an anti-inflammatory agent by disrupting the first step of the arachidonic acid pathway of inflammation. From 2006 to 2012, varespladib was under active investigation by Anthera Pharmaceuticals as a potential therapy for several inflammatory diseases, including acute coronary syndrome and acute chest syndrome. The trial was halted in March 2012 due to inadequate efficacy.

The North American Society of Toxinology (NAST)
Survival and Self Reliance
Survival Blog
Be Prepared
Firefly Flint (fire starter)

Heat Sheet is a reflective insulating fabric that reflects up to 90% of a person’s body heat back to the wearer, or can be flipped to reflect external heat sources.

Space Blanket or Emergency Blanket is an especially low-weight, low-bulk blanket made of heat-reflective thin plastic sheeting. They are used on the exterior surfaces of spacecraft for thermal control as well as by people. Their design reduces the heat loss in a person's body which would otherwise occur due to thermal radiation, water evaporation, or convection. Their compact size before unfurling and light weight makes them ideal when space is at a premium. They may be included in first aid kits and also in camping equipment. Lost campers and hikers have an additional possible benefit: the metallic surface appearance flashes in the sun, allowing use as an improvised distress beacon for searchers, and also as a method of signalling over long distances to other people on the same route as the person who owns the blanket.

Footwraps are rectangular pieces of cloth that are worn wrapped around the feet to avoid chafing, absorb sweat and improve the foothold. Footwraps were worn with boots before socks became widely available, and remained in use by armies in Eastern Europe until the beginning of the 21st century.

Fingerless Gloves (amazon)

Glovax: Adventure Gloves, slim & light, cut resistance, water & oil proof, breathable, anti-skidding.

Be Prepared to Survive
The Survival Mom Community

Independent Learning (self directed)

Survival Skills are not just knowing how to survive in the woods by yourself, survival skills are more about having extensive Knowledge and information about yourself and the world around you. Knowing how to survive in the woods is one thing, knowing how to survive in life is another. What is the necessary information and knowledge that is needed to survive in the 21st century? You have to ask yourself, is my current school providing me with the necessary information and knowledge that is needed to survive in the 21st century? Do you know what questions to ask and when to ask them? Basic Knowledge 101.com

Survival Films - Videos about Surviving

Survival Film is a film genre in which one or more characters make an effort at physical survival. It often overlaps with other film genres. It is a subgenre of the adventure film, along with swashbuckler films, war films, and safari films. Survival films are darker than most other adventure films which usually focus their storyline on a single character, usually the protagonist. The films tend to be "located primarily in a contemporary context" so film audiences are familiar with the setting, meaning the characters' activities are less romanticized. In a 1988 book, Thomas Sobchack compared the survival film to romance: "They both emphasize the heroic triumph over obstacles which threaten social order and the reaffirmation of predominant social values such as fair play and respect for merit and cooperation." The author said survival films "identify and isolate a microcosm of society", such as the surviving group from the plane crash in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) or those on the overturned ocean liner in The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Sobchack explained, "Most of the time in a survival film is spent depicting the process whereby the group, cut off from the securities and certainties of the ordinary support networks of civilized life, forms itself into a functioning, effective unit." The group often varies in types of characters, sometimes to the point of caricature. While women have historically been stereotyped in such films, they "often play a decisive role in the success or failure of the group".

Dooms Day Films (Armageddon - Apocalypse) - Isolation

Wilderness Survival Tips : Wilderness Survival Techniques (youtube)
Ray Mears - The Psychology of Survival (youtube)
Surviving in the Siberian Wilderness for 70 Years (youtube)
Psychology of Survival (website)
Surviving Alone in Alaska (youtube)
National Geographic: Live Free or Die (TV Shows)
Bear Grills (youtube)
Man vs. Wild (youtube)
Survivor Man, off the Grid (vimeo)
The Real Castaway (youtube)
North Survival (youtube)

Documentaries - Outdoor Travel Movies

Travel Magazines - Travel Books

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2012). From iconic filmmaker Werner Herzog, Happy People: A Year in the Taiga journeys deep into the Siberian wilderness, following veteran trappers through the Taiga's four seasons to tell the incredible story of a society untouched by modernity. Aired: 11/15/2012 |  1 hr. 34 min.

Falling through thin Ice into Freezing water

Ten minutes of meaningful movement. One hour before you become unconscious. Slow your breath. Once your core body temperature drops to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, you will be officially hypothermic. Below 86 degrees, you will probably be unconscious, but not necessarily lifeless. People have been successfully revived from frigid states as low as 56.7 degrees, a temperature at which bodies exhibit the clinical signs of death, including no pulse or breathing. Flooding.

1-10-1 principle: ‘‘One minute to get control of your breathing.

How to Survive a Fall Through Ice (youtube) - Don't panic, control your breathing, make your body Horizontal by lifting your legs and stretching out your arms out on the strongest area of ice, then start kicking your feet like you're swimming, and then use your arms to slowly pull yourself out of the water, and then crawl to safety. First Aid - Hyperthermia.

Food Preserving - Food Ready to Eat - Food on the Go

Meal, Ready-to-Eat is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging. MREs replaced the canned MCI, or Meal, Combat, Individual rations, in 1981. 1200 Calories (5020.8 kJ). They are intended to be eaten for a maximum of 21 days. General contents may include: Main course (entree). Side dish. Dessert or snack (often commercial candy, fortified pastry, or Soldier Fuel Bar.). Crackers or bread. Spread of cheese, peanut butter, or jelly. Powdered beverage mix: fruit flavored drink, cocoa, instant coffee or tea, sport drink, or dairy shake. Utensils (usually just a plastic spoon). Flameless ration heater (FRH). Beverage mixing bag. Accessory pack: Xylitol chewing gum. Water-resistant matchbook. Napkin / toilet paper. Moist towelette. Seasonings, including salt, pepper, sugar, creamer, and/or Tabasco sauce. Freeze dried coffee powder.

Food Preservation - Storage (refrigeration) - Space Travel Food

MRE - Meals Ready to Eat - New Earth MRE

Field Ration is a canned or pre-packaged meal, easily prepared and eaten, using canned, pre-cooked or freeze-dried foods, powdered beverage mixes and concentrated food bars, as well as for long shelf life.

Emergency Foods

Meal, Combat, Individual Ration was the name of canned wet combat rations from 1958 to 1980, when it was replaced by the Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE).

LRP Ration was a freeze-dried dehydrated field ration.

A-Ration was fresh, refrigerated, or frozen foods.

B-Ration was prepared in field kitchens and served in the field, using canned or preserved ingredients.

C-Ration was an individual canned, pre-cooked, and prepared wet ration.

K-Ration provided three separately boxed meal units: breakfast, dinner (lunch) and supper (dinner). Caloric and vitamin content were judged as inadequate.

Prepare Wise - Recipes - Food Coops

Vitamins - Nutrition Bars - Outdoor Gear

Food Insurance - Food Security - Farming Knowledge - Seeds

Rocket Stove - Rocket Stoves - Cookers (stoves)

How to Make Fire by Rubbing Sticks (youtube)

1 Years worth of Freeze-Dried and Dehydrated Food Supply Rocket Stoves (youtube)

Survival Books

Snow and Winter Survival - Mountain Survival Books






Flirtin' with Disaster- Molly Hatchet (youtube)
I'm travelin' down the road
I'm flirtin' with disaster
I've got the pedal to the floor,
My life is running faster
I'm out of money, I'm out of hope,
It looks like self destruction
Well how much more can we take,
With all of this corruption
We're flirtin' with disaster,
Ya'll know what I mean
And the way we run our lives,
It makes no sense to me
I don't know about yourself or what you want to be, yeah
When we gamble with our time,
We choose our destiny
I'm travelin' down that lonesome road
Feel like I'm dragging a heavy load
Yeah I've tried to turn my head away,
Feels about the same most every day.