Tuesday 19 December 2017

Who are you taking care of during an emergency response?

Who do you want to be when you need help, but are hiding in the shadows?

If you don’t have an identity, who are you and how can you be helped? There are millions living in the shadows - displaced, abused, exploited, and enslaved. Here’s how we’re beginning to provide them with light, hope, and protection. Dr. Rasmussen is a medical doctor and the CEO for Infinitum Humanitarian Systems (IHS), a multinational consulting group built on a profit-for-purpose model. He is an internal medicine physician with both undergraduate and medical degrees from Stanford University and a European Master’s degree in disaster medicine from the UN World Health Organization’s affiliate CEMEC (Centre European pour la Medecin des Catastrophes) in Italy. In addition, Eric is a member of the core faculty at Singularity University within the NASA Ames Research Center, teaching in both the Exponential Medicine and Global Grand Challenges tracks. He also serves pro bono as medical director for two biotech startups, and as Permanent Advisor to the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Expert Panel on Water Disasters. He has been a member of the US National Academy of Science’s Committee on Grand Challenges in Global Development since 2012. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Source: Tedx Talks

Out of the Shadows




In case of an emergency, what should you keep in your car?


The Victorinox series Swiss Army knife shown above is the only thing you need in your glovebox. There, end of answer. Finito ! It’s not even a cheap imitation, but the real thing made in Switzerland. This model cost $185.00 - and I’d never rely upon it - ever. It’s superbly made, yet entirely impractical in the real world. And no, it’s not in my car’s glove box…. more on that later.
Today’s cars have glove boxes are often useless for use to store items except your owners manual and insurance papers. Others have Titanic size center consoles. These caverns can be filled with enough junk to survive for 48 hours in a snowstorm.
This isn’t going to do it either. Might stop minor bleeding from a superficial cut or wound, it barely has the right products to disinfect an minor exposed injury. For roadside use, I’ve replaced just about every item that was included in this kit’s original form. See below for more information. The supplies are changed out every two years and donated to the local Red Cross, St. John’s unit or Salvation Army facility.
Honestly, there’s no proper answer to this question because each kind of emergency that could occur is different. I would pack very differently for a long trip through Arizona and New Mexico’s desert highways than I would in the middle of the worse snowstorm roaring through the mid-west. One small example, pack a sleeping bag for each occupant in the vehicle.
If you are attempting to prepare, common sense rules the day and the glovebox has absolutely nothing to do with what you should take with you on a trip across the city or across 3 states.
Here’s the process works when I think of roadtrip preparedness;
  1. Condition of vehicle (mileage, health of mechanical components, maintenance completed or overdue). A vehicle with 200,000 miles on it and rarely serviced is just asking for trouble. And the driver knows it. A brand new car is not invulnerable to breakdown, but it does influence preparedness decisions. Age of a car doesn’t matter if you’ve been involved in a collision in the middle of winter.
  2. Trip requirements (city, highway for short and long distances)
  3. Planned route and time of day (minor or major road, congestion, etc)
  4. How many passengers and any special needs or concerns
  5. Weather conditions (dawn,day, dusk, night)
Knowing the answers to these questions helps determine what gaps or improper equipment is stored in case of emergency.
Asking yourself what you would need in case of an emergency (ICE) is an important planning task. Taking drinking water during a heatwave across New Mexico is a wise extra to have and something you should not leave it in the car for extended periods. Extra blankets during the winter or believe it or not, light blankets for overnight trips across the desert are useful should you breakdown.
This synthetic poly blanket can help main your body heat if you are stranded by side the road in a severe winter storm. Even so, it will not prevent prolonged sub zero temperatures that allowing hypothermia to set in. Very useful size for the elderly or those with low blood pressure and easily feel the cold.
The little things that can commonly be long term stored in a car are available in kits and in general terms, useful regardless of weather, season or road conditions. They generally include items that are not capable of being fit into most gloveboxes. They should include;
  • Basic, but high quality First Aid kit that is serviced annually. Sized for the number of occupants the vehicle can carry.
  • Battery jumper cables
This one cubic square foot kit includes battery jumper cables that are ten feet long and are equipped with heavy gauge wire to withstand severe weather. They cost 4 times as much as cheaper and often shorter cables. If you are off the side of the road, the longer the cables are, the safer it will be to jump start your vehicle that may have a battery on the opposite side of yours (right instead of left, front instead of rear, etc.). The red colored small first aid kit shown in the right side pouch is not well equipped, with nothing more than some sterilizing pads, light gauze, some band-aids and does not include a tension bandage. It would never pass as part of any certified first aid kit.
  • Flashlight
Flashlights come in all sorts of sizes and lumen per square foot lighting performance. You get what you pay for. LED models are now becoming available. In general terms the batteries may last longer and reduce static battery drain when not in use. Having one with a magnetic base can be handy if required to light up the engine bay on the side of the road at night. Change the batteries every year. You’ll regret it if do not. Murphy’s law will strike.
  • Matches and butane cigar lighter
Worth their weight in gold, the matches are waterproof.
  • Scissors / Box Cutters
  • 1 quart (liter) of oil for engine and 1 pint (350 ml) of power steering fluid and 1 gallon (4 L) of windshield washer fluid.
  • Nylon reinforced Tow strap 20′ long and rated for 10 tonnes.
  • Reflective Road side Triangle
The reflective triangle warns approaching cars and trucks that you maybe blocking the road. Use on the highway, make sure you place it at least 200′ behind where you have broken down. This kit includes a collapsible shovel.
  • Heat blanket (can also be used to reflect heat) and head gear during winter. (60 to 70% of your body heat loss, occurs from your head and upper neck) Your groin area is the second most vulnerable to heat loss followed by your underarms and chest.
I then add the following items
  • Spare batteries (checked for expiry date and replaced anyway with fresh ones every year). Do not use rechargable batteries as they do not hold a static charge for more than a month or two.
The large battery pack is capable of charging your cell phone at least twice before it is drained. Course, it’s only good if you keep it charged and in your car. Based on research I have done, almost nobody carries one in the car that is ready to go. This particular one stores 6,000 mAh of power. They must be maintained and hooked up to a charging unit daily for maximum life.
  • Aspirin and Tylenol (some people have reactions to one or the other)
  • Small tool set applicable to my type of car (Imperial or Metric)
You do not need to bring a master mechanics tool set worth tens of thousands of dollars with you. But a small compact and easy to store basic toolset is a great safety item to have with you - even if you’re not mechanically inclined. Someone that stops to help you might be…
Other items you could include;
  • Plastic backed mirror & large magnifying glass
  • Spare clean rags (2) or clothes. (no, not tissue paper…though you can have those as additional supplies)
  • Hand cranked self powering radio
This is an AM - FM radio, battery and charger for that generates power by you turning a hand crank on the back side. You’ll get a workout! 10 minutes of cranking will allow the built in radio to operate for about 20 minutes. This particular model is an older model that cannot connect to USB enabled devices and is discontinued.
  • Snacks that are rotated monthly
I’m often asked, should you buy a kit or can you make your own. If you are comfortable in your understanding of First Aid and Safety items, by all means, make your own kit or thoroughly research which ones are available on the market. Quality is a critical consideration when it comes to potentially saving your life or helping others in need.
You get what you pay is absolutely true when buying roadside assistance kits or those that come with some new model cars. I’ve seen hundreds of kits and come up with my own requirements depending on where and and when I’m going to travel on highways or off-road. Some of my options are for extreme and not required for many motorists.
When I deploy as a volunteer search and rescue member in the backwoods, I bring with me a kit that is easy to wear and has most of the items required to make sure I am self sufficient in case I too become lost or disoriented. I carry enough supplies to assist anyone with minor injuries. Even with Level 3 Industrial First Aid training, the type of supplies I carry are not sufficient to handle all scenarios. Like a glove box, there are always going to be limitations. One of the pouches on this vest is where my Swiss Army knife is stored. It’s been used once during a deployment to Haiti to cut 1″ thick nylon rope.
The water and energy bars must be regularly inspected and replaced. The water packs are certified for 5 years and the energy bars for 2 years. I’ve included in my kit, protective eye glasses (upper left), glow sticks (center), light duty air mask (middle left), up to 5 plastic panchos, and blankets, two sets of work gloves and some small tools. The entire kit fits over your protective clothing and weighs 15 lbs fully loaded. It also has belt space for radios (if equipped), flashlight, walking stick, shovel, etc. If I’m heading out to the desert, this is the kit I’ll bring with me. If I’m heading out to the backwoods in winter, the gear is changed out for and / or reduced as required. For example, more matches and instant fire kindling is brought with a collapsible water proof pot and stove to make water instead of bringing it with me (since it will freeze anyway).
During the summer, I’ll throw this kit in the back of my car and leave it there, out of the sunlight on the floor. This kit has been used three times since 2006 to give aid during an road side accident. I’ve worn it about 40 times during volunteer searches for lost pets and people and only had to dispense water on two occasions. Medical supplies are rotated out every two years weather I like it or not to make sure my kit is up to date and ensure all items that may be subject to a recall notice are removed.
By law in most countries, the use of your mobile phone to call the police is free of charge - even if your phone is not currently connected to a mobile provider. If there is signal showing on your phone, calling for assistance maybe possible (i.e. 911, 999, etc.) - assuming your phone is has sufficient battery power.
It should be noted that many of these items would be absolutely useless to a motorist if they do not know how to used them. I strongly recommend everyone to take a basic first aid course that are available from your local Red Cross or St. John’s organization.
It is also a good idea to take a basic road safety course in your area that are often available from your local National Auto Club Association office. I also strongly recommend everyone learn and practice how to safely replace a tire in an emergency if a spare tire is included with your car. The course will help the motorist learn when to proceed and not replace a tire on the side of the road and what weather conditions should be avoided. Just because you belong to a road side assistance club, doesn’t mean help may be available immediately.
If your commute is in a big city with no serious threats from natural disasters and you never head out on the highway, the need for even a flashlight is going to be remote. Most motorists simply call a tow truck and off they go in a few hours to get their broken down vehicle repaired. Yet, we have seen drivers and passengers in big cities suddenly get hit with a massive snow storm and die from being stuck in their cars and freeze to death. They keep running their engine’s heater until they run out of fuel and then die. A charged mobile phone and sleeping bag would have saved their lives.
One of the worse winter pile ups in history involved over 150 vehicles on I-94 in Michigan in January of 2015. Stunningly, only one person died, a truck driver from Quebec. Emergency crews were already on their way when vehicles continued to pile into each other. They were very lucky.
In 2013 on Highway 41/43 near Germantown, Wisconsin, one of the most bizarre slow reaction chain of events unfolded with no fatalities but lots of minor injuries. Imagine if this accident occurred hundreds of miles away from a large city.
Be safe and happy motoring!

Snow levels in Alaska illustrate climate changes underway

Climate change is not as complex as many believe it is, providing you are willing to learn how the planet's seasonal changes can be indicators of how change occurs. It was strange hearing how Houston Texas got a light snowfall while big cities like Toronto, New York and Ottawa still had rain and weekly above freezing temperatures. In Alaska, the snow falling in the mountains is exceeding historical norms and in some regions, setting records. What this can it tell us about our planet and its current environmental conditions is being undertaken by a research team from Dartmouth University.

If the data is accurate, the consequences may illustrate and explain why our planet's laws of nature cannot be fooled and may prove difficult to reverse. Natural disasters do not always occur overnight. Dartmouth University Earth Sciences Department has an excellent online resource that assists the reader in understanding their approach and how the data can be correlated to develop future environmental models.

Annual increases of water and carbon that is no longer being sunk into the planet's glaciers,and instead will quickly melt every spring atop of the mountains and have lasting impacts on our land and oceans including;

Additional Resources:




Monday 11 September 2017

Taking pictures after a disaster strikes can help your community

What's in a picture? During a disaster, plenty. Mapping is a powerful tool that can help governments and their respective disaster management agencies respond to your community with the right recovery tools and teams. By taking pictures with your location feature turned on (GPS coordinates), your pictures can precisely pinpoint on a map where that image was taken. You can then add important confirmation details such as street name, which direction you are facing when taking the picture and any other relevant information such. An example would be a telephone - electricity power pole that is down. Face the direction of the pole, note its location and if power in your neighborhood is actually affected. Do you know if the power line is sparking, indicating a live wire. All of this information is fed into a central data center for analysis, which in turn helps in two ways.

Your neighbors can then see the same images and help them avoid any dangers that you have seen and helps the government plan recovery operations. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has implemented this capability into their FEMA Smartphone App. By taking pictures, you can then help everyone with these images that you have taken. When doing so, think about how you would use these images to navigate your way to and from your location. By taking your time (there is no need to rush and take just hundreds of pictures in 5 seconds), thinking about how you would use these images to get assistance, your contribution becomes important to your community and agencies trying to help you and your family. A good example is the picture of the telephone pole. Once you have taken that image, if it needed repair, are the main roads clear of debris? Which route would you recommend repair crews to take? Which one has the least amount of debris or obstructions? Are the roads flooded? Do you have an idea of how deep the water is? By taking this little bit of extra time to make notes, input these into the comments section of the FEMA App, you help first responders make choices in how to get to your family and community.

FEMA crowdsourced map - you can also see this map directly from the FEMA App on your phone.

If you have the time, coordinate with your neighbors and take important pictures that help make decisions such as several pictures of roads, intersections, important infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, highway on-ramps, bridges, etc. Take your time when doing so. They do not need to be super high resolution, but they do need sufficient detail to determine what conditions exist. While it is true that satellite imagery is often used during a disaster response, remember, if the weather is cloudy, rainy and strong winds exist, satellite images will not be available and nor will aircraft with reconnaissance  abilities be able to fly. Another important aspect is you. You are an expert in your community. You know your way around your neighborhood and understand where important safety issues could be barriers to response. Are there any ditches, recent road repairs that are not complete or where important infrastructure locations are. Your participation acts as an expert guide to others that will be responding that often have no direct experience with your neighborhood. The more helpful information you can supply, the safer and faster a response will be to your community.

Be proactive in your community by talking to your neighbors and plotting out where damage has occurred that is important that first responders know about. A picture of your backyard swimming pool is not that important. But where water pipes have broken, power poles, schools acting as shelters and hospitals have suffered major damage are vital.

Be active and think how you would help out when in need. That's the key to success when using modern smart phone technology. Make sure your location feature is turned on and take smart pictures and upload them if mobile service or Wi-Fi is available. Even if you have to wait to upload them at a local WiFi hotspot, it is worth the wait. Response agencies know the sacrifice and difficulties you may have to undergo to upload these pictures.

We have observed many of those affected by Hurricane Irma are uploading photos their communities that are damaged to Facebook Community groups. There are hundreds of these groups in addition to individual Facebook pages. FEMA and United Nations agencies do not have time to be members of all these community groups and must centralize their analysts that can help determine best courses of action to take in response to the disaster. By using a single application or web portal, the task becomes much simpler and faster to visual what has occurred and what response options should be considered. By taking pictures of important roads, arteries and other infrastructure, you help determine how best they can direct teams in the field and other agencies such as the UN, Coast Guard, Naval and Air assets. Do you live near the main airport? It isn't just the runway that is important, but the roads leading to and from its terminal. Do you know where normal everyday bottle necks exists? Pictures of these locations are vital to know in advance.

For those nations in the Caribbean that are not able to use FEMA, app, there is another way to plot your images onto a map for decision makers to leverage by using the Crowdsource ARCGIS map linked here - https://napsg.maps.arcgis.com/apps/StoryMapCrowdsource/index.html?appid=65f0dde429504c3cb07f0cae0f2c4be6

This link will remain active for as long as Hurricane Irma disaster recovery operations continue.

FEMA APP Link

ARCGIS map photos taken by locals. The dots indicate how many picture have been taken. On the right shows a description. But often they are not clearly identified or useful to first responders and recovery agencies. We need to help you take better pictures and assist  in any way possible for you to understand why it is important.

By participating, you help solve critical problems that occur during a disaster response. That's how we all can help heal and recovery faster.

How to turn on location service on an iPhone - https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT207092

How to turn on location service on an Android device - https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3467281?hl=en

How to turn on location service on a Samsung S5 phone - http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/skp/faq/1044567

How to turn on location service on a Galaxy device - http://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00062037/


Sunday 10 September 2017

Surviving and recovering Hurricane IRMA in regions of the Caribbean

Hurricane Katie (left), IRMA (center), Jose (right)
September 8, 2017


For those on all the island nations in the Caribbean basin, here are some tips and recommendations you might want to consider, given the challenges you are all presently facing. As a disaster recovery specialist having observed what is currently happening all across the Caribbean, there are some common themes on how best to cope and move forward that I'd like to share with you. These tips are in no specific order of priority.
1) Check in with your neighbors and family through any means possible by telephone, email, skype, etc.or walking to their known shelter or home.
2) Use the FEMA smartphone App for trusted updates on Government support services that will ramping up over the next week. The smart phone App works for Android and iPhone.
3) Double check your information with more than one source if it isn't from a government institution. Best news sources online are NBC, CBS, ABC, BBC and local affiliates to any of these organizations.
4) Limit your comments on posts in this community. It creates a very long scroll list for members to find information, which drains battery power on your smartphone - if that's your only information resource device.
5) Do not be alarmed by the news now focused on Florida. All Caribbean islands are being paid attention to by those that have the responsibility to respond - the Government. Media exposure maybe reduced, but not Government response.
6) Logistics takes time given the nature of this Hurricane. Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and the east coast are the staging points for ships. They will have to deal with rough seas at slower speeds. European nations are flying in supplies and moving naval ships as fast as they can.
7) Airports are being repaired and will be active with relief flights of supplies as fast as humanly possible. But it still takes time and coordination. Hurricane Irma's aftermath of post storm activity will make things difficult as flights must depart farther away than normal given the fact that Florida is now not available as a staging point for flights. Do not expect commercial flights to return to regular service anytime soon given the damage that will likely happen in Florida.
8) The International Military community is responding. It may not appear that they are, but US Southern Command, US Coast Guard, Royal Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy assets are being deployed to the Caribbean. It takes time and there's nothing that can help speed it up than what is already being done. The Military is moving as fast as possible. The United Nations has deployed several organizations throughout the Caribbean to help support recovery efforts.
9) Take stock of your position and make a list of things you need. Ensure that you prioritize and be prepared to share those resources as best you can. It might be best to share in the cost of some important items if necessary as you make requests for resupply including fuel, generators, lights, batteries, water and hygiene products.
10) Work together and remain focused on the immediate tasks. While surveying where you live, make notes on paper or take pictures of your community and make sure you share with important information included to community leaders. This will help in determining how best recovery efforts can be managed and prioritized for everyone's safety.
11) Remain safe by being observant and aware of your family's whereabouts and what everyone is doing. Observe by thinking what the impact of the damage will be on recovery efforts. Examples include power lines, water pipes, types of debris, level of destruction, and access to your neighborhood and weaknesses that you see. Ask yourself, how would you go about recovery? That helps you determine what you need to do to remain safe and keep alive over the next several weeks and months ahead.
12) Without a doubt, remaining calm and reducing your stress level will be almost impossible keep in check. The best way to cope is to talk to your local friends and neighbors and help each other in person. Being online all the time will not help solve those issues. Work together and see what expertise and help you can contribute to each other. Doing so keeps you busy, productive and gives everyone a sense of how you can move forward in a positive light.
13) Resupply cannot solve everything. Tackling all the issues you are now faced with all at once, will not help either. Past disaster recovery experience shows that working towards recovery and rebuilding one step at a time is the best approach. Fully complete one task before moving onto the next one. It will solve a lot of complexity in how to move forward.
14) By engaging locally and in person, the better your sense of what will be required for your recovery will be. Engaging does not mean complaining about it to local public safety officials. It means asking questions, but that does not mean it should be a vector to vent your anger. Mother nature is a powerful destructive force when these storms occur. There's no agency in the world that can fix these problems overnight. Everyone wishes it could be done, but it can't. By asking questions and getting answers - as much as they may not be the answers you don't want to hear, understand what is being given as an answer. When a response given is "we don't know" or "I have no answer to that question", it simply means that they are being honest in that support options are limited by other factors out of their control. It does not mean they are not willing to help as mentioned in several points listed above.
15) The best thing you can do is remain positive and make goals on how best to recover. It will be hard and it will not be easy for all you. But it can be done and is an important part of your healing and recovery process. Every community in the Caribbean is going through this. It will be a international recovery effort and know, teams are preparing to help everyone as best they can.
If you have questions, try to ask them locally in your community. Those are the best places to get real answers that apply specifically to you and your family. If you still have challenges and concerns that you believe are not getting answers too, leave a detailed comment here and I will attempt to answer it.
You will all come out this hurricane stronger. That's the best way to think of this event despite the obvious rhetorical thoughts that suggest otherwise. Visit our Disaster Management portal to learn more about dealing with disasters.

Red Cross Check in and Registery
https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php

FEMA App download 

https://www.fema.gov/mobile-app