# 2997
Do you have a first aid kit in your car, and another one in your home? Do you really know how to use one?
If you had to, could you evacuate your home with say . . . 10 minutes notice. . . and be able to cope for 72 hours without assistance ?
If the power went out, and stayed out for a week or longer, can you cook, stay warm, and stay connected with the outside world?
If a disaster struck your town, would your family be able to meet up at an agreed upon `safe location’?
Over the past 48 hours hundreds of Americans have been put to these tests in places like Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, and Alabama.
Wildfires have literally destroyed two Texas towns, and the little community of Lone Grove, Arkansas was all but destroyed by a massive tornado.
Elsewhere, dozens of people have been injured, and several killed by violent storms. And of course, with that comes power outages and destroyed homes.
And the surprising thing is, the past two days haven’t been particularly unusual. Disasters happen practically every day, somewhere in this country (and around the world).
Big ones, little ones.
The only difference between them, really, is some people are prepared to deal with them.
And some people aren’t.
Wildfires destroy 2 Texas towns, kill 2
Sat Apr 11, 2009 12:21am EDTHOUSTON (Reuters) - Wildfires fueled by high winds roared across northern Texas, destroying two towns and killing two people, officials said on Friday.
Firefighters battled more than 20 major fires burning across 60,000 acres on Friday, a day after 100,000 acres burned and the small towns of Stoneburg and Sunset in Montague County northwest of Fort Worth were destroyed, according to a statement from Texas Governor Rick Perry.
Tornado kills 2, injures 41 in central Tenn.
Apr 10 08:29 PM US/Eastern
By JUANITA COUSINSMURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - A tornado killed a woman and her 9-week-old infant and also injured dozens Friday in central Tennessee as a line of storms lifted homes, ripped off roofs and dumped hail in the Southeast.
Elsewhere, a tornado touched down in southwestern Kentucky, injuring two people and destroying homes. A possible tornado was reported in northeast Alabama. And large hail fell in North Carolina.
At least 41 people were hurt in Rutherford County, Tenn., four of them critically, in the aftermath of a storm system that killed three in western Arkansas a day earlier.
Tornado devastates small Arkansas town, killing 3
Apr 10, 8:27 AM (ET)
By JON GAMBRELL
MENA, Ark. (AP) - Battered residents of this western Arkansas city waited for daylight Friday to dig out from a "direct hit" by a tornado that killed three people, injured at least 30, and flattened homes and businesses.
While this latest spate of disasters probably didn’t affect you, or your family, there is no guarantee that the next one won’t. That’s why the American Red Cross, FEMA, and READY.GOV work every day to convince Americans to prepare for disasters.
April is National Earthquake Preparedness Month, and as you can see by the map below, many areas of the country are vulnerable.
We are also moving into the heart of the tornado season, particularly for the southern states. This map shows the areas of greatest danger, but practically all regions of the nation can see tornadoes.
The western wildfire season hasn’t started yet, but already in 2009 hundreds of wildfires have struck in the southern and Midwestern states.
The image below shows the wildfires since the 1st of the year on the GEOMAC Wildland Fire Support Browser.
And of course, Hurricane season is less than 60 days away . . . .
Are you ready?
Most Americans are woefully unprepared to deal with emergencies. This despite dozens of major disasters (often weather related) that occur every year in this country.
And each and every day, thousands of people are injured in automobile, work related, and household accidents.
Everyone should have a well equipped first aid kit in their car, workplace, and home . . . and everyone should know the basics of first aid. If you’ve never taken a first aid course, contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross.
Agencies like FEMA, READY.GOV and the HHS are constantly trying to get the preparedness message out, so that when (not `if') a disaster does occur, human losses can be minimized.
For more information on how to prepare for emergencies, up to and including a pandemic, the following sites should be of assistance.
FEMA http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm
READY.GOV http://www.ready.gov/
AMERICAN RED CROSS http://www.redcross.org/
For Pandemic Preparedness Information: HHS Individual Planning Page
For more in-depth emergency preparedness information I can think of no better resource than GetPandemicReady.Org.
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