The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have an excellent web site with a wealth of health and safety-related information on a broad range of topics and for many audience types. They have redesigned and reorganized, including more images, and the navigation features lend themselves well to helping users find information quickly. We can benefit particularly from their Emergency Preparedness and Response pages, and today are focusing on their Natural Disasters and Severe Weather subsite. For each event, they have gathered excellent information, some of which they have written, and some that links to other, related sites. Check out the “Earthquake” page, which warns that between 2008 and 2035, seismologists predict a 97 percent chance of a major quake in the New Madrid seismic zone (central US: Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri).

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

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

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

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

‘Tis the season in the South!…..thunderstorms with torrential rains and strong winds, hot, muggy days that make air conditioning systems work overtime…all contribute to increased risk for leaking roofs, doorways, windows, and pipes and for flooding from blocked drains, construction sites, etc.  Here are a few suggestions for catching these situations before they become catastrophes:

• conduct a daily inspection of any areas where water has come in before.  Any stained ceiling tiles?  Any musty smell?  Any condensation build-up on exposed pipes or ductwork?
• keep an eye on the weather forecast
• ask your Facilities maintenance people to check outside drains to make sure they are clear of debris
• if you don’t know already, find out what kinds of rooms are on the floors above your space (if any) and whether they pose a threat of leaking water into your space
• replenish any disaster supplies that might be needed, such as paper towelling, rubber gloves, masks, buckets/mops 
• if you don’t already have any absorbent “socks” for soaking up water off the floor, order them! (a site:  New Pig)
• make sure you have current phone numbers for your response team and for the Facilities people at your institution
• know how much you can do yourself, and whom to call for back-up (commercial salvage companies, conservation organizations, etc.)
• here’s a helpful regional resource from the CCAHA listing companies that provide all sorts of materials for salvage and preservation activities:  Mid-Atlantic Resource Guide for Disaster Preparedness

‘Tis the season in the South!…..thunderstorms with torrential rains and strong winds, hot, muggy days that make air conditioning systems work overtime…all contribute to increased risk for leaking roofs, doorways, windows, and pipes and for flooding from blocked drains, construction sites, etc.  Here are a few suggestions for catching these situations before they become catastrophes:

• conduct a daily inspection of any areas where water has come in before.  Any stained ceiling tiles?  Any musty smell?  Any condensation build-up on exposed pipes or ductwork?
• keep an eye on the weather forecast
• ask your Facilities maintenance people to check outside drains to make sure they are clear of debris
• if you don’t know already, find out what kinds of rooms are on the floors above your space (if any) and whether they pose a threat of leaking water into your space
• replenish any disaster supplies that might be needed, such as paper towelling, rubber gloves, masks, buckets/mops 
• if you don’t already have any absorbent “socks” for soaking up water off the floor, order them! (a site:  New Pig)
• make sure you have current phone numbers for your response team and for the Facilities people at your institution
• know how much you can do yourself, and whom to call for back-up (commercial salvage companies, conservation organizations, etc.)
• here’s a helpful regional resource from the CCAHA listing companies that provide all sorts of materials for salvage and preservation activities:  Mid-Atlantic Resource Guide for Disaster Preparedness