New Activity Updates

Go to the activities page to see revised times for the flu clinic and additional CPR/AED training sessions.

CERT National Newsletter

I have added a direct link to the CERT National Newsletter (see main page header).  Previously we were linking to copies of the newsletter that were provided to me, now we can access all the older issues.  Really good way of seeing what other teams across the country are doing in their communities.

Scanning documents for your Emergency Survival Kit

As we’ve mentioned here before, September is National Preparedness Month, a nationwide effort to increase awareness as well as encourage individuals, families, businesses and communities to take action and prepare for emergencies. One of the most crucial aspects of preparation for an emergency is having the right supplies – an Emergency Survival Kit.

The Ready America website encourages everyone to prepare an emergency survival kit with basics such as fresh water, food, a dust mask, and medical supplies. Also included on the survival kit checklist is a collection of important documents such as copies of insurance policies, personal identification, bank account records. In the event of an emergency or natural disaster, would you be able to quickly locate and pack all of these documents without putting yourself or your family at greater risk?

Digitize and secure your important family documents.  In addition to having all of your paper documents stored in a safe place, you could also have a portable, digital library of your family’s important information, in the event of an emergency such as a fire or flood. Imagine having your entire family’s birth certificates, medical records, insurance policies, and financial information all archived onto a tiny portable USB drive, packed in your Survival Kit and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Visit the Ready.gov website to learn more about creating an Emergency Survival Kit for your family.

Learn more about the scanner and software solutions offered by the Neat company (I have one of their scanners and it is very handy in document archiving)

BSC CERT T-shirts & other stuff

I have set up an online shop for folks to order CERT T-shirts and other clothing, along with some cups, etc.  The product quality of this vendor (CafePress) is much better than the first one I tried (VistaPrint).  Of course with quality comes extra cost (note- I have no control over the cost but have added a $.50 markup to go into a CERT fund).   One advantage is that everyone can place their own orders.  CafePress has a very large selection of clothing styles and colors while VistaPrint only had basic white and black T-shirts.

I will bring a sample CafePress shirt to next week’s meeting.  Please take a look at the online shop and let me know if there are any requests for other clothing items to add.

http://www.cafepress.com/bsccert

I also have more CERT caps (great service from Preparesmart) and glow sticks for those who did not get a chance to buy some last time.

2009 Disaster Preparedness Day

Yesterday was a successful public awareness event held at South SF High School.  Turnout from public agencies was good and it was certainly the most CERT personnel I had ever seen in one location.  Exhibitors ranged from banks to coroners, from the FBI to Congresswoman Jackie Speier.

Blythe Asagi scored a great location for our exhibit, right along the path to the free lunch.  Along with Christy, our table was staffed by Hayman Tam, Blythe, and Dave & Laila Hinkle.  Besides our own exhibit, other CERT units participating included South San Francisco (who also cooked the hot dogs), Redwood City, San Mateo, Millbrae, Brisbane and North County.

Photos from the event can be seen on our CERT photo album (use the link on the right).

As a result of the many questions we fielded that day, I have added a new feature to this blog.  In the right hand margin are links to the websites of other Bay Area CERT organizations.  Feel free to contact me (hayman @ bsccert.org) with any additions/corrections.

September Is National Preparedness Month

The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is reminding everyone that September is National Preparedness Month. Throughout National Preparedness Month, which is sponsored by FEMA’s Ready Campaign, FEMA is encouraging all Americans to visit Ready.gov to learn how they can better prepare themselves and their families for the next emergency or disaster.   Read the rest of the article.

Texting after a disaster

Here is a link to an article discussing communication options during an emergency.  Normal phone lines may be jammed but cellular and web-based phones would still work.

Go to the Safe America link (on the right hand side) for additional information.  They have a tutorial on the use of texting for emergency communications.

August 2009 CERT Meeting Minutes

Here are the meeting minutes (PDF format) from the CERT team meeting held this month.  The minutes also have a preview of  our CERT T-shirt design (ordering details to be posted here soon).  Additional quantities of the Glow Sticks and CERT caps have been ordered and will be on hand at the next meeting.

Everyone enjoy the long Labor Day weekend!