Disaster Tip of the Week: Turn Around Don't Drown

This is something that confronts all drivers at one time or another, you come across a large pool of water in the road and it looks to be only a few inches deep. You drive through it and nothing happens. So you do it again next time and the time after that.

Then one day your not so lucky, you drive through the same pool of water, in fact it looks like there is less water than last time, and next thing you know your car drops into a hole and the water is up to the middle of the window, and now you can't get out.

Lets face it, driving through standing water is a bad idea, and driving through flowing water can be even more dangerous, and here is why.

As I mention above, (watch the videos below) the water may be much deeper than you realize especially if it has caused the roadway to collapse which is a common occurrence. Another reason is that it takes two feet of water to float the largest of vehicles, even a bus. However, just six inches of water can float smaller vehicles and can be enough to cause larger vehicles to become unstable.

Add flowing water to the mix and you can easily be swept away. Six inches of fast moving water can knock a person off their feet and even less if the water is moving fast enough.

Next time you come across that pool of water in the road - "Turn Around Don't Drown"

Rescue from Submerged Vehicles

 Woman Drives into Pool of Water

Rescue After Water Main Break

 Fire Truck In Hole After Road Collapses

Safecastle Giveaway on Survivalistboards.com $6,000 Worth of Gear and Supplies

Recently I joined Survivalistboards.com and noticed they are having a contest through the forum where Safecastle is giving away $6,000 worth of gear with a winner everyday for the month of March.

If you are new to survival and preparedness it is a great place to get information, make friends and perhaps have a chance at winning some great gear and supplies.

Energizer Duo USB Battery Charger Trojan - Allows Remote Access

Downloadable software for use with the Energizer Duo USB Charger has been found to contain a Trojan that allows for remote control of the system US-CERT is reporting.

It is unknown at this time how long the Trojan has been in the software, but can be as long as its release three years ago.

According to Symantec "The Trojan still operates whether this device is found or not, so a USB charger doesn't need to be plugged in for the Trojan to be functioning."

US-CERT has issued a Vulnerability Note VU# 154421 with more details. Here is some information from that report:

The installer for the Energizer DUO software places the file UsbCharger.dll in the application's directory and Arucer.dll in the Windows system32 directory.

Arucer.dll is a backdoor that allows unauthorized remote system access via accepting connections on 7777/tcp.

Chilean Earthquake Caused Entire City to Move 10 Feet From its Previous Location

According to an article published today on Wired.com the Chilean city of Concepcion shifted 10 feet to the West of its previous location.

The movement was tracked by GPS sensors along with analysis from Ohio State scientist Mike Bevis who has been using the system to record crust movements in Chile since 1993.

According to the article other cities also shifted, including Buenos Aires which moved an inch and is located approximately 800 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake.

For the full article with illustrations please see refrences below.

Disaster Tip of the Week: Don’t Forget to Incorporate Sanitation into Your Disaster Preparation

Let's face it, sanitation is one of those subjects we are never likely to discuss during our daily conversations. It is also something we take for granted, since we typically never have to worry about it. Even when it does become an issue, we just pick up the phone and call out friendly local plumber.

Yet during a disaster it is something that becomes very important. Where are you going to go? Is water available to flush? Will you be taking precious potable water for your sanitation purposes? Can you keep it away from your food supplies? What about the smell?

Again, not the most pleasant subject matter, but extremely important since this is something if not done properly can quickly spread disease compounding an already difficult situation.

Another important factor to consider is how many people you have, especially if you are in the workplace or anywhere you have a large number of people. For instance a good rule of thumb is one portable toilet for every seventy-five occupants.

If you are in a location such as your home, or small office and you do not have enough water to both sustain your daily water intake needs and your sanitation needs consider setting up the following type system.

Convert a 5 gallon bucket fitted with toilet lid. Use heavy duty garbage bags and double bag for each use. After using, if available add a chemical agent to both reduce smells and aid in braking down the waste to the bag, and close the bags to avoid spillage. Remove tha bags and place them into either a metal (preferred) garbage can with tight fitting lid or a heavy duty plastic barrel with a tight fitting lid. This will keep the smell levels low, and reduce insect and rodent issues.

Clearly mark the garbage cans human waste so that anyone tasked with removal can readily identify them without having to open the containers.

If you are in a workplace environment, or apartment complex they should as part of their contingency planning have a vendor lined up to bring portable sanitation in, and provide for its removal. This should be done ahead of time so that it makes for fast and easy response from the vendor.

One last thing. Make sure you get all these supplies and vendors lined up ahead of time, otherwise it will be too late if you need them and don't have them if a disaster strikes.