Stove in a Can Contest Giveaway

Be sure to check out my review of Stove in a Can and tell me what you think of the review and why you want a FREE Stove in a Can to add to your preparedness supplies.

This contest is open until June 6th 2012 until Midnight and we will choose one winner at random that leaves a comment following the rules.

ALL comments are moderated so it you do not see your comment posted right away, do not worry they will be posted before we announce the winner.

Good luck everyone I can't wait to give this item to one of my lucky readers.

Are You a Single Prepper or Survivalist That Would Like to be on Television? Here’s Your Chance

Do you consider yourself a prepper or survivalist? Believe that the end of the world is coming soon? Are you singe and looking to date someone or even fall in love? If you fit these criteria have I got news for you!

A new television series by a major production company is having a casting call looking for single men and woman that share this belief and looking to share the rest of their time with someone.

If you fit these criteria please email survivaldatecasting@gmail.com with your story with a current photo of yourself along with a current contact telephone number and email address to Sean De Simone.

Please Note: Disaster Preparedness Blog has nothing to do with this T.V. show other than being asked to pass along this information. Please do not contact Disaster Preparedness Blog with questions or information regarding this show at this time.

Protecting Against Solar Flares, Electromagnetic Pulse, and Geomagnetic Storms

Lately I have been getting a large amount of inquiries about protecting against Solar Flares, Coronal Mass Ejections (CME’s), Geomagnetic Storms (also called Geomagnetic Induced Currents) and Solar Storms.  In fact it is one of the top searches on Disaster Preparedness Blog for the last year and for good reason, as we are entering the Solar Maximum phase which in most cases causes an increase in solar activity.

I did a few previous articles that explain a bit about what these are and how they have impacted businesses and infrastructure during past events that you can read more about here:

Sun Spots, Solar Flares, and Geomagnetic Induced Currents Can Disrupt Your Business

Coronal Mass Ejection May Cause Disruptions Being Called Solar Tsunami by Some

What exactly is Space Weather and Why you Should Care

Protecting against Solar Flares, CME’s, Geomagnetic Storms, and other related Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) such as an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) or lightening strike is possible and is something I offer to businesses, agencies and organizations through my consulting and services business Continuity Co., LLC.

I have never actually written about anything on protecting against these threats here for a number of reasons, mostly due to the number of myths that exist and often reinforced by bad information around the internet. I have even seen some good information on protecting your equipment called bogus so trying to find the correct information can at times be like navigating a mine field unless you are in the know.

Thanks to a fellow preparedness expert and someone I consider a friend, Arthur T. Bradley Ph.D. consumers and even small businesses can now make preparing and protecting against this kind of threat easier, cost effective, and even worth consideration.

Arthur Bradley recently wrote the book (literally) on just this topic called Emergency Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms. In fact, he didn’t just write the book, but he also tested and provides detailed information on methods some of the common and easy protection methods you can use to protect your electronics.

If you are a big business there are additional methods, steps and equipment you can use to give you added protection from these events. However, they are not always as cost effective for smaller businesses or consumers, but the information contained in the book will certainly help you.

Since protecting against these events is an inquiry I do get often If you would like more information on how to protect your business from Solar Flares, EMP's and Geomagnetic Storms please feel free to contact me.

As part of this post I am also giving away ONE (1) autographed copy of Arthur Bradley’s new book Emergency Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms. To enter, please leave a comment on why you would find this information useful, what steps if any you have taken in the past to protect against these threats, and why you feel you should get a copy of the book. I will choose a person randomly as the winner. Don’t miss out the book is filled with great tips and useful information you can use to enhance your disaster preparations.

Once the giveaway contest is complete I will do a followup with a few more details on protecting against these events. The contest will run until May 1, 2012 12:00 AM.

WIN ONE FREE FULL CONFERENCE PASS TO GOV SEC 2012

Disaster Preparedness Blog is very excited and pleased to announce that we are giving away one FREE FULL CONFERENCE PASS to GOVSEC 2012 held jointly with Contingency Planning and Management Conference and Expo.  

How can you win your Free full conference pass? It’s simple. Just leave a comment below on why you think you should get a free conference pass by March 13^th 11:59 PM PST. The winner will be chosen randomly and notified by email that they are the winner.

Don’t miss out on your chance to win a full conference pass to GOVSEC 2012 leave a comment today.

Disaster Preparedness Blog also gives you the chance to save 20% by using the discount code CPM07 so sign up today with our code to get your discount or click the GOVSEC banner on the right.

Contest has been closed and link removed

Disaster Tip of the Week: Setup Predetermined Meet-up Locations for After an Emergency or Disaster

One of the more common things to occur after an emergency or disaster is families becoming separated. This is particularly true after sudden large region disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires, and mudslides.

This occurs for a variety of reasons, though most commonly because these events can happen when you and your spouse are at work, and the kids are off at school. Though you can’t prevent things like this from happening to you and your family, you can take steps to speed up reunification with your family.

The first step would be to set up predetermined meet-up locations with your family. I recommend that you choose at least three locations, but probably no more than five maybe six locations since someone will have to check each location until everyone is reunited again.

Doing this is quite simple and starting with your first location which I recommend be either the sidewalk or at the end of your driveway in front of your home or apartment. This makes meeting up after an emergency or disaster fairly quickly, especially if everyone is nearby when something happens.

Since this location is the easiest, but also not always practical after an event the second location should also be close by such as across the street from your home or at a designated neighbor’s house.

The third location can be the nearest corner to your home or other location, but I would suggest that you choose an exact cross street location to make things easier. You should also keep it close to home in a familiar place incase street signs are unreadable or missing after the event.

Any additional locations should be at a specific location that is easy to find both geographically or by what is at the location. An example would be the Lowe’s parking lot on Friendly Street and Lovely Place. Well, you get the idea.

If you have school age children you should also check with your school to see what the school has planned in case of a large event. All schools should have such plans in place and they will not release the children to go off on their own. A parent may have to come and pick up the child, or they may go to another school or shelter. I suggest you find out now so you won’t be “surprised” when it happens.

To make your location planning easier, I found a website called Safety Maps that you can use to set up predetermined meet-up locations for after an emergency. It is a free tool set up these locations and lets you include instructions. Just go to Free Planning Map to get started creating yours.

If you have family that works more than an hour’s drive from where you live it may not be practical to meet-up immediately following an event. In that case, I recommend you set up a family crisis communications plan, and I will be doing a post on that for next weeks tip.