American Red Cross Launches New Preparedness Initiative

The American Red Cross Launches a new site called Do More Than Cross Your Fingers a new initiative timed with September to coincide with National Disaster Preparedness Month.

It focuses on taking the proper steps to prepare for a disaster and features both a game called Prepare 4 and the actress Jamie Lee Curtis (American Red Cross Volunteer) on video discussing items to include in your preparedness kits.

Through my blog here, I was lucky to get a sneak peak before the official launch of today, but was asked to wait until the launch before mentioning it. I have to say the Red Cross did an excellent job putting this together.

It also timely since FEMA just released a report on American Preparedness, which as many of you know we are severely under-prepared. I did a brief post on this report you can view here: FEMA Issues Report On Personal Preparedness In America or you can view the report directly here at: Personal Preparedness in America.

At the very least be sure to check out the New Red Cross site, the first link above, watch the video, play the game, get prepared.

FEMA Issues Report on Personal Preparedness in America

The findings of this report are particularly interesting in that a large percentage of Americans who completed the survey (30 percent) have not taken steps to prepare because they believe that first responders (Fire, Police, EMS) will be able to help them after a disaster, and that more than 60 percent are expecting the same first responders to help them within the first 72 hours after a disaster.

As we have seen in recent history those who are depending on the government, be it local, state or federal and emergency responders as their primary source for help will be the most vulnerable.

In addition, only 10 percent of respondents are prepared to shelter in place in their homes if required to do so.

Click the link to read the entire report titled: Personal Preparedness in America: Findings from the 2009 Citizen Corps National Survey

Propane Tank Explodes Causing Evacuations

A Propane tank on the rear of a forklift ruptured and caught fire at a beverage distribution plant in San Diego the other day shutting down traffic on I-5 and causing the evacuation of people within a mile radius of the plant.

No one appears to have been injured during the incident including the forklift drivers.

News Video at scene

New Survey Shows A Significant Disconnect Between IT and Business Executives On Disaster Recovery Preparedness

I was sent this recent survey and given permission to share with you here on Disaster Preparedness Blog. I have long said there is a significant disconnect between IT and the Business on Disaster Preparedness, now we have a survey that shows as much. Enjoy!

There is a significant disconnect between IT and business executives when it comes to disaster recovery preparedness, according to the results of a new State of Disaster Recovery survey.

While both sets of executives share the same views on the importance of information availability to the business, survey data reveal a split in how to achieve the goal of minimizing downtime when an unplanned IT outage occurs.

In the survey commissioned by SunGard Availability Services and conducted by Harris Interactive, both IT and business decision-makers say information availability is important to the success of their business (83 percent of IT, 78 percent of business).

However, fewer than half of business executives say disaster recovery and business continuity are important to business success compared with a large majority of IT executives (74 percent of IT, 49 percent of business).

State Of Disaster Recovery, Harris Interactive

View more presentations from SunGard Availability Services.

Evacuation of The Getty Museum Well Done, Highlights Need For Proper Planning

On Wednesday afternoon, July 8, 2009 a fire in the hills of Santa Monica forced the evacuation of approximately 800 employees and 1,600 visitors of the Getty Museum.

The fire also prompted fire officials to evacuate nearby Saint Mary's College even though the fire was about a mile away at the time.The school at the time was not holding regular sessions but was hosting a conference with about 100 staff and 200 visitors.

Though no one appears to have been injured and everyone appears to have been evacuated safely, it is events like this which highlight the need for contingency planning.

The staff did everything right, including taking steps to protect the art work inside, providing a way to evacuate visitors quickly, and utilized an alternate route off the mountain and away from the museum.

With a situation like this, so much could have gone wrong very quickly, but with proper planning and training they were able to successfully get everyone out alive and well.

If there was a fire in your work place, or a wildfire threatening your business would you be able to do the same?