Tips for staying safe from disasters while you travel

Summer is one of the most popular times to travel. Whether you are traveling on your own or with family and friends, it’s important to stay safe by preparing for potential emergency situations. In our latest podcast, APHA’s Get Ready campaign shares advice for travelers from Michael MacNair, president and CEO of MacNair Travel Management.

Travelers need to consider a range of issues before they set off on their journey, including potential security issues at their destination, unexpected delays and disease risks.

“The biggest thing that is affecting travelers right now is weather,” MacNair told the Get Ready campaign.

To ensure that you and your family are prepared for an emergency before you travel, MacNair advises that you keep the following in mind:

• Make an emergency travel kit that includes a flashlight, extra batteries, non-perishable snacks, a water purification kit and extra cash, including the currency of your destination country.
• Make two copies of your passport, one to take with you and one to keep with a contact at home. 
• Research your destination for the weather forecast, regional customs, required immunizations and political climate. 
• Keep track of updates and changes from your travel agency or provider.

Listen to the new podcast or read the transcript for more tips from MacNair.

Remember: It’s important to be prepared for anything, especially when you are away from home. Safe travels!

Keeping food safe during flooding and power outages

Disasters can strike when you least expect them. Knowing how to properly store food ahead of time can help keep you and your family safe from foodborne illnesses.

Two of the most common emergencies that can happen in the summer are flood and power outages, both of which can affect your food and make it unsafe to eat.

Keeping food safe during power outages:

It’s important to keep meat, poultry, fish, eggs and other perishable food at or below 40 degrees and frozen food at or below 0 degrees. But how can you tell what the temperature is if the power is out? The answer is with an appliance thermometer. You should have one for both your refrigerator and freezer.

To keep your foods cooler for longer during a power outage, the U.S. Department of Agriculture advises you to keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. The refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours and a full freezer will stay cold for about 48 hours, or 24 hours if it is half full. (It’s a good idea to print this information out and save it somewhere you can find it when the power goes out.)

If your refrigerator has been without power for more than four hours, discard any perishable food, USDA says. Never taste the food to test its safety!

Keeping food safe during and after floods:

After a flood, drink only bottled water, as public water supplies may be contaminated. If bottled water is not available, boil tap water for safety. Before using dishes, metal pans or utensils that have touched floodwater, wash them with hot soapy water and sanitize by boiling them in clean water.

Losing food to flooding can be devastating, particularly if you have a lot of it. It’s normal to want to save it. But it’s just not worth risking your health or the health of your loved ones.

After a flood, make sure to throw away any of the following if there is any chance it came in contact with floodwater:

• food in cardboard boxes, paper, foil or cloth;
• spices, seasonings, flour, sugar, grain, coffee and other staples;
• unopened jars with wax cardboard seals, such as mayonnaise and salad dressings;
• all canned foods; and
• wooden cutting boards, plastic utensils, baby bottle nipples and pacifiers.

Remember: When in doubt, throw it out!

For more information, check out our Get Ready food and water safety fact sheet and get more tips on food safety from USDA.

Get your mobile phone disaster-ready

According to the American Red Cross, more Americans are using social media and apps during disasters. Mobile phone apps and social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter are now tied as the fourth most popular way to find information in an emergency, after TV, radio and the Internet.

Cellphones, smartphone apps and social media tools are especially useful during disasters when phone lines are down and power is out. That’s why the Federal Emergency Management Agency is focusing its 2013 Resolve to be Ready campaign on including these technologies in your emergency preparedness plans. Here are some ideas to help you get started.

Mobile phones: The following tips are useful for any type of cellphone:

• Add “ICE” contacts to your phone. ICE, or in case of emergency, contacts will help first responders get in touch with your loved ones if an emergency happens. It’s a good idea to add a local ICE contact and one that lives out-of-state to your phone’s list of contacts. 


• Text — don’t call — when phones are busy. Phone lines are often busy during and after emergencies as many people try to contact loved ones, but oftentimes texts can get through. Make sure everyone in your family knows how to send text messages. 


• Find out if you can get Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone. FEMA and many U.S. cellphone carriers have teamed up to create a system for Wireless Emergency Alerts. These are messages sent to your phone just like text messages, only they contain emergency information. These could be sent during disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes or terrorist attacks. You don’t need to sign up for these alerts — they are automatically sent to most cellphones. To check and see if you can receive these messages on your phone, visit the Wireless Emergency Alerts website.

Smart phones: Can you access the Internet or download apps on your phone? Here are some more ideas to use your phone to get ready:

• Download emergency apps. If you have a smartphone, there are many apps you can download that can be very useful in an emergency. The American Red Cross has created apps to help people during earthquakes, hurricanes and wildfires. The organization also has a first aid app and an app to help you find a local shelter during a disaster. You can find more information about these apps (and get them for free!) on the Red Cross website.


• Use social media to let friends and family know you’re safe. In a recent survey, Red Cross found that 76 percent of Americans use social media to check in with friends and family after an emergency. Posting a simple message such as “There was a tornado in my neighborhood — power is out but we are OK” on your Facebook or Twitter account can help let people know that you are safe. 


• Find local emergency information online. Check Facebook and Twitter to see if your local government, fire or police and local Red Cross chapters have set up accounts and follow them before an emergency happens. On a national level, you can also follow organizations such as FEMA, the American Red Cross, Ready.gov and other trusted sources. APHA’s list of national and regional emergency preparedness Twitter users is a good start. And don’t forget to follow @GetReady on Twitter!


• Reminder: While these sources are great, if you are in a life-threatening situation, remember to always call 911 first.

Do you have any other tips for preparing with your mobile phone? Do you have another emergency app you think we should know about? Let us know in the comments!

Are you tech ready? Check out our new podcast on digital disaster preparedness!

The Get Ready campaign recently spoke with Amy Donahue, a reference librarian at the Medical College of Wisconsin, about preparing for a disaster digitally.

In our new podcast episode, Donahue gives tips for using technology to help us before, during and after an emergency. She has suggestions for how to make sure technology will work for us when we need it most — things like having extra batteries and having a plan for charging your phone when the power goes out. 

Donahue also explains how librarians can help when disaster strikes.

“We can help people identify good resources for disaster information. We can help them find new sources if they don’t know where to start. And then we can also help work with community partners,” to help people share information before, during and after an emergency, she says.

In addition to preparing your tech gear, Donahue reminds us that “nothing beats having the kit, having the plan, making sure all your technology will help you and not hinder you before an emergency ever strikes.”

You can listen to the newest Get Ready podcast and read the transcript here, or subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes!

Is there a specific topic you think we should cover in our next podcast? Let us know in the comments!

Give the gift of preparedness this year

Have someone on your holiday gift list who is hard to shop for? Why not give the gift of emergency preparedness? Here are some simple, inexpensive ways to show you care and help your loved ones be more prepared in the new year:

1. Flashlight with extra batteries: When the power goes out, how many of us have gone rummaging in the dark looking for that flashlight? Or we find the flashlight, only to realize it doesn’t have fresh batteries? It might sound like a boring gift, but flashlights and batteries always come in handy. Consider a magnetic flashlight that will stick on the fridge, or a headband flashlight so that giftees can keep their hands free during an emergency.
2. First-aid kit: First-aid kits are always great to have around, but can be especially useful during a disaster or storm, when emergency responders can be delayed. You can purchase pre-made kits at most stores, or take a look at our tips for creating a useful first-aid kit and make your own! Plus, if you decide to make your own kit, you can personalize it. For a new mom, for example, include baby-related items. 
3. All-weather radio: Weather or emergency radios are battery- or hand crank-powered. They are specially designed to receive the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio All Hazards broadcast, which is a 24/7 broadcast from the National Weather Service with official warnings, forecasts and emergency alerts. New versions include USB ports so you can charge your mobile phone when the power goes out!
4. Car emergency kit: For your favorite someone who loves to get behind the wheel, you can help them be safe on the road by gifting items for a car emergency kit. Items like a first-aid kit, car battery charger or jumper cables, and a flashlight are all important things to have in a vehicle. If the person lives in an area at risk for cold temperatures or winter storms, consider adding an extra blanket, a set of warm clothes and an ice scraper. 
5. Family emergency plan: Sometimes the best gifts are ones that money can’t buy. While you gather with family and close friends over the holiday season, set aside time to create an emergency plan with your family. Think about the possible disasters that could happen near your home and discuss what your family can do to stay safe. Make a list of important phone numbers, including someone who lives out of the area in case local phone lines are busy. Take a look at a map and pick both a local and out-of-town meeting place where you can safely meet your loved ones in the event of an emergency. Once you’ve got everything planned out, be sure to write it down and give everyone a copy. Ready.gov has a blank family preparedness plan that you can fill out, or create your own!

That’s our short list of preparedness gift ideas. Are you helping someone get ready this year with a holiday gift? What’s on your wish list? What was the best preparedness gift you have ever received?  Let us know in the comments!  Have a happy and safe holiday season.

More than 13 million people are getting ready for earthquakes this week

What are you doing Thursday, Oct. 18, at 10:18 a.m. local time?

Get Ready and APHA will join more than 13 million people around the world to get ready for the most unpredictable kind of disaster — earthquakes!

The event is called the Great ShakeOut, and it’s designed to help people prepare for emergencies by practicing what they will do in an earthquake. This year, millions of people in the U.S. will be joined by people in Canada and Italy to hold the world’s largest earthquake drill.

To find out if your state, region or territory is participating, visit shakeout.org. You can also check for local events or sign up to hold your own. If you don’t live in an area where there are official events going on, you can still hold your own drill and sign up.

The best part is that the Great ShakeOut makes it really easy to plan an earthquake drill by providing instructions, posters, videos and even sound effects to help make your event simple and effective. There are free resources for schools, businesses, health care offices, houses of worship and your home.

So, what are you waiting for? Be part of something huge: Shake out with us this Thursday!

Get Ready has new fact sheets for people living with disabilities

Have you ever used our cool, super helpful and totally free Get Ready fact sheets?

We’re excited to tell you that we just added five new fact sheets to our huge list of topics. These new fact sheets focus on helping people living with disabilities think about and prepare for disasters. You can check them out on our disability preparedness page.

We have a general fact sheet with preparedness tips for people with disabilities, as well as fact sheets for people with hearing, mobility, vision and cognitive disabilities. These fact sheets are available in English and in Spanish on our disabilities page. You can add your own logo with our easy-to-use instructions.

Plus, to make the fact sheets accessible to anyone who needs them, we’ve made audio and American Sign Language video recordings of the fact sheets. Once you’ve accessed the fact sheets, check out the podcasts we created on disabilities and preparedness as well.

We hope these new fact sheets help you and the people you care about get ready for any emergency. Let us know what you think in the comments!

We want your stories about getting ready!

September is National Preparedness Month, and Get Ready wants to share your stories about emergency preparedness. What made you decide to get ready for disasters? Have you experienced a tornado or earthquake? What did you learn? Did the last power outage make you wish you’d stockpiled more batteries? During the last hurricane, did you have to evacuate? We want to know how YOU Get Ready, and why!

Send us an email at getready@apha.org, and we might feature your story on our blog next month!

Get Ready covers "Call Me Maybe"

Here at Get Ready, we're as big of fans of "Call Me Maybe" as anyone. We decided to write our own cover - about emergency preparedness, of course - and shoot a music video to go along with it.

Watch our new "Let's Get Ready!" video below. If you want to sing along, we have the full lyrics on our info page. And be sure to tell us what you think in the comments!

New tools to help you get ready for disasters – socially

Just in time for hurricane season and summer’s severe weather, we’re highlighting some new electronic tools that will help you get ready for disasters.

First, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response recently announced two free Facebook apps that help people prepare for emergencies with their social networks. The bReddi Facebook app and Project: Lifeline are designed to help you identify “lifelines” in your community who you can count on during a disaster.

“We know that people who have friends or relatives they can rely on for help are healthier and live longer than those who don’t, and that every disaster has the potential to impact health, so having people you can depend on for help is especially important during a disaster,” said Nicole Lurie, assistant secretary for preparedness and response, in an HHS news release. “That’s why we are encouraging everyone to identify their lifelines in advance.”

Project: Lifeline allows you to select people from your social network that you can count on during an emergency. bReddi will help you identify severe weather risks in your area and create a preparedness plan. The app can even alert you via Twitter, text or Facebook message when the threat level changes! These Facebook apps may be especially useful after a disaster, when phone lines are often busy.

What if you don’t use Facebook, or if you’re on the go? A national Wireless Emergency Alerts initiative was also announced last month. The new service will send a message to your cellphone if there is an emergency or disaster near you. The messages, which will look like text messages, are free, and you won’t have to sign up to receive them — everyone with text message service will receive them.  The text service will be location-based, so if you live in Chicago but are driving through Kansas during severe weather, you will get a tornado alert for your current location.

The new alert system is based on a partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission and all major cellphone providers in the U.S.

Are you excited to try these new tools? Let us know in the comments if you’ve tried one of them, or if you want to recommend another app that helps you be prepared!

May is Volcano Preparedness Month

Would you know what to do if you were near a volcano that suddenly erupted? May is Volcano Preparedness Month in Washington state, so today we’re talking about what you can do to prepare for a volcanic eruption.

For many people who live in the U.S., volcanoes aren’t the first threat that comes to mind when people think of preparing for a natural disaster. But volcanoes are a bigger deal than you think: Our country is home to two of the 10 most active volcanoes in the world, and the U.S. Geological Survey monitors more than 160 volcanoes and former volcanoes in states that include Hawaii, Alaska and California.

Even if you don’t live near a volcano, you might end up near one if you ever take a vacation in Mexico, New Zealand, Italy or dozens of other countries. Are you convinced yet? Good! It’s time to get ready for a volcano.

• Start by making sure you have a general preparedness plan in place, including making an emergency kit, mapping an evacuation route, and discussing your plan with family members and loved ones.


• Listen to local TV and radio reports for updates about volcanic activity. If you are directed to evacuate after a volcano erupts, do so immediately.


• Add goggles and face masks to your emergency kits at home and in your car. One of the biggest problems after a volcano erupts is volcanic ash, which can spread in the air for many miles. If a volcano erupts in your vicinity and you’re outdoors, head inside, close all windows and doors, and stay inside until you are told it is safe to leave.

For more information about preparing for a volcano, check out our Get Ready fact sheet, available in English and Spanish (PDFs).

Learn more about where volcanoes are around the world from the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program.

Head to higher ground: It's National Tsunami Awareness Week!

Did you know that it’s National Tsunami Awareness Week? A tsunami is one of those natural disasters that can strike with very little warning, so it’s important to know the signs that a tsunami is coming so that you can quickly get to safety.

First, the basics: A tsunami is a very large wave that is created when something like an earthquake or volcano eruption causes a sudden change in the ocean water level. These events can happen close to the shore, creating a tsunami that reaches the coast within minutes, or they can happen far away and travel more than 600 miles an hour to beaches on the other side of the ocean.

For far-away earthquakes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has created a system of tsunami warnings, watches and alerts that can help warn people along coastlines around the world of an impending tsunami. However, tsunamis are very unpredictable, and when an earthquake happens close to the coast, a tsunami could happen without warning. For these reasons, it’s important that everyone knows the signs of a tsunami:

1. Feeling an earthquake while on or near the beach, especially if it is so strong that it knocks people over.
2. Seeing the ocean water level suddenly get very low or very high.
3. Hearing a loud roaring noise, like an airplane or a train, coming from the ocean.

If you experience any of these warning signs, you must head to higher ground immediately. The best place to go is an area at least 100 feet above sea level, or up to two miles in from the coast. It’s best to travel by foot, as driving could mean that you get stuck in traffic or block the road for emergency vehicles that may need to come through. If you live near a coast, it’s important to think about tsunamis in your family emergency plan, and be sure to pick meeting places and evacuation routes that are outside of a tsunami hazard zone.

Tsunamis are not only a concern for people who live near coastlines — anyone who travels to a coastal city for vacation or work should also have a plan. To learn more about tsunami preparedness, check out our Get Ready tsunami fact sheets in English (PDF), y tambien en Español (PDF).

For more tips on preparing for a tsunami, watch this great video from NOAA’s TsunamiReady program:

Tips for creating a useful first-aid kit

Do you have a first-aid kit at home? If so, when’s the last time you checked on the contents and made sure you have what you need? If you’re not sure, you’ll want to listen to the latest episode of our Get Ready Report podcast series and find out what it takes to have a useful kit.

The episode features advice from Richard Bradley, MD, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, on what should go in to a good first-aid kit — and why those items should be there. Bradley is a member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council and chair of their CPR Subcouncil. In other words, he’s an expert in getting ready for emergencies!

First, Bradley says everyone should have a first-aid kit in their home — and in their car, too. First-aid kits are important both for household emergencies that require quick response and treatment and in case of a disaster.

“The emergency medical services that we expect to be there in just a few minutes during normal conditions may take a lot longer or may not be able to come at all if there’s an injury after a disaster,” Bradley says.

Bradley says there are several items that should be in any first-aid kit: gloves and other personal protective equipment, an assortment of bandages and common medication to treat fever and pain, such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Bradley also talks about items that don’t need to be in your first-aid kit, such as first-aid creams.

Whether you buy a pre-made first-aid kit or put together your own, it’s clear that having a kit is an important part of getting ready.

“I can tell you anyone who I see who comes into my emergency department never planned when they woke up that morning that they were going to have an emergency,” Bradley says. “So you will never know when the day will come when something will happen when you’ll need to respond.”

For more tips, listen to the podcast online now or check out the transcript. For handy reference, print and save this Healthy You tipsheet from The Nation’s Health, APHA’s newspaper.

Don’t miss an episode of Get Ready Report. Subscribe to our podcast series via iTunes.

Getting ready for a disaster when you’re living with a disability

Here at the Get Ready Blog, we spend a lot of time talking about emergency preparedness and providing general tips to help everyone get ready in case of a disaster. However, being prepared often requires extra planning if you are living with a disability. To learn more, we recently interviewed Danielle Bailey, MPH, a research assistant for the Oregon Office on Disability and Health for the latest episode of our Get Ready Report podcast series.

Bailey says that everyone should take basic steps to get ready for an emergency: identifying the disasters that could happen in your area, creating evacuation and communication plans and putting together an emergency kit. But achieving this level of preparedness, says Bailey, “varies greatly for a person with a disability because of the level of attention and planning required to address their specific needs.”

If you are living with a disability, Bailey says the best practice is to sit down with someone who knows you well — a spouse, friend, family member or caregiver — and decide together “what activities of living you are able to do for yourself and what help you may need before, during and after an emergency.”

Bailey also recommends being very specific when putting together emergency kits. For example, “individuals who can only drink out of a straw, include straws in your bag, or if you use a manual wheelchair you may want to think about having some type of hand protection, such as leather gloves.”
“Think about backup batteries for hearing aids, extra canes and, of course, you need to have a plan around your medication and ensure you have copies of current prescriptions,” Bailey says.

For a general checklist about preparing an emergency stockpile, read the Get Ready checklist (PDF) It’s a good starting place for everyone!

For more great information about getting ready for a disaster when you’re living with a disability, listen to the full episode of our newest Get Ready Report. You can also read the transcript of our interview with Bailey.

This Valentine’s Day, love your family enough to have a plan

What’s the greatest gift you can give your family this Valentine’s Day?

We’ll give you a hint: It’s not covered in chocolate.

The best gift you can give to your loved ones is to be ready for an emergency. As the Federal Emergency Management Agency explains in its Ready.gov video, below, “Before a disaster turns your family’s world upside-down, it’s up to you to be ready.”

Here are some basic steps that you need to take to get ready for a disaster:

• Think about the types of emergencies that could happen where you live. Do you live in an area prone to flooding? Are you often in the path of tornadoes or hurricanes? The Get Ready campaign has fact sheets available for many types of disasters to help guide your plans.

• Have an emergency kit ready. Make sure you have adequate supplies of drinking water, food, essential medicines and emergency medical supplies, as well as tools such as flashlights, a radio and plenty of batteries. Take a look at our full checklist. 

• Make a plan. If a disaster knocked out cellphone service, how would you communicate with your family? Where would you meet up with your loved ones in an emergency? What are the evacuation routes in your town? FEMA’s Ready.gov website has tools to help you put your emergency plan in writing.

To help you talk to your loved ones about getting ready for an emergency, we've made some free Valentine's Day e-cards. They're a fun way to share our message: "I love you enough to have a plan." Check out all of our cards on the Get Ready website!

Being prepared for emergencies doesn’t take a lot of time or money, but it does require that you sit down with the people you care about, make a plan and gather some supplies. A few hours of preparation now could save the lives of those you love in the future.

We think that’s a way better gift than a box of chocolates.