personal and community emergency planning

I am going to clip and link several articles that I found enlightening, thoughful and worth the visit. As sometimes happens here, I have been sitting on these links trying to build them into articles of my own. Today I stop sitting on them … or as referenced in my prior post, I got my Round Tuit.

A Practical Approach To A Neighborhood Defense Plan by Noell Bishop

…
Lets start this by identifying what the possible threats are that would lend us to need a Neighborhood Defense plan. Keep in mind, one threat or one event can lead to other threats or events. With North Korea and Iran still in the nuclear game, I feel that an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) is one of the worst and very realistic threats we face. If that is the case then not only would every exposed electronic device and power grid not work, it is estimated that eventually the US would face 90% casualties. Before we would reach that 90% casualty mark, there would be extreme hunger which would lead to extreme violence. There would be roving bands of people taking and robbing what they need because they have not prepared for the event they have found themselves in. Sure, that is an extreme event but what if mother nature (tornado, hurricane, solar flare, etc.) provided an event that the power was out for a week or two in your neighborhood and the surrounding area. Don’t you think it prudent to provide some type of security when you have no security alarm for your house, 911 is not working and most of the police’s focus is on the city or town close to you? How do you do this? Well, watch the news, get a police scanner and log what area most of the calls for service are coming from. There is a lot of open source material out there to build an intel picture of your area. Once you identify what your threat or threats might be, that should shape your planning.
…

Why Ham Radio Is Still Handy By Patrick Nelson

The tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 highlighted two phenomena common in disasters: Network communications tower sites were destroyed, and network traffic overwhelmed systems — two distinct issues causing failure in both public safety, and consumer-oriented communications.
Why Ham Radio Is Still Handy

Power failures cut off the Internet, and in New York, debris raining down onto ground-based infrastructure, like switching equipment, destroyed much of any communications left.

However, in the early stages of both emergencies, a group of individuals stepped in and took over much communication with privately owned radio equipment, at no cost to the taxpayer.

Who were these saviors?

New York and New Orleans

In New York City, a loosely organized national group called “Amateur Radio Emergency Service” (ARES) was activated within five minutes of American Flight 11 crashing into the north tower, the first attack. Private, non-government radio operators, called “Hams” or “Amateur Radio Operators” worked in shifts for two weeks.

In 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, radio operators were functioning three days before landfall. At the request of the American Red Cross, radio operators then supplemented communications at 200 shelters. Seven-hundred private radio operators were working by Sept. 6.

A perusal of modest collateral produced by another associated bunch, the National Association for Amateur Radio (ARRL) comes up with more:

Hurricane Hugo, 1989; All conventional communication was destroyed; amateur radio networks coordinated relief shipments and medical supplies; hot-shot teams called “jump-teams” visited affected areas.

It goes on.

What are Public Access Stop the Bleed Kits? Posted by Rescue Essentials

“Stop the Bleed” (STB) is a national initiative begun in 2011 as a way to heighten the public’s awareness of, and ability to respond to, immediate life threats posed by major arterial bleeding. STB kits are placed in airports, schools, churches, concert venues, shopping malls, and other locations where groups of people are found.

These kits are designed to be used by anyone present at an emergency, much like an AED (automated external defibrillator). The kits are usually small, single-purpose bleeding control (B-CON) kits which contain items selected to enable untrained or minimally trained laypersons to stop or significantly slow loss of blood at the point of injury. These are often referred to as “Stop the Bleed” kits, because the Stop the Bleed initiative has been a leader in promoting their presence and use.

Prior to the STB initiative, preventable deaths due to bleeding injuries from industrial, and farming accidents, car crashes, gunshot wounds, terrorist violence and even recreational mishaps, were alarmingly common. The fact that many of these fatalities are preventable with immediate treatment became apparent during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan when tourniquets were adopted by all combat personnel. It took several years of tourniquet use in combat zones to compile sufficient data, but once done, the case for educating and equipping the public was too compelling to ignore. The Stop the Bleed initiative is now administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has created a website to promote awareness and education:

“Stop the Bleed is intended to cultivate grassroots efforts that encourage bystanders to become trained, equipped, and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives.”

WHERE are Stop the Bleed kits?

The short answer is “they’re almost everywhere, if you know where to look”. The STB initiative can be credited for at least some of the dramatic rise in the number of STB kits now found in public places, as well as for the hundreds of thousands of non-medical professionals who have taken very brief but very effective Stop the Bleed trainings that are now widely available. Many who have received such training have taken it upon themselves to buy or build their own kits for their homes, shops, cars, packs, four wheelers, boats, range bags, or even for every-day-carry (EDC) in their pockets.

13 Prepper Websites To Follow When Everything Becomes Censored and How To Beat Censorship In The Modern Age

I am not number ranking these sites because that is not helpful. Some people find better info for their situation on one site while another person may get more useful info from another. What I can say is that I firmly believe that these sites have consistently valuable information to offer readers.

Properties of Survival By David Kenik

In order to survive a threat, three primary elements need to work together. First and foremost, you need to become aware of the threat. You then need to assess the threat. And finally, you must decide upon and carry out the appropriate response.

Will he shoot or let you go?

Awareness

To be able to identify a threat, you must maintain a constant mental awareness. Without awareness, the best gun, the most powerful ammunition, and all of the tactical training in the world will be useless. If you are unaware of your surroundings, you are unprepared to react—a recipe for the perpetrator to prevail. A ‘surprise attack’ may not be a surprise if you are aware of your surroundings.

While walking from the store to your car, are you oblivious to your surroundings or alert to other pedestrians and cars? Did you see the person lurking behind the tree? Did you check your backseat before entering your car? Do you look at the interior mirrors before entering an elevator?

As with many other things, there are various levels of awareness that range from a complete lack of awareness of your surroundings and situation to knowing you are under direct attack. The U.S. military color codes are used to categorize and describe levels of awareness. It is useful to understand the levels, not only as a definition, but also as a guide to what levels of awareness are appropriate for different situations.