Do you know…

How to include your pets in family emergency planning?

What critical supplies you will need for your pets’ safety and comfort?

How to evacuate your pets quickly and safely?

Join us for these answers and many more.

We’ll have supplies on hand for you to purchase.

Where: Leading the Way

18 Chestnut Street, Florence, MA

Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Date: Sunday, May 16, 2010

RSVP: Shannon @ 413-559-7011

I got my information from my favorite blog, In Case of Emergency Read Blog.

Watch Craig Fugate talk about this new site. FEMA\’s New Mobile Website (m.fema.gov)

Here is a copy of FEMA’s press release:

FEMA Launches New Mobile Web Site For Smartphones

M.FEMA.GOV Gives Smartphone Users Easy Access to Disaster Preparedness Information

Release Date: April 28, 2010
Release Number: HQ-10-081

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate announced the launch of FEMA’s new mobile Web site, m.fema.gov. The mobile Web site makes it easier to access critical information regarding emergency preparedness and what to do before and after a disaster right on a smartphone.

“Smartphones are becoming more prevalent, affordable, reliable and more viable to locate and obtain information and assistance,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “This service will provide yet another avenue for the sharing of important information that is so critical to ensuring the public is prepared for emergencies. As we’ve seen in recent cases, often times after a disaster, mobile devices become a crucial lifeline to provide information to survivors.”

The new site is laid out in a user friendly, question and answer format, providing users with the answers to their top questions, such as:

What should I do in a disaster?

Where can I find assistance?

How can I help others?

FEMA will be making several enhancements to m.fema.gov in the coming months, including the ability to apply for individual assistance when a disaster has been declared by the President, check on the status of an application and update an existing application.

Today’s announcement of the launch of m.fema.gov comes just over a month until the start of this year’s hurricane season on June 1.  The mobile site is just one way that FEMA is reaching out to ensure that the public has the tools they need to be prepared for any emergency.  Families are also encouraged to log onto www.ready.gov and learn more about the simple steps they can take to ready for this season.

To view the video about the mobile Web site, visit:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4Kib7Am568

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.

San Antonio, TX, August 29, 2008 -- Gerry Stoler, FEMA Operations liaison, talks to cab drivers who are participating in the evacuation program in Texas. FEMA is working with State, local and other Federal agencies in a joint operation in preparation for Hurricane Gustav's land fall. Photo by Patsy Lynch/FEMA

I just finished watching and listening to Craig Fugate, FEMA’s top administrator, on the Washington Post’s On Leadership section.  You can view it here.  The video clip is about five and half minutes long.  It gets good just before the four minute mark so hang in there.  If you listen closely you will hear that the federal government knows that they can not meet all of the needs of individual citizens immediately following a disaster.  Mr. Fugate gives the example of handing out food and water post disaster.  Governments don’t hand out food and water on a daily basis.  Private industry serves this role by maintaining big and small markets and working with elaborate supply chains.  At a federal level, this administration, according to this video clip, will work to assist private industry in maintaining their supplies and opening their doors following a disaster.  In the past, federal government has nearly competed with private industry and lost.  Mr. Fugate gave an example of government handing out food and water following a disaster in the parking lot of a supermarket that was already open for business because they had gotten a generator.

I listened to the video several times.  I listened with the ears of a FEMA consultant who is always curious about the direction and priorities of FEMA.  But mostly I listened as a person who is passionate about spreading the message that we have to take responsibility for ourselves and our communities.  We need to help people and businesses do what they do best, like supermarkets supplying food instead of government agencies.  And, we need to take it a step further and take responsibility for ourselves.

Who keeps your house stocked with food and water and who makes sure that everyone in your house has the medication they need?  Has this person prepared to keep the house stocked during a blackout or storm.

Is your business ready to withstand the impact of a flood, hurricane or pandemic?  Are your vendor and client files safe?  Are your employees prepared at home so they can return to work?

I could ramble on with pages of thought provoking questions.  But, the answer to them all is we need to be ready today for what may happen tomorrow.  We can’t wait.  Preparedness is absolutely the key.

Understand that you will be impacted by some form of disaster and what you do beforehand is what will determine how you survive that disaster.  Disasters come in all shapes and sizes.  The disaster may be a catastrophic earthquake or it could be a five hour traffic jam.  It doesn’t have to be the “big one” for you, your family and business to suffer catastrophic losses.

What did you do today to protect the people you love?