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| Catastrophes: Tips To Save Your Life |
Tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, severe winter storms, and other natural or man-made disasters have taken thousands of lives just since the year 2000.
Public safety officials and insurance industry experts have sounded warnings, but many times these warnings are either never received, ignored or just not taken seriously. Sadly, failure to comprehend the seriousness of the situation has cost many, many lives. Needless deaths occurred during the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005, tornadoes kill so many people just because they did not hear the warning sirens or missed broadcast alerts. People died because they refused to heed evacuation orders.
GIIS offers the following as a place to start a Family Safety Checklist. Make an effort to be informed, to listen to weather warnings and/or law enforcement advisories. Most of all, put safety first.
View A Sample Checklist Printer Friendly Sample Checklist Disaster Info Websites
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Tornado Preparation
Always Be Aware Of
The Weather |
Tornadoes do not always announce their arrival ahead of time. They can form quickly and move with great speed. While some depend on radio or TV news, or warning sirens, there is only one item that provides the best chance for an effective warning.
 A weather alert radio with battery back-up, available at many electronics stores, will give the userd an effective warning since broadcast radios or TVs are not always on when these storms strike. The national weather service offers the best chance for at least a few minutes warning day or night.
 Another handy resource for any disaster situation is an AM/FM radio that has multi-power capability: A hand crank when the power is out that will opeate the radio for one hour per full crank, a solar cell for outdoor use in sunlight, and a DC power supply when the power returns.
These radios are available at your local electronics store. |
Hurricane Preparation
Take Weather Warnings Seriously
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Hurricanes pose an entirely different threat in that the warnings are typically plentiful and many residents along the path of a pending hurricane know it's coming, but they make no preparations and refuse to evacuate.
Pay attention to the hurricane warnings. Protect your property by boarding up windows and other exposures. Remove toys, garden furniture and other objects from the front, side or back yards which become missiles in a high-wind storm.
 Have available least three (3) days supply of food and water to either shelter in place or if you evacuate.
Have at least a similar supply of medicines, over the counter or prescription, for each member of the family.
Know your evacuation routes and don't wait until the last minute to leave when traffic comes to a virtual crawl. Don't let your gasoline level get too low when a severe storm approaches.
Identify a family member to call in another city so your whereabouts will be known outside the disaster area. |
Fire/Wildfire Preparation
Practice A Family Evacuation Plan
Practice Fire Drills Regularly |
Wildfires are typically thought of in the western U.S. or in some parts of the south. With the increase of dense population areas, even subdivisions or cluster housing projects can be rapidly set afire as the flames spread from one building to another.
 Working smoke detectors and/or fire alarm systems are a must in single-family homes and multi-family housing. All too often, when the batteries weaken in smoke detectors, someone in the home removes the batteries to stop the warning chirps to signify the batteries are weak. Instead of removing the batteries, replace them to maintain the safety of working smoke detectors at all times. More that one smoke detector is advisable especially if the home is multi-level.
 For multi-story homes or apartments, consider escape ladders that fold up to a small space, but quickly expand to a 13 or 23 foot length by pulling two straps. They mount in a window in seconds. This Kidde unit is available at home improvemenet stores.
Emergency lights are very good investments, especially those that plug into wall sockets, since they are usually near floor level. In a fire, schools teach children to crawl close to the floor since smoke rises. Inexpensive battery-back-up lights will help during an emergency evacuation of a home or apartment.
 Every family should have an evacuation plan that is practiced every one to three months. It is important that all family members know how to escape the home, day or night, even if the main exits are blocked by fire. This may include the purchase of rope ladders for multi-story homes and very detailed plans for escape if doorways and/or staircases are blocked by fire.
View the link to the home evacuation plan document for much more information. |
Flooding Preparation
Be Flood Safe |
Flooding Do not drive or walk into water that is flowing across low water crossings, bridges, or roadways. If you come upon a flooded road, turn around and go another way. Heed all warnings and street barricades-- if you go around one, you are subject to a fine.
Stay Away As little as six inches of moving water can knock you off your feet or move your car.
Flooding and cars do not mix More people drown in their cars than anywhere else. The road may be washed out below the water surface. Your car may stall or get stuck in the water, and then get pushed off the road. Once off the road, cars often start to roll, making escape impossible.
Stay away from downed power lines or electrical wires. Electrocution is another major source of deaths in floods.
Get to high ground as quickly as possible. |
Earthquake Preparation |
Earthquakes are not common place in Georgia, typically relatively small earthquakes do occur in Georgia at a rate of about 2.6 annually.
Protect your home with an earthquake endorsement on your homeowners' insurance policy. There are specific limits to consider, but earthquake damage is typically excluded from a homeowners' policy in Georgia unless there is an earthquake endorsement.
Click here to view the most recent earthquakes in the U.S. and around the world. |
Winter Storm Preparation
Winter Driving Safety
Keep Your Home Safe In Winter |
Winter storm preparation in Georgia requires several steps to be ready and safe.
Prepare water pipes against freezing by wrapping exposed pipes with insulation materials. Cover outside water hose connectors with foam covers and shut off water to external connectors. Be aware of pipes that are inside exterior walls that may freeze during extreme cold. When the temperature warms, be watchful for broken pipes. Be aware of potential freezing of water pipes that feed a dishwasher and/or a washing machine.
Be prepared for power outages. Maintain at least three days of food and medical supplies. For homes with at least one fireplace, maintain a supply of aged firewood that can be used for warmth and cooking.
Winter weather driving is dangerous and requires experience as well as the proper tires, or sometimes chains. Click here for winter driving tips.
Keep a winter driving safety kit in your vehicle that includes blankets, emergency lights, a basic first-aid kit, non-perishable food and water.
 For homes with space heaters, carefully use them but remember the appropriate safety precautions such as making sure not to put a space heater close to furniture, drapes or piles of clothing. Also, make sure that the space heaters are properly ventilated to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide alarms are very important especially during the winter months.
Click here to view space heater safety tips. Do not use any space heater without understanding the directions, and refer to these safety tips often. Space heaters used safely can help with winter heating costs, but the key word is safely. |
Avian Flu Preparation
Not An Immediate Threat |
A Pandemic is a global disease outbreak. A flu pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges for which people have little or no immunity and for which there is no vaccine. The disease spreads easily person-to-person, causes serious illness, and can sweep across the country and around the world in very short time.
It is difficult to predict when the next influenza pandemic will occur or how severe it will be. Wherever and whenever a pandemic starts, everyone around the world is at risk. Countries might, through measures such as border closures and travel restrictions, delay arrival of the virus, but cannot stop it.
What should communities, families and individuals do? Click here to view several preparation checklists. |
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