All Hazards

The medium and the message

2013-03-23T13:23:00.003-07:00

For a long time I have been thinking about alerts and warnings, and the problems associated with their use in severe weather, winter storms, homeland security, and so on. These are well documented - the fact that there is not a specific action associated with warnings, their meaning is occluded, people ignore them because of too many false alarms, confuse watches, warnings, and advisories, and so on.

I think the basic problem is that a status (warning, watch, alert, orange, red, advisory, whatever) is not a message - it is a medium. It is a vehicle to deliver information, versus the information itself. So our focus should be on getting the information to people, rather than getting the vehicle to people. A "winter storm warning" or a "tornado warning" has very little information content; the fact that there could be 9 inches of snow between 9am and 3pm, or that there is a tornado on the ground just entering the west of the county is information. We spend a lot of time trying to persuade people to respond in certain ways to the vehicles - "when there is a tornado warning, take cover!" rather than trying to persuade them to respond in certain ways to particular kinds of information - "if you get information that there is a tornado on the ground, heading your way..."

The reason I think this is important now is social media. With social media, we have the capacity to choose to deliver formal vehicles, or actual information. I believe actual information, presented informally, is usually more - well, informative. Compare the following tweets:

A tornado warning has been issued for Boobah County! Take Cover Now!

A winter storm watch is in effect for Foo County!

Spotters have reported tornado 25 miles west of Nowheresville, moving east - take cover now if in path!

We could get hit by a late snowstorm tomorrow - up to 12 inches starting around noon, lasting till 7pm. Still lots of uncertainty in prediction though.

See what I mean? So a warning, alert, advisory, or whatever, is a trigger to put some information out on Twitter or Facebook or by text message - but think about putting out the actual information, rather than simply transmitting the trigger.

In defense of the dumb phone

2013-03-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Until January of this year, I was an avid iPhone user, but then my iPhone 4 died, after becoming terminally ill six months earlier after a water splash accident. Rather than replace it immediately, I decided to experiment with using a "dumb phone" for a while to see how it went. I decided to go for a Samsung Factor (left) on the Boost network, costing a total of $9.99 for the phone, then $10 every 3 months for a pay-as-you-go top-up to keep my account active. I was surprised by how much I liked the phone - it is small, light, and critically importantly the battery will last up to a week without a charge - my iPhone battery was down to near zero at the end of each day. In addition, for use in emergencies the physical dial pad is much more intuitive than trying to find a keypad on a smartphone to dial 911. I have since supplemented my phone with an android Samsung Transform Ultra smartphone that I picked up on clearance, do not have service for, but which works beautifully on any WiFi network. It gives me all the regular smartphone functionality including making calls with Talkatone and a Google Voice number (although I wouldn't rely on this in an emergency). The final piece of the puzzle is a Virgin Mobile Mifi 2000 that I picked up again on clearance for $20, and which gives me a flexible mobile wifi hotspot for $5/day any time I need it on the go.

But the real lesson in all of this is that for less than $50 a year and an initial outlay of $10, you can own a phone that in an emergency situation, or an ongoing power outage, will let you make calls, send texts, and dial 911 cleanly and simply. Even better, get one that works on a different network than your regular phone, to give you some redundancy.

Radio communications in widespread disasters

2013-03-09T15:53:00.002-08:00

Below are some notes on radio communications in "SHTF" style disasters for a new class I am running on informatics in disasters and emergency response. I'm posting it here both in case it's useful for others, and also to solicit comments and feedback, and anything that might be missing?

Equipment

To receive local VHF, UHF and 800MHz frequencies directly, you will need a scanner. Many public safety entities are now on digital P25 networks, which means you need a more expensive digital scanner. Recommended scanners include the Uniden Home Patrol, BCD396XTand BCD996XT, and the GRE PSR500. A much cheaper option, when the internet is working, is to use one of the online scanner feeds, especially those from Broadcastify. These feeds are also available through a variety of iPhone and Android apps, such as Scanner911. Some agencies are also making feeds available through walkie talkie apps such as Zello.

Most commercial medium and short wave radio stations broadcast using regular AM. However most of the government, NGO and amateur frequencies active in disasters use Single Side Band (SSB - USB or LSB). To receive all of these frequencies you will need a radio that is capable of receiving medium wave, and short wave SSB. One of the best is the Grundig Satellit 750

VHF, UHF and 800MHz local frequencies

You can find lots of information on active local emergency service VHF, UHF and 800MHz frequencies that will likely be active in disasters, on the RadioReference website. Note in particular that many counties have amateur radio users active on VHF and UHF in emergencies, operating under the ARES and RACES organizational frameworks. Many nationally used emergency and public safety interoperability frequencies are described in the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG). Another important source of information are theNOAA All Hazards radio frequencies. Weather alert radios monitor these frequencies for alert tones, or they can be monitored directly. Under normal circumstances, they broadcast weather forecasts, alerts and conditions, but they will also transmit a variety of general emergency alert messages. A list of frequencies used in your area and alert tone codes can be found on the NOAA All Hazards website.

NOAA 1, 162.400
NOAA 2, 162.425
NOAA 3, 162.450
NOAA 4, 162.475
NOAA 5, 162.500
NOAA 6, 162.525
NOAA 7, 162.550

Medium Wave PEP Radio Stations

PEP (Primary Entry Point) radio stations are battle-hardened commercial radio stations, usually in the medium wave (AM) band, that serve as initial entry points for national Emergency Alert System traffic.They must have a backup generator for 30 days on the air, along with various other stringent requirements, so in a widespread disaster situation they could be vital information sources if local infrastructure is down. Find your nearest Primary Entry Point Medium Wave radio stations on the PEP Map. For reference, the 33 PEP stations are:

KALL 700 Herriman UT (50,000 W day/1000 W night)
KBOI 670 Kuna ID (50,000 W)
KCBS 740 Novato CA (50,000 W)
KERR 750 Polson MT (50,000 day/1000 night)

KFLT 830 Tucson AZ (50,000 day/1000 night)
KFQD 750 Anchorage AK (50,000 W)
KFWB 980 Los Angeles CA (5000 W)
KFYR 550 Meneken ND (5000 W)
KIRO 710 Vashon WA (50,000 W)
KKOB 770 Albuquerque NM (50,000 W)
KKOH 780 Reno NV (50,000 W)
KOA 850 Parker CO (50,000 W)
KTRH 740 Dayton TX (50,000 W)
KTWO 1030 Casper WY (50,000 W)
WABC 770 New York NY (50,000 W)
WBAP 820 Mansfield TX (50,000 W)
WBAL 1090 Baltimore MD (50,000 W)
WBZ 1030 Boston MA (50,000 W)
WCCO 830 Minneapolis/St Paul MN (50,000 W)
WCOS FM 97.5 Columbia SC (100,000 W)
WHAM 1180 Rochester NY (50,000 W)
WHB 810 Kansas City KS (50,000 day/5000 night)
WKAQ 580 Catano PR (10,000 W)
WLS 890 Chicago IL (50,000 W)
WLW 700 Cincinnati OH (50,000 W)
WMAC 940 Macon GA (50,000 day/10,000 night)
WQDR FM 94.7 Raleigh NC (100,000 W)
WRXL FM 102.1 Richmond VA (20,000 W)
WSM 650 Nashville TN (50,000 W)
WSTA 1340 St Thomas VI (1000 W)
WTAM 1100 Cleveland OH (50,000 W)
WWL 870 New Orleans LA (50,000 W)
WYGM 740 Clermont FL (50,000 W)

Short Wave Government, NGO and Amateur Stations

NIST time stations. NIST stations (our nearest is WWV in Colorado) broadcast 24 hours a day with a voice announcement of the time, on the minute, and "pips" for every second. They are a good way to test propagation in different bands, as well as seeing if the stations are "alive" in a very widespread disaster:

NIST WWV AM 2500, 5000, 10000, 15000, 20000

ARRL amateur radio emergency frequencies. The American Amateur Radio League (ARRL) runs emergency bulletins on the hour during widespread disaster events, from its W1AW station. At other times, general interest bulletins are broadcast daily at 02:45 UT (9.45pm Eastern Time).

ARRL 80M, 3990 LSB
ARRL 40M, 7290 LSB
ARRL 20M, 14290 USB
ARRL 17M, 18160 USB
ARRL 15M, 21390 USB
ARRL 10M, 28590 USB

The amateur radio band plan defines how parts of the shortwave spectrum assigned for amateur radio use can be used. The following ranges of frequencies can be used for voice conversations, and may be utilized in emergencies

80M BAND, 3600-4000 LSB
40M BAND, 7125-7300 LSB
20M BAND, 14150-14350 USB
17M BAND, 18110-18168 USB
15M BAND, 21200-21450 USB
10M BAND, 28300-29700 USB

FEMA. FEMA runs disaster nets in emergencies for use by state and regional emergency managers. The primary frequencies are:

FEMA-1 NIGHTTIME PRIMARY, 5211 USB
FEMA-2 DAYTIME PRIMARY, 10493 USB
FEMA-3 SECONDARY, 14567 USB
FEMA-4 SECONDARY, 13956 USB

SHARES. SHARES is a loose network of critical organizations and government agencies to share information in a disaster. SHARES is tested every Wednesday at 16:00 UT (11am Eastern Time)

SHARES NIGHTTIME PRIMARY, 5236 USB
SHARES DAYTIME PRIMARY, 14396.5 USB
SHARES NORTH CENTRAL, 6765 USB
SHARES CENTRAL, 6910 USB
SHARES SOUTH WEST, 7320 USB
SHARES SOUTH EAST, 7632 USB

Other Frequencies. The following other shortwave frequencies are also often used in disasters:

SATERN PRIMARY - SALVATION ARMY EMERGENCY NET, 14265 USB
HURRICANE WATCH NET, 14325 USB
MARS DISASTER OPERATIONS, 14390 USB

Find your nearest PEP radio station

2013-02-24T11:21:00.001-08:00

Do you know where your nearest PEP radio station is? PEP (Primary Entry Point) radio stations are battle-hardened commercial radio stations, usually in the medium wave (AM) band, that serve as initial entry points for national Emergency Alert System traffic.They must have a backup generator for 30 days on the air, along with various other stringent requirements, so in a widespread disaster situation (commonly known as a "SHTF" situation) they could be vital information sources if local infrastructure is down. PEPs are not well known though - to the extent that there are very few places you can find a list of them (I found one in a forum post). So to make life easier, here is a Google Map I created to show the locations of the current 33 PEP's (you can click on markers to show the frequency and station name). According to FEMA, a slew of new PEP stations are being added, so when I get the data on these I will add them to the map.

View EAS PEP Radio Stations in a larger map

Meteor attacks and resilience

2013-02-15T07:46:00.001-08:00

I always find it interesting that we can be quite imaginative in thinking about potential new kinds of ways for disasters to happen, but it's not really until we have a real-life event that it sparks enough impetus in us to actively prepare for it. Then we have a buzz of activity, then interest slowly dies off again. Perhaps as humans we just need something concrete and recent to work off. Yet, the probability of these unlikely events (terrorist attack, solar flares, infrastructure failures, volcanic eruptions) presumably remains the same independent of our recent experience.

Well, the latest imaginative event to become concrete is, it seems, a meteor attack, after hundreds are reported injured today after a meteor exploded over a Russian city, breaking windows and damaging buildings. We will all of course need now to examine the risks of a meteor hitting our community: what is the probability? potential impact? mitigation steps? Should it be in our hazard analysis? What about other things falling from the sky like comets and satellites?

I think it's quite right we should do this, but perhaps even more important is something many in emergency management are starting to talk about: building resilience. This is something I've talked about before in relation to survivalism and emergency management. It also has a cultural connection: for example, as a native Brit who moved to the U.S., it's apparent that the "Dunkirk spirit" that infuses British culture leads to huge resilience, because people naturally band together and help each other out.

So perhaps a good question in response to this is: "what can I seed in my community that will help make it more resilient, whatever happens?"

Trends in Flu Trends

2013-01-19T05:17:00.000-08:00

If you're not already familiar with it, Google Flu Trends (see above) has proven amazingly good at predicting outbreaks of flu a week or so in advance of the CDC, by analyzing search terms on Google. However something interesting is happening right now - CDC is showing a drop in positive flu tests and Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) hospital visits in latest data, but it's not reflected in the Google Flu Trends data (although there is a slight reduction in the increase). We'll see what happens next!

Crowdsourced Disaster Assessment for Hurricane Sandy

2012-11-09T07:03:00.004-08:00

All I can say is, this is fantastic. FEMA, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and MapMill have teamed up to make a crowdsourced disaster assessment tool for the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Very simple - just go to the site, you'll be shown a high resolution image of an area affected by Sandy taken by CAP, with a little magnifying glass. You then follow some simple rules for classifying damage as light, moderate or heavy. Results are then used to prioritize assessment done by experts at FEMA. A beautifully designed tool, a great example of the use of informatics in disasters, and a great innovation by FEMA.

Firefighting with the Semantic Web

2012-11-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

I spend most of my time on this blog talking about social media, emergency management and disaster preparedness. However, most of my academic research is about large scale data aggregation, integration and analysis, with a focus on drug discovery data. Particularly, we have shown how semantic technologies (otherwise known as Semantic Web) can be used to elegantly address a long standing problem of integrating complex heterogenous data sources in a way which enables interesting and critically important patterns to be detected that cross the data sets (for more on this, see http://djwild.info). For a long time I've thought there is a huge potential for applying these techniques to the complex streams of data related to emergencies and disasters, in order to improve emergency response and situational awareness.

So I'm really excited to have stumbled upon the work of Bart van Leeuwen, a firefighter turned Semantic Web expert in Amsterdam who has not just prototyped such a system, but has shown how it can positively impact real world, everyday firefighting operations in the busy city of Amsterdam. For those of us in the U.S., this shows what could be possible if we (academics, computation experts and practitioners) put our minds together!

A good place to start is with the video (also embedded below) of Bart's presentation at SemTechBiz West 2012, along with the associated text description. He also is @semanticfire on Twitter and runs a blog. He also runs a company called Netage related to this work.

Hurricane Sandy Resources

2012-10-26T04:55:00.000-07:00

This post is now kept as an archive

Hurricane Sandy is expected to make landfall around 6pm Monday. Most severe effects expected include major flooding, storm surge, wind damage and heavy snowfall. Significant effects are ongoing along the US eastern coast including New York City and Washington DC

Here are some resources for tracking Hurricane Sandy. The storm is predicted to make an unusual westward curve into the Eastern U.S. coast late Monday into early Tuesday, and will likely combine with another weather system to form a significant threat. I will keep this page updated as the storm develops. Please also check out the dashboard and resources tabs on this site for more resources.

For those in the path of Sandy, you can get official general forecasts from the National Hurricane Center, and local information from the NWS Hurricane Local Statements. You can also find twitter feeds of your local emergency management officials on the excellent Map of reliable twitter feeds which was originally set up for Hurricane Irene. General preparation advice can be found on the FEMA blog.

Check out this book and this book to help you prepare for the next disaster!

NEW: Twitter meta list, follow @allhazardsblog/sandy

New York news sources and resources
New York City Office of Emergency Management
Google map of shelters and evacuation zones in NYC
Map of Zone A evacuation areas
NotifyNYC Twitter Feed
New York Times Live Updates on Sandy
WABC-TV
CBS New York
NY Daily News (including live storm updates)

Tracking tools and general information sources

National Hurricane Center - official watches, warnings, advisories, probability cones, etc
Hurricane Local Statements - for specific areas

Stormpulse - high quality maps and tracking tools (subscription)

Weather Underground Sandy Tracking Page - nice tracking resources
Weather.com SandyTracking Page
VueToo Sandy Situation Page - multiple concurrent maps of the storm's status
Hurricane Tracker iPad app
Hurricane Tracker iPhone app
FEMA blog (weather updates) - updates and preparation information.
Hurricane Sandy Wikipedia Page

Social media tools

Google News on Hurricane Sandy- hits for Sandy on Google News
Google Crisis Map for Sandy (see above)
Tweak the Tweet (TtT) event map for Sandy
Map of reliable twitter feeds - shows feeds of local emergency management agencies, etc (originally for Irene)

Twitter updates for #hurricane OR #sandy

Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker - blog with updates and discussion
ESRI Tweet Map - map with hurricane track and tweets
Red Cross Shelters on map
Humanity Road aggregation site

Other tools and information

Hurricane Watch Net - streaming audio during active events
Hurricane Sandy Zello channel - 2-way voice chat on Hurricane Sandy

Radio Reference Wiki Major Events - radio frequencies and such like for major disasters (should they happen)

The 7 core areas of preparedness

2011-12-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

If you get a chance, go out and buy Backwoods Home magazine this month (Jan/Feb 2012). It's worth the $6 just to read Patrice Lewis' superb article on the 7 core areas of preparedness. There are lots of articles and guides out there that treat this subject trivially (as I've mentioned in one of my previous posts), but this one really nails the family preparedness steps you should be thinking about. Hopefully the article will come out on the Backwoods Home Website before long.

Three must-read books to help you prepare your family for disaster

2011-09-03T05:52:00.000-07:00

We all know we should be better prepared for a disaster, but once we've put together our "disaster kit" and know how to switch off the gas supply, what comes next? Well these three books will help you take the next step in three different ways - through understanding the psychology of disaster survival, through a highly practical guide to disaster organization, and through understanding how you can make your life more self-sufficient - and thus more robust.

1. The Unthinkable - Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why. This book sets the stage for your whole approach to disasters and reveals some of the basic instincts that can affect your chances of survival. Through a series of stories, and interviews with experts in neurology and psychology, it gives you an understanding of what your brain thinks you need to do, what you really need to do, and how two switch from the former to the latter in a disaster (for example, our natural instinct is to freeze and look to see what others are doing, rather than to lead and take action). Very readable and very helpful.

2. Organize for Disaster: Prepare your Family and your Home for Any Natural or Unnatural Disaster. This highly practical book written by a professional organizer is packed with useful tips on everything from where to keep your documents, preparing your house for disaster, what food supplies to have in and how to evacuate safely. For those who like checklists, the appendix has a pack of templates for things like a family communications plan and a home inventory.

3. The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Lead it. This book is to prepare you for the really big disasters - e.g. the ones that might knock out your power for months, or change our very way of life. But the gem of this book is in both dusting off some of the pearls of wisdom built up over generations (how to grow potatoes in a small space in your yard) and in some really innovative things that come from an author that has been doing this kind of thing all his life (like how to build an outdoor toilet that also makes compost!). Whether you want to set up a 1-acre farm or just learn how to grow a few vegetables on your deck, this nicely illustrated book is the one to go for.

Hurricane Katia Resources

2011-09-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some resources for tracking Hurricane Katia. I will keep this page updated as the storm develops. Please also check out the dashboard and resources tabs on this site for more resources.

For those in the path of Katia, you can get official general forecasts from the National Hurricane Center, and local information from the NWS Hurricane Local Statements. You can also find twitter feeds of your local emergency management officials on the excellent Map of reliable twitter feeds which was originally set up for Hurricane Irene. General preparation advice can be found on the FEMA blog.

Check out this book and this book to help you prepare for the next disaster!

Tracking tools and general information sources

National Hurricane Center - official watches, warnings, advisories, probability cones, etc
Hurricane Local Statements - for specific areas

Stormpulse - Hurricane Katia - high quality maps and tracking tools

Weather Underground Katia Tracking Page - nice tracking resources
Weather.com Irene Tracking Page
VueToo Katia Situation Page - multiple concurrent maps of Katia's status
FEMA blog (weather updates) - updates and preparation information.
Hurricane Katia Wikipedia Page
Central Florida Hurricane Center (aggregates information relating to Florida)

Tampa Bay Online Hurricane Guide - with local resources for Florida
Florida Sun-Sentinel Hurricane Page

Social media tools

Google News on Irene- hits for Katia on Google News
Irene Twitter/Weather Map - shows radar image plus markers linking to twitter hashtags for locations
Map of reliable twitter feeds - shows feeds of local emergency management agencies, etc (originally for Irene)

Twitter updates for #hurricane OR #katia
Hurricane Katia Facebook page

Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker - blog with updates and discussion
ESRI Tweet Map - map with hurricane track and tweets
Red Cross Shelters on map

Other tools and information

Hurricane Watch Net - streaming audio during active events

Radio Reference Wiki Major Events - radio frequencies and such like for major disasters (should they happen)

Virginia Earthquake Resources

2011-08-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit in Virginia August 31 at 1:51pm EST. No reports of injuries but buildings evacuated, and nuclear power plants shut down. Here are some resources on this:

USGS Information page for this earthquake
Google News search for earthquake virginia
Twitter search for #earthquake OR #equs OR #vaeq OR #dcquake
Washington Post blog entry
Virginia Seismic Zone on Wikipedia
Radioreference.com live scanner feeds
ESRI earthquake map (crowdsourced)

Hurricane Irene Resources

2011-08-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

As of the 7PM EDT Saturday update, Irene was a Category 1 hurricane weakening slightly to maximum sustained winds of around 80 mph. Here are some resources for tracking the storm. I will keep this page updated as the storm develops. Please also check out the dashboard and resources tabs on this site for more resources.

For those in the path of Irene, you can get official general forecasts from the National Hurricane Center, and local information from the NWS Hurricane Local Statements. You can also find twitter feeds of your local emergency management officials on the excellent Map of reliable twitter feeds. General preparation advice can be found on the FEMA blog.

Check out this book and this book to help you prepare for the next disaster!

Tracking tools & general information sources

National Hurricane Center - official watches, warnings, advisories, probability cones, etc
Hurricane Local Statements - for specific areas

Stormpulse - Hurricane Irene - high quality maps and tracking tools

Weather Underground Irene Tracking Page - nice tracking resources
Weather.com Irene Tracking Page
VueToo Irene Situation Page - multiple concurrent maps of Irene's status
FEMA blog (weather updates) - updates and preparation information.
Hurricane Irene Wikipedia Page
Central Florida Hurricane Center (aggregates information relating to Florida)

Tampa Bay Online Hurricane Guide - with local resources for Florida
Florida Sun-Sentinel Hurricane Page

Social media tools

Google News on Irene- hits for Irene on Google News
Google Map - Annotated with information about Irene (also below)
Irene Twitter/Weather Map - shows radar image plus markers linking to twitter hashtags for locations
Map of reliable twitter feeds - shows feeds of local emergency management agencies, etc
Project EPIC Tweak-the-Tweet map - categorized twitter posts plotted on a map
Google Crisis Response Map - a variety of information can be projected on a map

Twitter updates for #hurricane OR #irene

Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker - blog with updates and discussion
ESRI Tweet Map - map with hurricane track and tweets
Crisis Commons Wiki - lists of data sources for Irene
OASIS map with NYC evacuation centers
Red Cross Shelters on map

News reports & pictures
Pictures of Irene impact from Puerto Rico (Washington Post)
Video of Irene taken from International Space Station (NASA)

Other tools & information

Hurricane Watch Net - streaming audio during active events

Radio Reference Wiki Major Events - radio frequencies and such like for major disasters (should they happen)

View Hurricane Irene in a larger map

Strong geomagnetic solar storm hits earth

2011-08-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

Last night's geomagnetic storm was classified as "strong" on the NOAA Space Weather scale, threatening to cause some disruptions in satellite communications, and possibly in power systems. At one point, the Kp index (a measure of the amount of geomagnetic disturbance - see my guide to solar weather) hit "8" which is pretty impressive (see picture). As it happens, there don't seem to have been any really significant disruptive effects from this storm, but we should take this as a wake-up call. As we approach the 2013 solar sunspot maximum, NASA is predicting around four "extreme" events, and many severe events. As I discussed previously, such events could cause a widespread, long-lived power outage. Even a widespread outage of a few days could cause some big problems for nuclear power plants. Such a long term power outage really needs to be on our preparedness radar - both for individuals (e.g. by keeping a rolling food store) and for emergency managers.

Tropical Storm Emily Resources

2011-08-04T06:02:00.000-07:00

As of 5PM Thursday, Tropical Storm Emily has been downgraded and is not expected to produce significant wind damage (although 2-4 inches of rainfall are expected). Here are some resources for tracking the storms. I will keep this page updated as the storm develops. Please also check out the dashboard and resources tabs on this site for more resources.

National Hurricane Center - official, watches, warnings, advisories, probability cones, etc

Stormpulse Atlantic Tracker - high quality maps and tracking tools

Weather Underground Emily Tracking Page - nice tracking resources
Tropical Storm Emily Wikipedia Page

Tampa Bay Online Hurricane Guide - with local resources for Florida
Florida Sun-Sentinel Hurricane Page

Google News on Emily- hits for Emily on Google News

Twitter updates for #emily

Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker - blog with updates and discussion

Hurricane Watch Net - streaming audio during active events (not yet for Igor)

Radio Reference Wiki Major Events - radio frequencies and such like for major disasters (should they happen)

How long will my cell phone work in a power outage?

2011-08-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

Having lived through the Great Northeast Power Outage of 2004, one thing that struck me was the that some peoples' cellphones stopped working immediately (i.e. couldn't find a tower) and some kept on working throughout the outage. That was 2004: in 2010, with our daily reliance on cell phones and smartphones for communications, one would image that cell towers would as standard practice have power backup to last at least a couple of days. However, this may be over optimistic. In 2008 a proposal by the FCC to require cellular carriers to have 8 hours power backup on their towers (yes, that's just 8 hours!) was fiercely resisted by the cellphone carriers on the basis that it would be impossibly expensive to implement, and was subsequently nixed by the White House.

Of course the most useful information would be to know what provisions different carriers take to keep their sites going in a power outage, but this information seems almost impossible to find. Anecdotally, most towers seem to be active for several hours in a power outage, but this seems to vary widely by region and carrier. There are some encouraging signs for the future though: for example T-mobile just installed their first grid-independent solar powered cellular tower.

Does anyone have any clues on this one? Either experience as a user or actual knowledge of what particular companies' policies are? If so, please leave a comment!

Emergency Preparedness Week May 1-7: taking individual and community preparedness to the next level

2011-03-27T06:49:00.000-07:00

There is a day or a week declared for every cause: some more useful than others. One which has proved useful is Severe Weather Preparedness Week. It's not as well known, but there is also an Emergency Preparedness Week - this year May 1-7 - which seems especially strong in Canada. I propose we should consider spending this week examining, as both individuals and communities, how we would respond to a widespread disaster which might knock out power, services and supplies for months (think Japanese earthquake or worse). This could be real fun and build self-sufficiency skills. One can even imagine communities working towards a "Disaster Ready" status (just like Storm Ready status) which might involve things like having community gardens, farms and wells which promote self-sufficiency for the community.

Texas Wildfires Information

2011-02-27T14:41:00.000-08:00

These are the first resources I can find for the wildfires in the Palisades, TX area Feb 27 2011. Please post comments with more resources if you have them. Note that the #txfire, #amafire and #wildfire tags are being used on Twitter.

National Weather Service 6.15pm update

Texas DPS Situation Reports

Texas Forest Service updates

Texas Forest Service situation report

MyHighPlains.com - including evacuation instructions
Live video feed from ChaserTV
Impact map from National Weather Service
Amarillo Office of Emergency Management
Twitter search for #txfire OR #amafire OR #wildfire
Live Audio Scanner Feed for Lubbock County
Live Audio Scanner Feed for Potter & Randall County Fire, Sheriff, and Amarillo PD/FD
Google News search for Texas Wildfire
CBS7 Wildfire Status Page
KWES NewsWest9
KWTX News
INCIWEB - this fire is not there yet, but when it is it will have updates and links to other resources
Satellite images of Amarillo wildfire

Feb 2011 New Zealand Christchurch Earthquake

2011-02-21T17:46:00.000-08:00

An 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Feb 21, 2011 at 23:51 UTC near Christchurch, New Zealand. Here are some information resources for the earthquake. There are reports of building collapses and fatalities.

If you are looking for someone use the #eqnzContact or #ruok hashtags in Twitter or call 1300 555 135. There is also a Civil Defence number - 800-779-997 You can also try the Christchurch Earthquake Person Finder

Top Twitter Hashtags for the quake are #eqnz, #chch. You can try a Twitter search for #eqnz OR #chch Earthquake OR #christchurch: use #eqnz for tweets

AGGREGATION PAGES - aggregating social media and other sites

All Hazards Blog (this one)

SM4EM page aggregating social media resources

Examiner.com earthquake aggregation site

The Evolving Newsroom - another aggregate page
Google crisis response page for Christchurch earthquake - people finder, maps
FEMA's blog post with a list of resources

FINDING MISSING RELATIVES

1. Search or post requests on Twitter with the #eqnzcontact tag. For example, if you want to find someone called Fred Blogs, go to http://twitter.com, and type the following in the search box: fred blogs AND #eqnzcontact . If you find nothing, post a request for information for example: Please help me find fred bloggs on xxx street christchurch who is missing #eqnzcontact #eqnz

2. Look on the Project EPIC map for #eqnzcontact colored tags in the area of the person you are looking for

3. Try the Google Christchurch Earthquake Person Finder

FINDING ACCOMMODATION

QuakeEscape - finding people accommodation
Christchurch room finder

SOCIAL MEDIA RESOURCES

Project EPIC crowdsourced tweetmap of Christchurch quake
Crisis camp earthquake wiki
Twitter posts from near Christchurch
Twitter search for #eqnz OR #chch Earthquake OR #christchurch: use #eqnz for tweets
Google map showing damage (see below)

Some relevant twitter accounts: @NZcivildefence, @CanterburyEM, @Police_NZ (auto feed only), @ECan, @geonet

NZ TrendsMap of twitter posts in New Zealand
EagleGIS Earthquake map

Christchurch Earthquake Person Finder
eq.org.nz report aggregator
QuakeEscape - finding people accommodation

View Christchurch earthquake: Map of the destruction in a larger map

NEWS AND INFORMATION SITES

USGS site showing earthquake details plus reports from the public
USGS PAGER initial rapid assessment of earthquake
New Zealand Civil Defense with earthquake updates
Christchurch Quake Map showing location of today's earthquakes
NZStuff page with video, pictures, maps, eyewitness accounts
Latest updates from Radio New Zealand (blog-style)
Live updates blog-style from 3News
3News Running Report
3News earthquake RSS feed - faster since site is slow
New Zealand Herald
MSNBC New Zealand Live Stream
3News Live Video Stream
Youtube Video of immediate aftermath of quake
NEW Youtube video of earthquake aftermath (graphic)
Christchurch Crowdmap of reports (new)
Wikipedia page for this earthquake

Quick guide to Space Weather and Solar Flares

2011-02-16T09:51:00.000-08:00

If you have an interest in astronomy, or follow those "end of the world" blogs, you've probably heard about solar flares, and the potential impact of extreme events on the earth. Solar flares are associated with sunspots, are a regular feature of the Sun, and are normally not something to be worried about. However, due to solar cycles, about every 11 years or so there is a period of increased sunspot activity which can result in flares which actually have an impact on the earth. Recently we have heard stories of potential doom, including worldwide power outages and GPS satellites being knocked out. We are now entering a solar maximum, so should we be worried?

Well, yes and no. Most of the concern revolves around the potential for a very strong solar flare which could potentially overload transformers and cause widespread, and possibly permanent power outages. This is a real threat, and was described recently in a National Academy Of Sciences report. In particular, a repeat of a very large flare which occured in 1859 (known as the Carrington Event) could, according to the report, cause an electromagnetic overload of power grids, cause transformers to explode, with damage that might not be repairable for 5-10 years. Yes, that's a 5-10 year widespread power outage. Now, the Carrington Event appears to be quite unusual, and most solar events are much less spectacular. But it should be on our preparation radar. Smaller scale events can still cause regional outages (such as in 1989, when a solar flare resulted in a widespread outage in Quebec, lasting 12 hours and affecting 5 million people)

Fortunately, we have some wonderful resources available, especially from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center which, like its terrestrial counterpart, offers warnings of activity that could cause problems. However, to be able to use these warnings and resources, we need a quick lesson in solar flares. Here is the super-quick version: for a more detailed account see the SWPC FAQ. Basically, sunspots can result in solar flares which are intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation. These only really affect the earth if the sunspot is pointing right in our direction. The most immediate impact of these earthbound flares is a very quick increase in X-ray flux. You can see current X-ray flux values in this plot from the NOAA GOES satellite (also available on the SWPC site):

See the letters on the right (A, B, C, M, X)? That represents the intensity of the flare. The really interesting ones are "X" class flares, and we get a few of these each solar cycle. Very quickly after the flare an X-class (and sometimes an M class) can cause shortwave radio outages on the sun-facing side of the earth. These rays reach the earth very quickly. The possible impacts on radio are given by the R scale on the NOAA Space Weather Scale.

A solar flare can also produce a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). This is a cloud of geomagnetically charged particles which reaches earth usually a couple of days after a flare. This is the one which can cause power outages. It is measured using Planetary K-index (Kp) values - you can see the current Kp values in the plot below (also taken from the NOAA site):

Anything over "4" is classed as a storm, although it's really 8's and 9's which spell trouble. Again for a mapping to real effects, see the G-scale on the NOAA Space Weather Scale.

So that's the quick intro to get you started! For more information, as well as the NOAA site, I recommend SolarHam.com (check out the forums) and SpaceWeather.com, and AllHazards Blog's own Solar Dashboard.

Emergency managers - are you ready for #smemchat?

2011-02-11T10:53:00.000-08:00

If you haven't picked up on it, the world of Emergency Management is a-buzz with talk about Social Media. In many recent emergencies, from the Australian floods, Egyptian revolt to the Midwest icestorm, Twitter, Facebook and Blogs have played an increasingly important part in both dissemination of information and in providing a medium for gathering information from the public.

But of course there is a lot for us to think about: how reliable is all this information? Do false rumors spread like wildfire (or icestorms)? How do you get information out into the "blogosphere" or "tweetverse"? How do you get started? Is there a simple place to get the basics?

Well the good news is that help is at hand. Twitter is no longer just the home of spotty teenagers, and there are some really good resources popping up. Here are my recommendations

1. Take a look at the website sm4em.org. This is a new site run by a leading emergency manager with great resources for getting started.

2. Check out what FEMA is doing - their blog, the twitter account of Craig Fugate, head of FEMA, and their news release on Social Media tools

3. Check out the #smem tag search on Twitter. You don't need an account, just go to this search page and take a look at some of the things people are posting about Social Media and Emergency Management.

4. Join us for #smemchat! Every Friday from 12.30-1.30 EST, we have an online chat about social media and emergency management using the #smemchat tag on Twitter. This is a a safe place to air opinions and have a lively debate. To participate, you need a twitter account and the easiest way is to use your twitter account to log into TweetChat.com and enter #smemchat as the tag. If you want to watch but not participate, just do a Twitter #smemchat search on Fridays at lunchtime!

Tips for a power outage

2011-01-31T07:16:00.000-08:00

Here are some tips for preparing for and dealing with a power outage:

Food & Water
Stocking up on canned goods is preferable, since they keep for a long time if not needed (see my post on keeping a rolling pantry). Buy enough bottled water for a gallon of water per person per day. Get one of those "indoor/outdoor" thermometers, and if the power goes out put the outdoor sensor in the fridge. Once the temperature in the fridge is higher than the temperature outside it's time to move the refrigerator food into a secured box outside (watch for predators!), and put the thermometer in the freezer (which will soon become your fridge). For information on keeping food safe in an emergency, see the USDA factsheet. Whether or not water is available or safe during a power outage is very dependent on your circumstances. Find out as much as you can beforehand, but if in doubt boil water before using.

Heat
The three most important things are to not set fire to your house, to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, and to stay warm. Most gas fireplaces will still work in a power outage, but make sure that you have a window open a crack to replenish the oxygen, and make sure you have a Carbon Monoxide detector in the room with the fireplace. Decide which rooms you are not going to use and close the doors. Put blankets up against any place that might cause a draft. You can use a camping stove for a short time to warm drinks and cook food, but they are VERY dangerous so make sure you keep them in a secure place and only use them for short times. Keep dressed in warm clothes at all times: the most important bits of your body to keep warm are the head, feet and hands. Dress in multiple layers to keep warm air trapped. Watch for signs of hypothermia. You probably have a tank of warm water - use it wisely to keep warm!

Other preparation steps
Fill up your car with gas - it can help you escape to a nice warm hotel, can keep you warm (but don't run in the garage), and can be a source of power (especially with an inverter). Get some money out of the bank, since ATMs could be down and cash could be valuable. Check out the frequencies of not just your local radio stations, but more distant ones that may stay up longer. Also, if you have a scanner, find your local ARES/RACES, fire and EMS frequencies at Radio Reference. Charge up everything you might want to use, and keep a supply of AA, C and D batteries on hand.

Latest on Winter Ice Storm, Blizzard and Tornados

2011-01-30T18:03:00.000-08:00

A Major winter storm is forecast for the Midwest and East Coast of the US, January 31-Feb 3 2011. This is a page I plan on developing with a variety of resources for keeping track of the storm, especially social media resources. Please email me or leave a comment if you know of other resources and I'll add them as soon as I can.

Weather Information

Weather.gov - official NWS page with links to regional and city pages
Storm Prediction Center with nice map showing national radar, watches and warnings
NWS Experimental snow/ice probabilities
Weather Underground
Accuweather
StormPulse

General Social Media Resources

Twitter search for storm OR blizzard OR icestorm OR tornado OR power outage
Submit storm reports to the NWS via twitter
Google News search for ice storm/blizzard/tornado/power outage
Google Latest search for ice storm/blizzard/tornada/power outage
CrisisWiki - submit reports for this event
Google Map for crowdsourced reports of ice storms, snow, and tornados (see also below)
FEMA Blog

State-specific Resources

IN: Indiana road conditions map, Duke Energy Power Outages
NM: NM Road Conditions Map, Follow #NMstorm and #NMwx, dial 511 for info
OK: Oklahoma Ice Map, Follow #OKice #OKwx

Preparation

Haby's Ice Storm Preparation Advice
MyGreatHome Preparing for a Winter Storm
Ready.gov preparing for a winter storm
Tips for a power outage - preparation and during the event.

GOVLIVE stream of storm-related reports

Google map of reports

View Feb 2011 Storm Power outage and damage reports in a larger map

New Homeland Security Advisory System

2011-01-27T11:58:00.000-08:00

The much-ridiculed homeland security color-coded threat level system, which has been stuck at "orange" for years, will finally be dropped by the end of April. In a press conference today, Janet Napolitano announced that a new system will be introduced that will be based on individual threats and recommended responses to these threats. Details are still scarce, but it will have to "levels" - elevated and imminent threat. She said it "will provide a concise summary of the potential threat, information about actions being taken to ensure public safety, and recommended steps that individuals and communities can take."

I suppose we'll have to wait to see what emerges, but this does sound more useful and promising. Also of interest is how the alerts will be delivered - social media? text messages? Watch this space!

For more on this story, check out this Google News Search.