• Medical Kit and First Aid Manual
• Hygiene supplies
• Portable radio, flashlights and extra batteries
• Shovel and other useful tools
• Household liquid bleach to purify water
• Money and matches in a waterproof container
• Fire extinguisher
• Blankets and extra clothing
• Infant/toddler needs (if applicable)
• Manual can opener

There are many ways to purify water on your own. None is perfect. Often the best solution is a combination of methods.

Two easy methods are outlined below. These measures will kill most microbes but will not remove other contaminants such as heavy metals, salts and most other chemicals. Before purifying, let any suspended particles settle to the bottom or strain them through layers of paper towel or clean cloth.

Boiling

Boiling is the safest method of purifying water. Bring water to a boil for 3-5 minutes, keeping in mind some water will evaporate. Let the water cool before drinking. 

Boiled water will taste better if you put oxygen back into it by pouring the water back and forth between two containers. This will also improve the taste of stored water.

Disinfection

ou can use household liquid bleach to kill microorganisms. Use only regular household bleach that contains 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite. Do not use scented bleaches, colorsafe bleaches or bleaches with added cleaners. Other chemicals such as iodine or water treatment products sold in camping or surplus stores that do not contain 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite as the only active ingredient should not be used. 

Add 16 drops of bleach per gallon of water, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. If the water does not have a slight bleach odor, repeat the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. 

While the two methods described above will kill most microbes in water, distillation will remove microbes that resist these methods as well as heavy metals, salts and most other chemicals.

Distillation

Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting the vapor that condenses back into water. The condensed vapor will not include salt and other impurities. To distill, fill a pot halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot’s lid so that the cub will hang right side up when the lid is upside down (test to make sure the cup is not dangling in the water). Boil the water for 20 minutes.  The water that collects in the cup is distilled and safe to drink.

For the Hurricane Ike recovery effort, FEMA anticipated the temporary housing needs of the physically handicapped, ensuring that its inventory of manufactured homes included a large portion of park models that meet Uniform Federal AccessibilityStandards (UFAS), the federal guidelines for compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).

As a result of the planning effort, FEMA is providing hundreds of ADA-compliant park models and mobile homes as part of the first waves of manufactured homes arriving in the disaster communities.

“Finding suitable temporary housing for every eligible disaster victim is one of FEMA’s primary missions,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Sandy Coachman. “We are working to ensure that the process is not delayed just because someonemight have a special need.”

Additionally, for the first time in any disaster recovery effort, FEMA and its Texas partner, the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management (GDEM), are taking steps to provide information and alerts to all of those whose disability affects how theyreceive information: the deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind and the deaf-blind.

In cooperation with one of the companies providing these kinds of services, San Antonio-based Deaf Link, FEMA/GDEM Recovery News updates and other alerts are sent via the Internet in American Sign Language (ASL), in audio and in a text format thatcan be converted to Braille with special equipment. Additionally, GDEM has posted videos in ASL and voiceovers on a number of hurricane-preparedness and -response topics.

“Texas is a national pioneer in the use of this advanced technology to communicate with the visually and hearing-impaired,” said State Coordinating Officer Joan Haun. “It’s a good feeling to know we are among the first to break downthe barriers to these communities.”

Also for the first time, FEMA is using Deaf Link (www.deaflink.com) communications equipment to help deaf Texans apply for disaster assistance. The first DisasterRecovery Center to use the technology is in Houston at the Ellington Joint Reserve Base.

The program utilizes videoconferencing equipment to connect a hearing recovery center aide and a deaf person, both at the recovery center, with an ASL interpreter at Deaf Link’s secure communications center. This live, interactive service isavailable on demand at the recovery center.

“We’re getting a lot of big ‘thank-yous’ on behalf of FEMA,” said Kay Chiodo, Deaf Link president and CEO. “FEMA really is reaching out to everyone in this disaster.”

Using Internet technology is just one way FEMA is contacting Texans with special needs. When disaster strikes, FEMA’s scores of Community Relations specialists move into the affected areas, often becoming the first line of assistance to frightenedand confused victims.

“Sometimes all people want is someone to talk to, someone who understands their fears and frustrations, someone to point the way to help,” said Coachman. “Face-to-face meetings are vital in assuring residents that we’ll work with themto help get their lives back on track and identify any special needs as quickly as possible.”

When field specialists identify eligible residents whose condition — physical, mental, medical or emotional — affects their ability to take responsibility for disaster recovery on their own, they relay their information directly to the State/FEMAJoint Field Office in Austin. The office has a team dedicated exclusively to aiding eligible Texans with special needs.

If housing is the issue, FEMA’s Individual Assistance specialists go to work to put special needs individuals and families into the appropriate temporary housing, whether that means an ADA-compliant manufactured home, a handicapped-accessible hotelroom or a care facility for the ill or aged.

Following are a few of the ways FEMA has helped Texans with special needs during the Hurricane Ike disaster:

• Galveston: Shortly after Ike struck, FEMA discovered a father and his 14- and 8-year-old sons living in their car. The family declined FEMA’s offer to put them in the nearest available hotel because it was too far from the hospitalwhere the children’s seriously ill mother lay. FEMA was able to locate the last remaining unit in a nearby mobile home park, although a tree in front of the unit left no room to construct a ramp for the mother’s wheelchair. Upon learning of thefamily’s plight, the park owner had the tree removed, and the ramp was constructed in time to welcome the children’s mother home from the hospital.
• Galveston County: FEMA discovered a family of 14, including a 2-year-old and a 9-month-old with serious medical conditions, living in a camper and tents in the driveway of their damaged home. With the help of neighbors who pitchedin to remove a fence that was in the way, FEMA was able to place two mobile homes on the property and move the family in within three days.
• Galveston County: A young woman who is deaf-blind took refuge in a community shelter as a result of the hurricane. By the time her mother arrived to pick her up, the young woman knew exactly what to do to apply for FEMA assistance.”I got an alert from FEMA telling me what I have to do,” she told her stunned mother. The young woman had read her FEMA alerts in Braille with the help of Deaf Link.

FEMA teams also work one-on-one with other federal, state and local agencies, as well as dozens of community, religious, business and volunteer organizations, to aid eligible special needs Texans thrown into turmoil by the disaster.

“They build on these groups’ existing networks to expedite assistance and get the word out to people with special needs,” said Coachman.

These agencies and organizations provide essential services to Texans with special needs, including replacing lost or destroyed medications, eyeglasses, hearing aids, wheelchairs and walkers; providing emergency generators for oxygen tanks; takingindividuals to health-care centers for dialysis or other life-sustaining treatments; delivering food, clothing and blankets to special needs victims; finding care-givers for those in emergency housing; and much, much more.

FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

Nov 14, 2008 (DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS/ContentWorks via COMTEX) –

FEMA, 500 C Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20472
Disaster Assistance: (800) 621-FEMA
Release Number: 1791-251

• Steer the place clear of all debris and damp mud as early as possible while keeping your safety on top of the agenda. 
• It is preferable to hose down all the walls, floors, household items including furniture, and other flood affected items that may have accumulated with contaminated water and debris. A wet-and-dry vacuum comes in as a handy tool for this process. Using a detergent solution with hot foamy water can help in scrubbing the items and the affected areas until clear from all debris. For uneven or rough surfaces, try cleaning with the help of a cleaning pad and rinse with cold water several times. 
• Always wear protective clothes and rubber gloves when undertaking the process of cleaning following a flood damage to ensure your safety.
• Inspect all the possible corners, drawers and other dark places for detecting the possibility of moldy document restoration and mildew restoration as they find a quick and convenient home in places which are damp or wet with excessive moisture and high humidity levels.
• When you detect mold, always use caution before proceeding to remove these contaminants away from your home. Always wear a face mask or respirator and first check cleaning a small patch of mold. If you suffer from any respiratory problems, then it is best to hire the services of a professional for this job.
• To remove mold and mildew completely from your home especially after flood damage, it is quintessential to get to the source of the mold. Maximize the air circulation of the house by opening all the doors and windows of the place. Cross ventilation will help in reducing moisture and humidity of the house. Use fans and dehumidifiers to control the excessive dampness in the area. Only then can you make your home seal proof from mold and fungus. 
• Don’t forget to disinfect the entire place affected by mold and make the area clean to prevent mold from returning back to the place.
• If your household articles like soft toys, pillows or mattresses have become damaged extensively as a result of remaining in dirty flood water, then you should immediately discard and dispose them away at a safe place away from your home to avoid any health problems at a later stage. 
• It is best to discard away a carpet which has become affected with excessive mold growth as cleaning or drying will not remove mold from the carpet.
• After you are done with the damaged material in your home, next thing is to disinfect your home using a good disinfectant, most preferably with a solution of one and a half cup of household bleach added to one gallon of water.
• An important thing to be kept in mind after flood damage is to keep the area clean and well-ventilated to make the return to your house safe for yourself and your family.
• Flood damage can make you stressed and tense. But following these useful tips can help you to recover from flood damage and make your house free from all the potential dangers.

by werry55

About the Author

Isolde Werry distributes information on water issues for Moldy Document Restoration and New Rochelle, NY mold removal

Article Source: Content for Reprint

Pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Act (42 USC 5141, et seq.), whenever the President of the United States declares a “major disaster” anywhere in the United States or its territories, federal assistance is made available to supplement the efforts and resources of state and local governments and voluntary relief organizations.

The Stafford Act specifically addresses the provision of free legal services to low-income individuals affected by a disaster (see 42 USC 5182).  FEMA is responsible for implementation of the Stafford Act and, to do so, has adopted a variety of rules and regulations.  Among those is a specific regulation governing the provision of Disaster Legal Services (DLS):  44 CFR 206.164.

Whenever the President declares a major disaster, the DLS program can be activated.  In an attempt to implement the legal services mandate of the Stafford Act, FEMA’s Office of Disaster Assistance Programs entered into an Agreement with the ABA and its Young Lawyers Division (ABA/YLD) for the ABA and its nationwide affiliates to provide volunteer lawyers to the DLS program.

According to this Agreement, after a disaster is declared, FEMA contacts the ABA/YLD Representative for that region.  It is then the ABA/YLD Representative’s job to ensure that legal assistance services are provided, either on-site at the disaster location, through a Disaster Recovery Center, or via a 1-800 telephone bank where callers’ concerns are either addressed immediately or referred to a volunteer attorney.

What Are Volunteer FEMA Attorneys Expected to Do?

The main job for volunteers is to be ready and willing to provide legal assistance following a disaster that occurs in your region or local area.  Within a few days of any catastrophic event, we will know if the President of the United States will declare the event a major disaster.

If so, FEMA will then determine whether or not to offer victims its Disaster Legal Services.  When that occurs, volunteers are contacted and instructed on where and when to report.  Volunteers can assist with screening incoming calls to a Disaster Legal Services hotline and/or actually accept pro bono referrals generated from that hotline.

Staffing the Disaster Legal Services Hotline

Typically, a DLS hotline becomes operational a few weeks after a major disaster is declared.  This gives the disaster victims time to attend to more pressing matters, such as obtaining shelter and food and addressing their immediate losses and needs.

After a short while, however, disaster victims begin to recognize that they need legal help putting their lives back in order. The DLS hotline number will be advertised in the local area’s newspapers, posted in shelters, and generally available from all governmental agencies responding to the disaster.  Calls will start rolling in about 2-3 weeks after the disaster first strikes and usually involve on one or more of the areas listed above.

Recruiting Volunteers Now Ensures Preparedness Later

Over the last two decades, this arrangement between FEMA, the ABA/YLD, and local bar associations has proven successful.  Most recently, the program provided disaster legal relief to victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks.  In Washington , the program was activated in response to last year’s earthquake as well as to the floods of 1996 and 1997.  For more information about the program’s success stories and to find resources, please visit the ABA ‘s Web site at www.abanet.org/ and www.abanet.org/barserv/disaster.

Only 30 percent of municipalities around the country have designated facilities as shelters for the elderly and handicapped during natural disasters, according to a survey conducted by the Institute for Fire Safety and Disaster Preparedness.

Researchers at the Mitaka, Tokyo-based institute attributed the low figure to local governments’ unsatisfactory cooperation with welfare facilities and a lack of understanding of designation criteria by officials in charge.

The central government recommends that local governments designate facilities that meet certain conditions as welfare shelters for the elderly and handicapped during emergencies.

In order to acquire the designation, facilities must have barrier-free designs and be equipped with nursing care kits and medical supplies.

In February and March, Yukio Komatsu and other researchers at the center conducted a survey of 1,823 cities, wards, towns and villages across the country. Of those, 1,097 responded.

The survey showed that only 7 percent of municipalities had information about which of their facilities met required conditions and designated them as welfare shelters.

An additional 23.7 percent answered that they had designated some of the facilities that meet the criteria as shelters.

However, 30.7 percent of municipalities answered that they failed to designate any facilities although they knew which ones met the criteria.

More surprisingly, 29.3 percent said they never conducted inspections of potential candidates for designation.

The system was initiated by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry after it reflected on the bitter experiences of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995.

In the quake’s aftermath, many elderly people in evacuation centers complained that they were experiencing health problems. Despite their advanced age, they were forced to live in the same environment as people without physical problems.

Because of this, the ministry recommended that local governments evaluate welfare facilities and schools suitable for accepting elderly and handicapped people and that they should designate those facilities as welfare shelters.

“Disasters happen unexpectedly. So it’s important to prepare in advance in order to prevent deaths,” Komatsu said.

“Hope is not a strategy.” 

Carl Richards, director of Madison County’s Emergency Management Agency, offered that advice to participants of the “Survive the Crisis” conference Friday sponsored by the Richmond Chamber and Eastern Kentucky University.

“Businesses that have a disaster plan and practice it are 15 times more likely to recover from a major incident than those that have no plan,” he said.

“Every business, school, hospital and family needs an emergency plan,” said Shelly Boone II of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

While devising plans for a business or institution, managers may overlook what a large-scale disaster can do to their employees’ families, he said.

“If a disaster strikes, your employees are first going to look out for their families’ first. If their families’ are in jeopardy, they won’t be available to help their employer cope with an emergency,” he said. “If their families are safe, however, employees are more likely to report to work and help the business begin to recover.”

He suggested some questions for businesses as well as families to consider:

If disaster strikes, does mom know where the kids are going to be?

Do family members know how to contact each other if phone systems are down?

“After families get done with Thanksgiving dinner and count their blessings, they should also ask these questions,” Boone said.

“After this conference is over, go home, go back to work and be a champion for preparedness,” Boone told participants. “Regardless of your position in an organization, you can make a difference.”

Widespread disasters can have “funny, long-term economic effects,” he said.

After Hurricane Hugo devastated the Atlantic coast of the Carolinas in the 1980s, almost every home had to replace its washer and dryer.

“A clothes dryer typically lasts from eight to 10 years,” he said. “After everyone replaced their appliances, nobody needed a new one for the next several years. Appliance dealers in that area had a rough time, and some went out of business.”

Andrew Cline, director of protective medicine for the University of Louisville Medical School, outlined the likely effects of an influenza pandemic on Kentucky.

Each year, a small number of people around the world die from avian flu.

“So far, the virus is spread only from animals to humans,” he said. “If the virus mutates and begins to spread from human to human, it could mean a global disaster.”

The world’s last pandemic occurred in 1918-19 when the so-called Spanish flu began to spread near the end of World War I.

“That is still the event on which most pandemic scenarios are based,” Cline said.

His outline began with a Kentucky businessman boarding a plane in Hong Kong, just before health authorities close the airport.

“By the time he gets to Los Angeles, he’s not feeling well. When he gets home, he has a big dinner with his family prior to the Thunder Over Louisville event that precedes the Kentucky Derby,” Cline said. “He goes to bed, but encourages his family to go to the riverfront where they are among 800,000 spectators.”

Days latter the man is dead, but people infected with the virus attend the Kentucky Derby, where they spread it to people from across the country and around the world.

Even a mild pandemic could overwhelm hospitals, morgues and mortuaries, Cline said.

Businesses could suddenly be without employees and managers.

“Does your business have a line of succession for key people who could be made ill or die from a pandemic or other emergency?” he asked.

Cline, who had worked in the past for the health department and emergency management agency in Madison County, said he had been guilty of not practicing what he preached.

“I lived in Lexington then, and our home was struck by a tornado,” he said. “We had never created our own emergency plan or discussed what we’d do if disaster struck.”

When the tornado approached, instead of going into an interior room, such as a bathroom, Cline said he and his wife went into a closet on an exterior wall.

“That’s how I got hit by a two-by-four,” he said.

“We had a shelter-in-place kit in case of a chemical weapons leak at the Blue Grass Army Depot, but we didn’t have a standard emergency kit with water, flashlight and radio, etc.”

Boone said FEMA has sample emergency plans for businesses and families on its Web site: readyamerica.gov.

By Bill Robinson Richmond Register News Writer

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.

Life insurance. It’s important to have sufficient life insurance coverage to protect your family should the unthinkable occur. You should also make sure to keep your coverage current as your family situation changes over the years.

Disability insurance. If you become disabled for any reason, your family would be struggling with the loss of your income at the same time that your medical expenses would be going up. Disability insurance can help to replace lost income and provide funds to cover medical expenses.

Long-term care insurance. A disaster could also leave you unable to care for yourself either permanently or for an extended period of time. Long-term care costs for nursing home care or even in-home care can be expensive. Fortunately, you can purchase specific coverage to help alleviate some of the burden of these expenses.

While we hope that we will never have to put a disaster plan into action, it’s important to at least have that plan in place just in case you ever need one.

Awaiting a decision about federal recovery assistance in the wake of Hurricane Ike was excruciating, but authorities say if the first application is denied, a second attempt might prove fruitful.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials say many people were support simply because of application errors or an insurance company failed to provide proof a homeowner is not covered. But after a few touch-ups, people affected by the storm could obtain the help they need.

“It is not uncommon to be denied,” FEMA spokeswoman Barb Sturner said. “It could be because of insufficient damage to the home, or it could be because they did not have proof of ID or someone submitted a social that does not match the name or a lack of documentation or error.”

Sturner said the agency does not keep records on how many people are first denied but then approved for assistance, but “it certainly happens.”

More than $500 million in state and federal assistance helped Texans in 34 counties recover from Hurricane Ike, according to FEMA. More than $337 million was approved for disaster assistance for individuals and households, while $177 million was approved for small businesses.

Portia Mills is one person who waited for a second word from agency officials whether she could receive funding to repair her Angleton home. FEMA officials first denied Mills because she lacked an insurance estimate on her losses.

“Proudly, yes, I did re-apply,” she said. “I was going to say, ‘The heck with it,’ but I re-applied.”

After resubmitting her application she hopes to learn whether the agency will help her recover from the storm.

When residents receive that letter denying assistance, it is common to toss it aside and move on, Sturner said. But they can do themselves a favor by reading the letter from start to finish because, in the letter’s body, FEMA lists what is needed to complete the application.

Also, people should head to the nearest disaster recovery center for help assessing their situation, Sturner said. Officials there can bring up each person’s application and offer tips on what to do.

“Sometimes it does happen,” Sturner said of people being turned away once but then approved when they apply again. “That’s why we encourage people to go to recovery centers to check on the status of their case.”

Mills, who has lived in Angleton for about 10 years, did just that two days before sending off her second application — she went to the recovery center at the Lake Jackson Civic Center.

“The interview was more detailed, and they said I needed an estimate of everything that was affected by Hurricane Ike,” she said. “Originally, it was not that detailed.”

If an applicant disagrees with FEMA’s assessment, they can appeal the decision by getting an independent party to determine the home is uninhabitable, such as a bid for repairs by contractors or a condemnation notice by the city, Sturner said.

But that must be completed within 60 days of getting a denial letter.

Nathaniel Lukefahr is a reporter for The Facts.

IRA rollovers

Included in the individual extender provisions is an extension of the rules permitting IRA contributions to charities. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA; P.L. 109-280) created a provision allowing taxpayers to make tax-free contributions from their IRAs to qualified charitable organizations. This tax benefit expired on December 31, 2007. The legislation extends the provision through 2009.

Disaster Relief

The legislation provides tax relief for victims of the weather-related disasters in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin (Midwestern Disaster Area) and applies to disasters caused by floods, severe storms, and tornadoes declared by FEMA on or after May 20, 2008, and before August 1, 2008. The Act waives the 10 percent penalty tax if a distribution from an IRA or qualified plan (e.g., a 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) plan) is considered a qualified Disaster Recovery Assistance distribution.

The law allows distributions from a 401(k) or 403(b) plan or IRA that were to be used for the purchase of a home in the Midwestern disaster area to be re-contributed, under specified circumstances, to the plan or IRA tax-free (i.e., the re-contributions would be treated as rollovers). Amounts must be re-contributed within 5 months from the date of enactment in order to receive favorable tax treatment. The Act effectively doubles the limitation on loans from a 401(k), 403(b), or a governmental 457(b) plan by allowing participants located in a Midwestern disaster area and who sustained economic loss by reason of the tornadoes and floods giving rise to the designation of the area as a disaster area to receive loans up to the lesser of $100,000, or 100 percent of the vested accrued benefit. The provision applied to loans made after the date of enactment and before January 1, 2010.

Executive Compensation

Under the Act, the Code Sec. 162(m) $1 million limit on deductible employer remuneration is reduced to $500,000 in the case of otherwise deductible compensation of a covered executive of an employer whose assets are acquired under a “troubled asset relief program” established by the bill.

Mental Health Parity

The legislation includes the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which would require private insurance plans that offer mental health benefits as part of the coverage to offer such benefits on par with the medical-surgical benefits. The proposal has been  effective since January 1, 2009.