PRESIDENTIAL PREPAREDNESS!

Mr. Prepared here, to tell you about one event that really required a lot of Preparedness – and that was the swearing in of our brand new President!

With the inauguration of our first African-American president – and the presence of millions of people in the streets of Washington D.C. – obviously, authorities had to be super-prepared for any emergency! 

That means 58 federal, state and local agencies had to actually work together.  Hard to believe that anyone could make that potential bureaucratic smash-up work, but judging from how amazingly well the day went off, they pulled it off in style.

But it did take a lot of manpower to be that prepared – including 8000 Washington D.C. police officers, 10,000 National Guard troops, 1,000 FBI personnel and hundreds more from the Secret Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Capitol Police and the Department of Homeland Security.   These security pros were deployed in the air, on the land and in the water to make sure everything ran smoothly.  There were also counter snipers stationed on top of buildings to take out potential real snipers.

Not only that – but there was a huge amount of animal power too, with horses trained to control crowds and bomb-sniffing dogs trying to smell out any attacks.  There were also the hi tech tools the pros use at these kinds of events – including thousands of security cameras and sensors that are used to detect biological, radiological, chemical and nuclear threats. 

These were all elements of plans drawn up to deal with explosive devices, suicide bombers and the potential use of a weapon of mass destruction.  Airspace was restricted over Washington D.C., portions of the Potomac River were closed, along with miles of roads and bridges leading into the nation’s capital.  In other words, it was REALLY hard to get around.

Clearly, this was a level of preparedness that not even Mr. Prepared could imagine!  But let’s all breathe a sigh of relief that everything went well, so our new chief executive can move forward with his administration and tackle all the tough problems our country faces.

By the way, I always stress the importance of leaving enough time to prepare properly.  Do you happen to know when they started planning security for this inauguration?  The moment after the last one happened, in 2005!

It just goes to show you, it pays to “Be Smart!  Be Safe!  Be Prepared!” This is Mr. Prepared, bringing Awareness to Preparedness!

PREPAREDNESS NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS!

This is Mr. Prepared, wishing you a Happy, Safe 2009.  And let’s hope it’s a little calmer – because 2008 was a dilly for disasters!

The New Year, however, is already expected to deliver a more active than normal hurricane season, according to a prominent U.S. weather research team at Colorado State University.  They’re calling for at least 14 tropical storms, with 7 developing into full-blown hurricanes.  That’s close to their original prediction a year ago for 2008 – which they had to revise upward, when we ended up 16 Atlantic storms, 8 of which turned into hurricanes.

In any event, no matter where you live and what natural disaster your area is most vulnerable to, it’s a good time to review your emergency preparedness – and make a few New Year’s Resolutions!  Here’s what I consider to be “The Big Three!”

1)     Supply Yourself for Survival!

No matter what kind of calamity hits, having food supplies and survival gear on hand and properly stored makes it all a lot easier to get through!  A portable generator is another wonderful extra to have on hand, to “power up” your household through an unexpected crisis!

2)    Make a Plan!

If disaster strikes, know how to contact your loved ones if you’re separated – and make sure everyone knows a place to meet if communication is impossible!  Being prepared means planning ahead for the worst!

3)    Know Your Home!

If a hurricane, tornado or earthquake hits your home, do you know the safest room to be in?  Have you “disaster-proofed” your house as much as possible?  There are specific and simple steps you can take to make sure you’re safe at home no matter what happens!

You can find lots more information on all these topics at http://www.mrprepared.com and in my new e-book, “Mr. Prepared’s Top 50 Ultimate Survival Secrets.”  In any event, I hope your holiday was a happy one and the New Year will bring you peace and prosperity – those are two terrific things you don’t have to prepare for!

Hurricane season is over – I hope!

Well folks, its December 16^th, and I now think it’s safe to say Hurricane season is over – I hope!  I gave it a couple extra weeks, just to make sure. It was, again, a record-breaking year with Gustav (Goof Off – that’s how I remembered the name – being the worst) Again, how do they pick these names?  Major cities like Houston, Texas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana got hit the hardest, if my memory serves me right.  With that said, can you believe Las Vegas had light snow and Dallas, Texas had snow and ice?  Cars were “slippin’ and a slidin’” all over the interstate.  I know because I was watching The Weather Channel – like you should doing once in a while!  

You’ve got to keep up to date with what’s going on, Be Prepared!  The weather can be some funny stuff at times – it’s becoming unpredictable, so keep an eye in the sky once in a while, just in case! You never know, you might see a meteor or flying saucer or something – more like space junk falling back to earth (that has been known to happen) Watch out for the tool bag that NASA lost!  They are not perfect, we’re not perfect – nobody’s perfect.

So, with Christmas just around the corner, I’m Mr. Prepared™ wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!   
  
Remember, Be Smart, Be Safe, Be Prepared.  This is Mr. Prepared™ bringing awareness to preparedness!

GIVE THE GIFT OF PREPAREDNESS THIS YEAR!

Mr. Prepared here.  I know I spout a lot of doom and gloom during the year about being prepared for disasters.  But it’s only because I know how easy it is to get ready for them – and how many lives can be saved by taking emergency preparedness seriously!  

Even Christmas trees can be a danger, as I write about in my new article, “Make Sure Safety Is under Your Christmas Tree.”  I felt like I had compose that after checking out the videos at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/all_citizens/home_fire_prev/holiday-seasonal/treefire.shtm – it’s scary how fast a dry Christmas tree can turn into an indoor bonfire!

Anyway, considering the amount of carnage nature has wrought across America this year – hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and floods – I hope you don’t mind my making a suggestion with your holiday gift-giving this year – and that’s giving your loved ones the gift of preparedness this year.

Yes, instead of giving Uncle Andy a sweater he might never wear or Cousin Susie some Britney Spears perfume, think about giving friends and relatives something that could save their life.  There’s plenty of affordable survival gear and supplies you can purchase that could make all the difference if the unthinkable happens.

Think about a 72 hour survival kit, for example, that has all the food, water and other basic survival gear that would get you through a temporary disruption of services.  Or a weather radio, that operates by battery or hand-cranking, and tunes you in to the latest emergency information.  If you really want to get upscale, a portable emergency generator makes sure you still have power, even when a blackout hits.

There are plenty of other great life-saving products that I review on my website at MrPrepared.com – so you can tell which ones do the job the best.  I can also humbly recommend my own new eBook, “Mr. Prepared’s Top 50 Ultimate Survival Secrets,” which you’ll also find for sale on my website, as well as a great FREE stocking stuffer, the Mr. Prepared Emergency Card.

I sincerely hope your 2008 holiday is a great one – and that 2009 holds nothing but the best for you!  But just in case it doesn’t, be Smart!  Be Safe!  Be Prepared! This is Mr. Prepared, bringing Awareness to Preparedness!

Southern California’s Disaster Dilemma

Mr. Prepared Says You Can’t Predict When It Comes to Preparedness

Mr. Prepared here.  Southern California just found out that sometimes when you get ready for one thing, you get hit with another.

On Thursday, November the 13^th, all up and down the infamous San Andreas Fault, Californians participated in the largest earthquake drill ever held in history.

By simulating the effects of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake – huge, especially for the kind of densely populated state! – trained personnel and ordinary citizens alike were shown how to react to minimize injuries and maximize rescue efforts. Emergency preparedness was put to the test as food supplies and survival gear were checked and double-checked.

If a 7.8 temblor were actually to hit, it would crack open a major interstate highway, damage 300,000 buildings and most likely take down three skyscrapers in downtown Los Angeles!  Not only that, but fatalities could reach 1800, with another 18,000 ending up in emergency rooms!

Obviously, as Mr. Prepared, I have to applaud these great efforts.  Earthquakes happen without warning and everyone needs to know how to react appropriately.

Unfortunately, a familiar area disaster of another kind hit just a few days later.  The Santa Ana winds, the hot dry breezes from the desert, came blowing in.  Record heat, low humidity and high speed winds combined to create the perfect nightmare as flames threatened homes from Santa Barbara down to Orange County.  Rolling blackouts were put into effect as the power supply to Los Angeles was threatened by all the out of control blazes.

As I’m writing this, over 10,000 acres have been burnt, 106 homes have been lost and 7 firefighters have been injured.  One couple returned to find all that was left of their home, where they had raised their two children, was the door knocker and a recently-planted barrel cactus.  All other memories went up in smoke.

Yes, it’s ironic that you can go all out to prepare for one disaster and, instead, another one hits you out of nowhere.    It’s why I wrote my eBook, “Mr. Prepared’s Top 50 Ultimate Survival Secrets,” available at my website at http://www.mrprepared.com.  I thought it was important to have tips and tricks for preparing and coping with specific kinds of natural disasters all in one place so you know how to deal with all of them.  What happened in Southern California proves you have to be ready for anything!

Until next time, be Smart!  Be Safe!  Be Prepared! This is Mr. Prepared, bringing Awareness to Preparedness!

Time to Relax?

Well folks, the hurricane season is coming to an end on November 30^th…or is it?  Just because Nov. 30th marks the end of the hurricane season, it doesn’t mean not to stay alert, or should I say, prepared. For those of you who live in a hurricane area, it’s not over yet.  When Mr. Prepared is around a television it’s on the weather channel.  That’s my music, the weather. They keep you up to date on what is going on all over the planet, like the floods going on in Washington state right now and Texas has been getting hammered with heavy rains and flooding.  Remember, turn around don’t drown.  Six inches of fast moving water is bad stuff. 

So today, Nov. 13th is the big earthquake drill at 10am (PST) in Los Angeles, California.  Over 5 million people are participating: schools, business, and just regular people like you and me trying to be prepared.  I think it’s great!  My son also lives in LA, pay attention son! (He is. I talked to him last night.) So folks, just because the calendar may say you’re out of danger, don’t believe it.  Remember, be smart, be safe, be prepared!

This is Mr. Prepared, bringing awareness to preparedness! 

Dome Homes – My Kind of Home!

Hi Folks! Mr. Prepared here.  Recently I found out about a dome home tour here in Florida, so I said, “I gotta go check these things out.”  So on Oct. 25^th, we loaded up the van (my preparedness vehicle holds more stuff) and headed to Stuart, Fla.  For more info, run a Google search for “dome homes.” These homes are cool, energy efficient, can withstand 300 mph winds, a direct hit from tornadoes, and they’re even earthquake and hurricane proof (so the builders of domes claim.) Good enough for me! Where do I sign up? 

Folks, you know me, I’m all about preparedness.  The folks in Stuart were very kind.  They proudly showed us their dome home, about 3000 sq. ft., and said a couple of years ago, they had a hurricane come through with no problems, while property around them was damaged.  This dome home was made out of blown concrete and the inside is finished like a normal home, to your taste.  This one had 1 bedroom upstairs, office or bedroom downstairs, and in the center of the home was an awesome home theater that also doubled as the safe room for hurricanes and tornadoes.  It’s even a bomb shelter; can you imagine that?  I really liked these folks; they even had a food reserve, pool, beehives for honey, and a generator – my kind of people – prepared!

So off to the second dome in Orlando, near my home. This one was 26 feet in diameter, 3 bedroom, 1600 sq. ft. blown concrete (the other dome was 50 foot in diameter,) high impact glass – 145 mph glass, (good enough for me,) with a roll down steel storm door shutter.  The owner said his home is hurricane proof, tornado proof, bomb proof, and burglar proof. “No thugs getting in here,” he said.  I like that. 

 You can never be too safe or prepared can you?  Here’s something to think about – nothing is flood proof unless it’s above the flood! Like Noah’s Ark, but that’s another story.  Either way, both of these dome home owners were very proud to show their homes, and we thank them very much.  My comments are that these dome homes are the ultimate in preparedness homes with a whole home generator, one year food supply for every person in the home, water storage from water you collect from the round roof with a filtering system for drinking, bathing, lawn irrigation, and keeping the pool full. 

Let’s see, my idea of a dome home is four 50 ft. domes in a square connected by four tunnels with one for bedrooms, one for kitchen and family rooms, one for home theater and living rooms, and one for a garage and work shop, with the center area for a pool, outdoor kitchen, and what have you.  I am sure you get the picture – sounds like prepared fun to me!  Hey, any dome builders ready to step up and build my dream dome home so I can report what it’s really like to live in a dome home?  I’m not kidding. 

The Largest Earthquake Drill in U.S. History

Hi Folks! Mr. Prepared here.  

I just found out that California is planning the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history. That’s right –  on Nov. 13th at 10am.  4 million people already signed up to participate!  They say the big one’s coming some day, so let’s get prepared. With that said, if you live in California, you might want to check out www.shakeout.org  for more info and www.mrprepared.com for supplies you might need.  Don’t wait – it might be to late.

Remember, be smart, be safe, be prepared.  

This is Mr. Prepared, bringing awareness to preparedness.

Consider Getting Out Of Town

Hi folks, Mr. Prepared here.  The next time there is a hurricane heading your way, you just might consider getting out of town. When hurricane Ike hit Texas in September, a lot of people decided not to leave.  Why?  I don’t know.  Maybe they couldn’t afford to, but here’s what happened to some – they were bussed to a vacant building, 1600 hundred people all in one old empty building with very few bathrooms, leaking roof, almost no privacy, tension was high, fights broke out, four people were arrested, one person was tasered (police like using that taser gun – but some people need it, they just don’t listen.) Many people claimed the building was unsanitary and the fear of crime and violence was constant.

 Folks, the point is that you need to be prepared.  I’m sure officials who converted the building to a shelter did the best they could with what they had in such little time. So try to save a little money for a rainy day (get it!) Save enough money to get out of town for a couple of days – gas, food, 72-hour survival kits, etc. You don’t have to go far, just get out of the way of the hurricane or you could end up in a shelter like those people did. Not me.  I see it as good reason to take a little vacation!

 Remember be smart, be safe, be prepared.  This is Mr. Prepared bringing awareness to preparedness. 

Hurricane Ike’s Record-Setting Run

Mr. Prepared Says Proper Preparation Saved Thousands!

Mr. Prepared here. There’s no question Hurricane Ike this past September was a monster. At one point, while it was still offshore, it became the most massive storm ever recorded in the Atlantic – 550 miles in diameter!

So I was right there pushing the panic button with all those other weather forecasters when I saw the giant swirling pattern on the satellite photos heading for Galveston, Texas. And I knew what those same forecasters meant when they said it was “certain death” for residents of that Texas island to not evacuate.

In my new online article, “Hurricane History Repeats Itself With Ike,” I write about how in 1900, a similar, even stronger storm hit Galveston in the worst weather tragedy ever to hit the U.S. Over 8000 people lost their lives – because forecasting then was so unsophisticated and hi-tech tools like satellite and radar…well, they didn’t exist!

And that’s the crucial difference today, I think. We’ve got everything we need to see what’s happening and to take the appropriate action to ensure our survival! No, we still can’t predict exactly what will happen with hurricanes – both Gustav and Ike this year were on track to be bigger storms than Katrina in 2005 – but we do know how to prepare for a hurricane.

Crucial aspects of emergency preparedness include having an evacuation plan in place, knowing how to contact family members and loved ones during a crisis and having a pre-set meeting place. And an incredibly important element is having enough emergency supplies on hand – first aid kids, food and water supplies, survival gear, flashlights, generators, weather radios, etc. – everything you could possibly need should the worst happen.

When outside help is in short supply, you want to be well-supplied with what will get you through a disaster. And that goes for earthquakes, floods, fires and tornadoes, not just hurricanes.

I hope you check out my article for an interesting look at how hurricane preparations have changed over the last century – and also feel free to check out my website at www.MrPrepared.com for all the latest news and tips on emergency preparedness. There’s lot of valuable free information there that I know you’ll find useful.

Until next time, be Smart! Be Safe! Be Prepared! This is Mr. Prepared, bringing Awareness to Preparedness!