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Happy New Year
We just received this New Year’s greeting from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Region 4 – which serves eight states in the Southeast, including the Carolinas. Now is a great time to think about preparedness and this includes some great tips, so we decided to share it here.
If you want to learn more about individual or congregational disaster preparedness and response, we invite you to join us for our book study on A Ready Hope. We meet on Zoom Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm through February 6. Click here to register! A free copy of the book is available to congregations in NC & SC that participate in the study.
This year resolve to be prepared, here are some resolutions that we can all make to be better prepared.
- Make an emergency plan: choose a safe place to meet, learn evacuation routes, and establish an out-of-town contact.
- If you have a pet, make sure you have a photo of you and your pet together in case you get separated during a disaster.
- Get to know your neighbor and invite them to be a part of your emergency plan.
- Snap photos of important documents and save them in a secure place or online.
- Set up group text lists so you can communicate with friends and family during emergencies.
- Take a class in CPR and first aid.
- Keep and update emergency supplies; remember to include cash.
- Have back-up power sources available to charge devices in case of a power outage.
- Snap pictures of your property for insurance purposes.
- Check your insurance for coverage on disasters like floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes.
- Sign up for alerts and warnings. Download the FEMA App to get real-time alerts, safety tips, and locate open shelters.
- Remember, you don’t need to spend money to start disaster preparedness planning, Visit the low and no cost tips page on Ready.gov for additional information on how to get started.
Winter Holiday Safety Tips
Winter is upon us, as anyone can tell who has poked their nose outside this morning (our low temp was 25 degrees). There is also snow in the mountains for the second time, and while the east coast has had plenty of weather that other times of the year might seem tropical, the temperatures that followed were anything but tropical.
Winter weather preparedness in the Carolinas takes on many forms – from cold weather and snow to ice storms and even nor’easters that bring all of the above along with a tornado or two. How do you prepare? Well, take what you started for hurricane season and adapt. Add some cold weather options. Close up your house with plastic instead of plywood. Add a little TLC for your cars to make sure they start and take time to find your ice scraper! Ready.gov offers these tips for winter weather safety.
Winter also brings holidays in which we all add lights both inside and outside our homes. These also come with safety concerns. Too many lights in one socket can trip breakers or blow fuses, and extension cords became hazards – both for tripping and, if they are not in good condition, a fire hazard. State Farm offers these holiday safety tips, and the Electrical Safety Foundation offers these tips.
No matter what the weather, or the holidays, preparedness for the unexpected should always be high on our priority list – whether it is a blanket in the car in case we get stranded, or buying everyone an ice scraper for their stocking, or sharing our travel plans with friends and family. We hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday season.
LDR Carolinas
Are You Ready for Winter?
Whether we like it or not, winter is coming. We may not get weather like the photo above, but we have already had some cold, frosty weather and there will be plenty more to come.
Winter Weather Preparedness Week is November 26 to December 2, 2023 in South Carolina, and December 3 to December 9, 2023 in North Carolina. Watch your local National Weather Service Facebook pages to see tips during this time.
What is so different about winter weather? For one thing, it always comes as a surprise to those of us in the south! We tend to think of it as something that “happens up north.” The reality is that we get our share of winter weather including snow, ice storms, and polar vortex extreme cold. Many of our homes are not well insulated against cold and we are just not used to it.
The South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD) has good tips on their website and a downloadable Severe Winter Weather preparedness guide which you can find here. Begin with things like carrying some warm clothes in your car along with a shovel and some rock salt. Winterize your home, check your generator, and brush up on safety tips. Many of the items from your basic emergency preparedness kit are still the staples, but heat sources are also important.
The North Carolina Emergency Management Division (DPS) Winter Weather page can be found here. Many of the preparedness tips are the same, but more warnings are included about using emergency power and heat sources. These create carbon monoxide which can kill without you even being aware of its presence. Read and follow the safety warnings!
Follow your local National Weather Service (NWS) on the radio, on Facebook, and other platforms for up-to-date weather information and preparations tips. Their website includes information on winter travel safety, dressing for cold weather, and signs of hypothermia here.
These resources will all help you stay warm and safe through the winter!