Category: natural disasters

On the Track: How Games Can Help Make Us Disaster Ready

Train Tracks

By Jenny Gottstein Last August, I embarked on a cross-country train trip to explore  how games might be used for disaster preparedness. In each city I met with first responders, Red Cross chapters, disaster management agencies, and community leaders. The goal was to identify ways to increase resilience through interactive games. The trip was fascinating, and Read More >

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Multi-Language Emergency Warnings in Minnesota

ECHO Meeting attendees

By: Lillian McDonald Tech savviness is a hallmark of the millennial generation. They are the first generation to replace landlines, crayons and typewriters with smartphones, laptops, and tablets. They have phased out the communication, education, and work processes of the baby boomer generation in favor of faster more technologically advanced solutions. There is no doubt Read More >

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After the Storm: Pets and Preparedness

Kathleen Fessman did not anticipate the degree of damage that Hurricane Sandy would cause her Rockaway, New York home. She stayed in her house during the storm watching as her basement flooded, knocking over the gas tanks she had stored there. For nearly a week after the storm, Kathleen remained in her damaged home, not knowing Read More >

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A Prepared Caregiver

Photo of older hands holding younger hands.

Back in 2007, Annie and her siblings began seeing early signs of Alzheimer’s Disease in their mother. Annie’s mother, Margaret was 79 years old and had begun to become confused and get lost while driving. Annie no longer felt she should be left alone to take care of herself. She decided it would be best Read More >

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Emergency Planning for All Abilities

Photo of a Push to Open button on a door for accessibility.

By Georgina Peacock Nickole Cheron was stuck in her home for eight days after a rare winter storm buried Portland, Oregon, under more than a foot of snow in 2008. Fortunately for Nickole, whose muscles are too weak to support her body, she signed up for “Ready Now!,” an emergency preparedness training program developed through Read More >

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Children Are Not Little Adults

Kids listening to a story

By Steven E. Krug, MD, FAAP Imagine it. An earthquake shakes a California community, waking people whose homes have caught fire; responders must treat multiple children whose brief inhalation of smoke has rendered severe airway injuries. Or imagine a tornado rips through a town during the school day, and dozens of children need medical attention, Read More >

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