Disaster Preparedness Tips

For Families:

• Make sure your family has a plan in case of an emergency. Before an emergency happens, sit down together and decide how you will get in contact with each other, where you will go and what you will do in an emergency.


• Determine a neighborhood meeting place, a regional meeting place and an evacuation location.

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HAILSTORMS: What to Do Before, During & After

Hail might seem like a minor concern but it can shatter windows, leave pockmarks in siding and most importantly destroy or damage roof coverings. Here are some helpful hints to protect your home.

Before 

- If you need to re-roof select an impact-resistant roof covering. These products have passed the UL2218 impact test with a rating of Class 1 through 4. Class 4 (most resistant) has proven to be highly effective in hailstorms.

 

- Make sure your roof covering is impact-resistant. Do not rely on building codes or regulations to protect you. Look for the UL2218 label on the package and literature confirming the product has passed this test.

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Hurricane Preparedness Week May 23rd - 29th, 2010

How to prepare well before a hurricane hits 

Most people do not think of preparing for a hurricane until the threat is imminent. Preseason hurricane preparedness focuses on tasks that one would usually not have the time to complete once a hurricane is forecast to impact a community. These types of jobs may take days or longer to be properly prepared. Knowing how to be prepared for severe tropical weather first focuses on taking an inventory on which issues would impact your property and family. Once the inventory is taken, the items then should be prioritized as to the potential negative impact it could cause if not rectified. 

What to prepare for... 

Before knowing how to prepare for a hurricane, one needs to know what to prepare for. A hurricane brings a number of threats: high winds, storm surge, tornadoes, and flooding.

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Tornado Survival Skills

Tornado Survival Skills

Familiarize yourself with the terms that are used to identify a tornado hazard.

A tornado watch means a tornado is possible in your area. You should monitor NOAA Weather Radio (www.weather.gov/nwr), local radio and television news outlets for the latest developments.

A tornado warning comes when a tornado is actually occurring. Take shelter immediately.
Determine in advance where you will take shelter in case of a tornado warning.
Storm cellars or basements provide the best protection.

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STORM TRIVIA

1. The Fujita scale measures the strength of what?

A. Hurricanes
B. Tornadoes
C. Wind

The answer is B. Tornadoes.

2. TRUE OR FALSE: A severe thunderstorm is the same as any other storm.

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Planning For Pet Disaster Needs

Today much emphasis is put on planning ahead for disasters. Many families now have disaster supply kits, escape plans and emergency contacts prepared in case of an emergency. But what about the furry members of our families (or feathered or scaley in some cases)? Do you know what you would do with your pet if a disaster struck your area?

Here are some helpful tips from FEMA...

Identify Shelter:

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Prepare for Tornado Season

Tornado season is officially here! It hasn't started out with a bang like last year, but it's still very important to plan ahead to protect your homes and families.

Here are some facts about storms...

They may occur singly, in clusters, or in lines.

Some of the most severe occur when a single thunderstorm affects one location for an extended time.

Thunderstorms typically produce heavy rain for a brief period, anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

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Do you I.C.E.?

When there's an emergency often EMS responders don't know who to contact. A movement that started in England has caught on in the US. It turns your cellphone into a way for EMS or hospital personnel to contact your next of kin, doctor, etc. in a case of emergency if you were unconscious or unable to respond. Here's the idea: You list all of your emergency contacts under "ICE" in your cell phone (acronym for In Case of Emergency). You can list ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, etc to list multiple contacts. Or you could do ICE-wife, ICE-doctor, etc. It's good to put a small sticker on your phone with "I.C.E." on it. 75% of people don't carry any emergency contacts. And a driver's license just doesn't provide enough information. ICE should NOT replace a card that you carry in your wallet or purse with emergency contact numbers, medical conditions, current medications, dangerous allergies, etc. I'm going to ask Summer, our graphics expert, if she will make up a card for all of our Champion personnel that they can fill out and we can laminate and keep with us. Or you can go to medids.com and fill out a form on your computer that you can carry with you and put one on your refrigerator at home. Believe it or not, that's where firemen and other EMS personnel look for contact information! But it will be up to you to "ICE"!

Larry Banach - Construction Department Manager

Before you leave for vacation

When you leave your home for an extended period of time no matter what time of year it is, turn off the main supply line of water to your home. If you dont, you may come back and everything will be just as you left it. But there is a chance that you can have a water line in your house break and your "vacation" as you knew it will be ruined because your home will have water damage and in these cases... a very big water damage. Its good for us but bad for you! Please do keep champion in mind if you do have a water damage. Our expertise knowledge of structural drying and the genuine care for your home will allow us to do the best job possible of restoring your home to normal.

Thomas Stuart - Mitigation Crew

Fire Extinguisher Safety

Being prepared and able to fight small fires can prevent massive fire damage and save you the need for fire and smoke restoration services.

Before considering fighting any fire there are a few things that you should know.

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