Community-Based Preparedness

BBC News- Last Saturday morning, Hawaii residents received an alert warning of an incoming ballistic missile. The alert, sent to mobile devices and broadcasted on TV and radio shows, stated in capital letters, “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is…

This CNBC News video describes this flu season as possibly one of the worst in history. This year’s main flu strain is known as the H3N2 virus, and it is widespread now in 46 states. Watch the video here.

According to an NBC News article, New York City is increasing its New Year’s Eve security this year. There will be 12 entrances, through which an estimated 2 million visitors are expected to come. Onlookers will have to go through bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors, and wand searches before…

Ventura County is being ravaged by the now 45,500 acre creek fire. The fire is larger than all of Washington DC and continues to burn to the west and to the south. For the full article by the LA Times click here.  Here is a full list of mandatory evacuation neighborhoods from The Mercury News:…

CBS News Clip: Even though the terms “cold” and “flu” are often used interchangeably, they are quite different. Colds occur more gradually and include a sore throat, sneezing, and a cough, while the flu comes on quickly and includes fever, body aches, and fatigue. In other words generally colds…

As reported by Richard Pérez-Peña and Thomas Fuller in the New York Times, terror struck in Rancho Tehama area of Northern California as gunman went on a shooting rampage at an elementary school and around the community on Tuesday. Four were killed, and ten or more were wounded in the attack…

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting vaccinated to stop the spread of measles. Not getting vaccinated by choice puts those who are biologically unable to get vaccinated at high risk. Watch here to learn more.

The 8th annual Pacific Resilience Disaster Response Exercise and Exchange sponsored by the Bangladesh Armed Forces Division, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and U.S. Pacific Command concluded this weekend.  The mission of the five-day exercise focused on disaster response in…

 A firefighter carries a bundle of radios Friday morning at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in California. (Stuart Palley/For The Washington Post) Lake County, the sole California county to effectively send out emergency cellular alerts to its residents, had zero fatalities from wildfire. While…

Although Hepatitis A vaccines have been highly recommended since 1999, California is seeing an outbreak of Hepatitis A in at risk communities. Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency- allowing health officials to purchase vaccines directly from manufacturers. The only problem is…

Authror: Jessica Stillman

New York Times