Earthquake Safety Tips offered #AltusOK #OKquake

Stay Safe During Earthquakes

Earthquakes can occur anywhere, at any time and with little warning. Larger earthquakes can cause death, injury, and extensive property damage. Most injuries occur when people trip or fall running away during the earthquake.Stay safe during an earthquake by following these steps: 

• DROP down onto your hands and knees so you aren't knocked down by the earthquake; 
• COVER your head and neck with your arms to protect yourself from falling debris. If you are in danger from falling objects, move to a safer place by crawling; and 
• HOLD ON to any sturdy covering so you can move with it until the shaking stops. 

Earthquakes aren't preventable, but personal injury can be! Learn more about earthquake safety in the How to Prepare for an Earthquake guide andanimated video from America's PrepareAthon! You can also view hashtag #DropCoverHoldOn to see the earthquake preparedness conversation from @ShakeOut during their Twitter chat held on August 12, 2015.  This Twitter chat is part of a 7-week series of dialogues promoting Earthquake Country Alliance’s Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety.  

There are just two more Twitter chats left in the series! Be sure to join @ShakeOut at 11 AM PT/ 2 PM ET for the following conversations:

• August 19: Improve Safety
• August 26: Reconnect And Restore

College Campus Safety #AltusOK @westernokstate

Summer break is almost over and many students are preparing to head back to campus for another school year.  Before you or your student enters their new college home, it's important that both on- and off-campus students know their fire risk and how to prevent fire emergencies.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), university housing fires occur most frequently in the late summer and fall, and more than 80 percent of campus fire fatalities occur in off-campus housing. Cooking, candles, and overloaded power strips are some of the specific causes for fires in on- and off-campus housing.

Help yourself or your student stay fire safe this school year by encouraging them to follow these USFA tips:

• Cook only where it is allowed;
• Never leave a burning candle unattended;
• Do not overload outlets; and
• Only use surge protectors or power strips that have internal overload protection.

Get in the know about campus fire safety by downloading this wall poster from USFA.

ABCs of School Emergency Planning #AltusOK #OKready

It’s September once again and that means children across the country are heading back to school!  Do you know the emergency plan at your child's school? What about the steps the school will take to share pertinent information with you? As a parent, it’s important to understand what will happen after a natural disaster or emergency at your child’s school.

Here are the ABC’s of what you should know about a school’s Emergency Operations Plan (EOP):

A.    Always ensure your school has up-to-date evacuation plans, emergency kits and contact sheets. Ensure your school’s nurse has your child’s medical information and medications on hand. Ask your child’s teacher to walk you through their evacuation plan and show you their emergency kits.

B.     Be Prepared. Provide your school with your cell phone number, work phone number, and contact information for your relatives. If your child is old enough to carry a cell phone, make sure they know how to text you or a designated contact in case of an emergency. Also, be prepared to have aconversation with your child about emergencies and hazards.

C.     Coordinate with your child’s teachers and school officials to set a plan in place if there is not one. Guide them to Ready.gov for more resources and encourage the school to perform school wide drills and exercises as part of America’s PrepareAthon!

These ABCs, tools and resources are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your child’s at-school safety. For more information on how to get started visit http://www.ready.gov/school-emergency-plans.