Celebrating National Night Out #AltusOK #OKready #OKstrong

Are you ready for National Night Out? On August 2, 2016, join this annual campaign promoting police-community partnerships and camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer. Building safer neighborhoods also includes preparing those communities for disaster. Celebrate National Night Out by volunteering with your local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT),Citizen Corps, or its partner programs. Through these organizations, you can learn about opportunities to help support first responders during emergencies. There are Citizen Corps partner programs to fit a variety of interests, including Medical Reserve Corps; Neighborhood Watch & Volunteers in Police Service; Civil Air Patrol; and Veterans Active in Citizen Corps.  For a full list of programs, and to learn more, visit ready.gov/volunteer. Then, enter your zip code to find local programs in your area today!

August Climate Data for #AltusOK from @OKmesonet

Shown as August 2016
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Periods of Record Temps #1903-2010 Precip #1903-2012 Snow #1903-2012 # - large gaps in record	1 T Avgs: 98/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 13% Extremes: High T 108* (1966) Low T 58* (1925) Precip 1.27 (1977)	2 T Avgs: 98/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 9% Extremes: High T 114 (1944) Low T 55 (1936) Precip 3.74 (1995)	3 T Avgs: 98/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 9% Extremes: High T 118 (1943) Low T 60* (1936) Precip 1.89 (1993)	4 T Avgs: 98/71 Sig Prcp Freq: 13% Extremes: High T 116 (1943) Low T 61* (1915) Precip 1.20 (1925)	5 T Avgs: 98/71 Sig Prcp Freq: 5% Extremes: High T 112 (1962) Low T 58 (1948) Precip 1.57 (1920)	6 T Avgs: 99/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 9% Extremes: High T 112 (1962) Low T 58 (1936) Precip 1.24 (1942)
7 T Avgs: 98/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 12% Extremes: High T 110* (1962) Low T 60 (1997) Precip 1.63 (1966)	8 T Avgs: 98/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 14% Extremes: High T 110 (1962) Low T 54 (1989) Precip 0.98 (1942)	9 T Avgs: 97/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 11% Extremes: High T 112 (1943) Low T 56 (1989) Precip 2.42 (1972)	10 T Avgs: 97/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 16% Extremes: High T 115 (1936) Low T 62* (1974) Precip 3.22 (1974)	11 T Avgs: 96/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 12% Extremes: High T 116 (1936) Low T 60 (1915) Precip 2.47 (1997)	12 T Avgs: 96/69 Sig Prcp Freq: 15% Extremes: High T 120 (1936) Low T 56 (1979) Precip 1.26 (1924)	13 T Avgs: 97/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 7% Extremes: High T 115 (1936) Low T 54 (1967) Precip 3.31 (1968)
14 T Avgs: 96/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 12% Extremes: High T 110 (1930) Low T 58 (2002) Precip 1.04 (1926)	15 T Avgs: 96/69 Sig Prcp Freq: 17% Extremes: High T 110 (1952) Low T 58 (1992) Precip 2.70 (1926)	16 T Avgs: 96/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 10% Extremes: High T 110 (1943) Low T 57* (1992) Precip 0.72 (1996)	17 T Avgs: 96/70 Sig Prcp Freq: 16% Extremes: High T 108 (1951) Low T 59 (1948) Precip 1.73 (1944)	18 T Avgs: 96/69 Sig Prcp Freq: 19% Extremes: High T 109 (1945) Low T 55 (1943) Precip 2.08 (1920)	19 T Avgs: 95/69 Sig Prcp Freq: 15% Extremes: High T 108 (1930) Low T 58 (1948) Precip 3.75 (1990)	20 T Avgs: 96/69 Sig Prcp Freq: 10% Extremes: High T 108 (1943) Low T 55 (1992) Precip 1.55 (1937)
21 T Avgs: 96/68 Sig Prcp Freq: 12% Extremes: High T 108 (1984) Low T 55 (1956) Precip 0.92 (1941)	22 T Avgs: 95/68 Sig Prcp Freq: 13% Extremes: High T 108 (1930) Low T 58 (1956) Precip 1.47 (1923)	23 T Avgs: 95/68 Sig Prcp Freq: 9% Extremes: High T 110 (1936) Low T 56* (1920) Precip 0.98 (1937)	24 T Avgs: 95/68 Sig Prcp Freq: 12% Extremes: High T 110 (1936) Low T 54* (1961) Precip 2.30 (1966)	25 T Avgs: 95/68 Sig Prcp Freq: 6% Extremes: High T 110 (1936) Low T 53 (1945) Precip 0.56 (1996)	26 T Avgs: 95/67 Sig Prcp Freq: 14% Extremes: High T 107* (1943) Low T 54* (1928) Precip 3.50 (1992)	27 T Avgs: 94/68 Sig Prcp Freq: 15% Extremes: High T 108* (1943) Low T 55 (1962) Precip 4.44 (1979)
28 T Avgs: 94/67 Sig Prcp Freq: 17% Extremes: High T 106 (1982) Low T 56 (1992) Precip 1.38 (1914)	29 T Avgs: 93/67 Sig Prcp Freq: 16% Extremes: High T 109 (1943) Low T 50 (1917) Precip 1.63 (1960)	30 T Avgs: 94/67 Sig Prcp Freq: 13% Extremes: High T 108 (1943) Low T 51* (1915) Precip 1.84 (1924)	31 T Avgs: 93/67 Sig Prcp Freq: 12% Extremes: High T 108 (1952) Low T 49 (1915) Precip 2.40 (1986)	Key * - Record since tied Highlight = Aug record All Temps in deg F All Precip in inches Sig Prcp Freq = Pct of days with >= 0.1" precip	Aug. Averages High Temp 97 F Low Temp 70 F Avg Temp 83 F Precip 2.48" Snow 0.0"

How Does #AltusAFB support #AltusOK #OKready

Defense Department Seeks Preparedness Partnerships

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) hosted a week-long workshop on ways it can work with local, state, and federal governments to provide assistance for emergencies.

“The Department of Defense brings capabilities that no other federal agency has, and it’s important for us to be able to work together, so that we can link capability to need,” said Deanne Criswell, director of operational coordination at FEMA.

DoD officials led discussions on best practices and how to identify areas of improvement, while stressing the importance of DoD in building relationships within the disaster relief community.

For more information, check out the article “Defense Support of Civil Authorities Stressed at EPLO Workshop.”

National Parents Day is July 24 #AltusOK #OKready #PrepareAthon

Family Preparedness

Have you heard?  National Parents’ Day is July 24. In observance of this occasion, we encourage you to take specific actions to prepare your family for emergencies. America’s PrepareAthon! and the Ready Campaign highlight several ways you can prepare for the unexpected. Some of these actions include:  Creating a family emergency communication plan. Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it’s important to plan  ahead about how you will connect with each other; Building a disaster supply kit.  A disaster supply kit is simply a collection of basic items your household may need in the event of an emergency. You may need to survive on your own after a disaster. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least 72 hours. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours or it might take days; and Practicing your emergency response plan. Making emergency plans is great, but practicing your plan by conducting drills will help your family’s response time when seconds count.  Disasters can be stressful for kids. Try to make emergency planning fun for children in your family! Visit ready.gov/kids for exciting games, quizzes, and other resources to help young children and teens understand the importance of being prepared.    Disasters also impact older adults. Visit ready.gov/seniors to learn more about preparing older Americans for the unexpected.

Finding Shelter After a Disaster #AltusOK @RedCross

Emergencies can abruptly change your living and sleeping situation.

You may be in need of temporary living quarters. To find a local shelter near you, text SHELTER and your zip code to 43362 (4FEMA) on your mobile phone.

The American Red Cross and other voluntary, faith-based, and community-based organizations provide inclusive shelters in cases of emergency evacuations.

The shelters are free of charge and provide meals, essential relief supplies, emotional support, and health services like first aid. When planning for possible evacuation, also:  

• Create a pet emergency plan, as many public emergency shelters don't permit pets in their facilities for health and space reasons. However, shelters are required by law to accept service animals.
• Have an emergency supply kit with essential items for each member of your family with or without disabilities and your pets or service animal that can be ready to go if you need to leave home and seek refuge in a shelter.
• Plan ahead for transportation that you may need for evacuation. Work with local services, public transportation, or paratransit to identify local or private accessible transportation options.

For information on emergency immediate needs – including shelter – check the Disaster Assistance Improvement Program’s website. You can also find more information about emergency preparedness, including evacuation, for people with disabilities. 

Preparing Your Business for Emergencies #OKready #Open4Business

There are many ways business owners can prepare their organizations for emergencies. The Ready Campaign can assist entrepreneurs in developing a preparedness program by providing tools to create a plan that addresses the impact of many hazards. The five steps in developing a preparedness program are Program Management, Planning,Implementation, Testing and Exercises, and Program Improvement. For example, your business’ program management plan should include short and long-term objectives that protect the safety of employees, visitors, contractors and others at risk from hazards at the facility. The objectives of a preparedness program include:   Establish a program committee that includes wide participation from your company; Conduct a business impact analysis to identify the operational and financial impacts from an interruption or disruption of your business; Protect the safety of your employees by developing evacuation, sheltering and lockdown plans. Conduct employee training and drills; Upgrade the protection of the facility by installing a fire sprinkler system; and Build a culture of preparedness in the workplace and encourage employees to have a plan at home. Visit ready.gov/business for more information on how you can prepare your business for an emergency. You can also check out the Prepare Your Organization playbooks from America’s PrepareAthon! Find a playbook for each of the campaign’s featured hazards on page 2 when you click on the link.

The FEMA App Can Help You Stay Safe #AltusOK #OKready

The FEMA app can help Americans through emergencies. The app provides a customizable checklist of emergency supplies, maps of open shelters and Disaster Recovery Centers, and tips on how to survive natural and manmade disasters. The app also will enable users to receive weather alerts from the National Weather Service for up to five locations across the nation. This feature allows users to receive alerts on severe weather happening anywhere they select in the country, even if the phone is not located in the area, making it easy to follow severe weather that may be threatening family and friends. The FEMA app also offers a “Disaster Reporter” feature, where users can upload and share photos of disaster damage. The latest version of the FEMA app is available for free in the App Store for Apple devices and Google Play for Android devices. Download the app today! Users who already have the app downloaded on their smartphones should download the latest update for the new alerts feature to take effect. Information on the app is available in English and Spanish.