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This Citizen Corps News Digest is provided by FEMA's Individual & Community Preparedness Division to highlight community preparedness and resilience resources and activities recently announced by federal agencies and Citizen Corps partners. |
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DHS -FEMA Updates
Be heard…Email comments or suggestions to us at cert@dhs.gov
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If You Can't Take the Heat, Get to a Cooling Center
Are the “dog days of summer” burning you up?
On unusually hot summer days, cooling centers are a place where you and your family can go to cool off. Anyone can use cooling centers, especially those at risk of getting a heat-related illness including infants and children, seniors, people with medical conditions and the disabled.
Communities across the country open cooling centers to help beat the heat. The centers are often located in public buildings such as libraries, gyms and community centers.
The cooling center may have couches and chairs for relaxation, as well as games and other entertainment to keep people busy while they cool down. Some communities may create mobile cooling centers for those who live in remote areas by using trailers.
Use your local 2-1-1 service to find a cooling center near you and remember to follow these extreme heat safety tips .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Water, Water Everywhere
Rising summer temperatures typically means increased water use. Whether you're outside soaking up the sun or inside cooling off from it, water conservation is important for the environment and allows people to be prepared in case of a drought. It can also save money!
Water is one of the world's most precious resources. While the Earth's surface is made up of 70 percent water, only 1 percent is available for human use.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency , about 400 billion gallons of water is used in the United States each day. Water conservation means using less water or recycling used water so it can be used again and involves making behavioral changes.
Water conservation tips:
- Check faucets, toilets and pipes for leaks . Household leaks waste 11,000 gallons of water each year.
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth . There is no need to keep the water running after wetting your toothbrush.
- Put a full load in your dishwasher or washing machine . Adjust washing machine water levels to match the size of the load.
- Take shorter showers . A four-minute shower uses about 20 - 40 gallons of water.
- Install water-saving shower heads and low-flow faucet aerators . Low-flow uses less than 2.5 gallons per minute.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inside the Mobile Toolbox: For Outdoor Workers
Outdoor workers are particularly vulnerable in extreme summer heat. Any worker doing heavy work tasks or wearing bulky protective clothing is at risk of heat illness. Occupations most affected include construction, transportation and maintenance.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed a free Heat Safety Tool smartphone app to calculate the heat index and display risk of heat exhaustion. The app also gives precaution reminders about drinking enough fluids, taking rest breaks and what to do in an emergency. The Heat Safety Tool is available for iPhone and Android users.
To raise awareness about the dangers of working in hot weather, OSHA started a nationwide Heat Illness Prevention Campaign. For more information about the ongoing campaign, click here .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FEMA Announces Continuing Training Grant Funding
On July 24, 2013, FEMA released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the Continuing Training Grant (CTG) program totaling more than $7.8 million. The CTG will help strengthen national preparedness and provide specialized training to help first responders, homeland security/emergency management officials and citizens prepare for all types of disasters.
The grants will be awarded to:
- State and local entities;
- Non-profit national associations and organizations;
- Non-profit higher education institutions; and
- Non-profits.
Applications for the FY 2013 CTG program FOA can be found at www.grants.gov and must be submitted by August 16, 2013.
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