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DHS and FEMA
Updates

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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.

DHS -FEMA Updates

Be heard…Email comments or suggestions to us at cert@dhs.gov

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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.


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Food Safety Before and After Disasters

Power outages can jeopardize the safety of the food stored in your home refrigerator or freezer. If you lose electricity, do you know how to determine if your food is safe to eat? The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers tips to follow before and after a power outage to minimize loss of food and lower the risk of foodborne illness:

  • Gather an emergency food supply of shelf-stable food, boxed or canned milk, bottled water, and canned goods;
  • Have coolers and frozen gel packs on hand to keep refrigerated food cold if the power goes out longer than four hours;
  • Buy an appliance thermometer for the refrigerator and freezer and a food thermometer to help you know if the food has stayed at a safe temperature during an outage;
  • Throw out any perishable food items such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers that have been exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for more than two hours;
  • Use a food thermometer to test the temperature of food – never taste it!  You can't rely on appearance and odor to determine whether food is safe; and
  • Discard any items in the refrigerator that have come into contact with raw meat juices.

Keep in mind that your refrigerator will keep food cold safely for about four hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed.

Did you know that a flood or fire can also impact the safety of food in your home? Be sure to check out the FAQs on the USDA website about keeping food safe after these emergencies.


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Preparedness for People with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs

This year marks the 26th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act  (ADA). Signed into law in 1990 by President George HW Bush, the ADA prohibits discrimination and mandates equal opportunities for people with disabilities in employment, state, and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunication.

If you or someone you know has a disability or access or functional needs , be sure to take additional steps to stay safe, healthy, mobile, and independent during a disaster.

Find out about assistance programs that may be available in your community and register in advance with your local office of emergency services, non-profit groups, and health departments.

Stay mobile and independent by including items in your disaster supply kit that meet your needs such as:

  • Extra eyeglasses and hearing aids;
  • Medical prescriptions;
  • Batteries and chargers for assistance devices; and
  • Written descriptions of service needs.

Looking for more ways to plan for people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs? Check out this video from the Ready Campaign and the Ad Council. The video is for all communities and shows people with disabilities taking charge to prepare themselves and their families for emergencies. The video provides equal access and includes open captioning, a certified deaf interpreter , and audio description for viewers who are blind or have low vision.

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Dates for Your Calendar


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Disclaimer: The reader recognizes that the federal government provides links and informational data on various disaster preparedness resources and events and does not endorse any non-federal events, entities, organizations, services or products. Please let us know about other events and services for individual and community preparedness that could be included in future newsletters by contacting: citizencorps@dhs.gov

About FEMA

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate's activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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