I republish it here as I believe it can help in this current event.
Given the current Communist Chinese Party virus crisis, I re-post it here to help other Americans.
In the photo, you see Ron Asmus (l), Stuart Barrowcliffe (m) and Bruce Curley (me holding a gold solar airplane. I worked at the Solar Energy Research Institute in 1983.
In the photo, you see Ron Asmus (l), Stuart Barrowcliffe (m) and Bruce Curley (me holding a gold solar airplane. I worked at the Solar Energy Research Institute in 1983.
I was young and impressionable. I did not know then how the Left would use solar as a tool to control and manipulate Americans.)
I went to this party as everyone else. Thus the mirror. If we look at ourselves closely, we can come out of this better than we went in.
I went to this party as everyone else. Thus the mirror. If we look at ourselves closely, we can come out of this better than we went in.
God Bless Donald Trump and his family for all they have given and given and given to accomplish this miracle. Things did not go as well in 1918.
For a good podcast on the history of civil defense in the United States and especially children, listen to Civil Defense Radio here.
Social Media Can Reconnect Families when Disaster Strikes
Summary: This is an article on how to use social media to reconnect and communicate when disaster strikes.Introduction
Is there a worse feeling than being in an emergency and not being able to contact your loved ones?
Consider that feeling in your gut as you try
to instant message or call your children to know if they are okay, or to notify
them that you are okay.
As minutes pass and you cannot reach them,
ideas that you would have never entertained just moments before start to enter
your subconscious and rise to your conscious mind.
Be aware that in a catastrophic disaster, such
as an F5 tornado, every necessity and comfort you normally enjoy is gone. No
food. No water. No electricity. No shelter. No transportation. With power down,
you cannot even use your cell phone to find out if your family or friends are
safe or to notify them that you are safe.
The new reality is that everything you took
for granted just hours before no longer exists. And it is anyone’s guess as to
when everything will return to normal.
I know because I have been there.
The purpose of this article is to offer you
strategies and tools to avoid being in that situation and to cope with it if it
does happen to you and your loved ones.
During and after a disaster people reach out
to friends and family to find help securing food, water, shelter, medical care
and transportation. Social media tools
enable people to share this information immediately and effectively.
Social media is now vital to recovery efforts
after disasters, when infrastructure must be rebuilt and stress management is
critical. The extensive reach of social networks allows people who are
recovering from disasters to rapidly connect with needed resources. This
enables survivors to connect,
talk, and share recovery resources.
Especially in large-scale disasters, when
thousands are displaced from their homes and many have fled the disaster zone,
people use social media to contact family and friends, post photos, share
stories, and give and get help.
Social media, through the internet, search
engines, apps, instant messaging, social networking and photo shariing
websites, provide readily availble and efficient ways for family members to
keep in touch and impart critical disaster related information.
NOTE: All cell phones, apps, networks,
servers, computers, tablets, etc. depend on ELECTRICTY. Natural disaster often
disrupt the supply of electricty and therefore the ability to use this
technology. So, purchase external portable battery charging devices NOW.
Include a solar version so you can use the sun to recharge them if power is
out. Car battery jump starter devices now include three USB ports to charge
phones, tablets and computers.
Example: NEW Stanley J5c09 Jumpit Jump Starter.
Example: NEW Stanley J5c09 Jumpit Jump Starter.
Remember you only need one communication app
(your phone instant message app) and one essential search engine (StartPage for
example) and one backup. Master it. In the stress of a disaster, it is best to
stick to the basic apps you know and use.
Let’s examine a brief history of this technology
and capability.
Historical evidence of social media successfully reuniting families after a disaster
For all that is wrong with social media, the
flip side is that it can be a life-saver and a comfort when you can use it to stay
in touch with family members during and after contacting family members after a
disaster.
We can examine two examples of when this has
been proven historically.
One of the first times I became aware of
social media reconnecting families was after an E5 tornado struck Joplin, Missouri on May 11, 2011. (For a
complete discussion of this event, see https://poetslife.blogspot.com/2012/05/social-media-lessons-from-joplin.html
Posting on Facebook in the Newsfeed or by
Messenger and Twitter using tweets or Direct Message family members were able to
contact each other and state their status.
Hundreds of messages like this, “lookin for
scott morris, chris miller, stormy miller, and chris elseworth.
anyone that knows them from my Joplin friends needs to help me find them“
were posted by families and friends looking for loved ones.
Whereas in the past we relied on the
authorities to update us on survivors, now we can conduct those tasks using
social medeia. It is particularly good at rapidly sending such pleas for help and
locating familyl and friends via a wide audience.
And yes, pets are also part of families and
can be reunited with their families, as here: Photos of found pets from the
tornado: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?
How to Connect Your Family Using Social Media
Each family is unique and so is their social
media use. For disaster response and management, what is most important is not
the social media platform your family chooses, but that they know how to use it
when they need to use it.
Always include a few contacts who are out of
your area or state. In a disaster environment, your local lines my be jammed or
not working, but you can often reach someone out of your area. Also, due to the
strenght of how they are built, cell towers for 911 will often work when all
other lines do not.
Instant
messaging (Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, the one included with your cell
phone) can all use cell phones is particulary useful for immediate responses
during and immediately after a disaster. Skype enables a group chat.
At first LinkedIn may not appear to be that
useful, but it is for unique needs. For example, in many disasters mobility is
at a stand still until trees, debris and objects are removed from the roadway. How
does that? Skilled construction workers and tree removal experts. Where do you
find them when you need them?
Yes, you can use search engines, but LinkedIn
may be the better choice to find one who is not overwhelmed, busy, or not the
right one for you. LinkedIn will provide details on such critical service
contacts.
When my house burned down, we had great
difficulty finding a builder to do the job. And we were only one job. After a
disaster, it is often hard to find contractors as they have already committed
to other jobs. So using another nontraditional search engine such as LinkedIn
can help identify and hire skilled professionals to assist you.
Best Social Media Platforms for Disaster Communications
Probably the best social media and apps for
you to use during and after a disaster are the ones you currently use with your
family. You know them well, and in the heightened stress of a disaster you do
not need another thing to worry about.
Apps: You may
want to reseach other Apps that are out there that may be better for your need.
The best way is to enter a search term,
„Emergency apps, preparedness, disasters“ in a Google Play or the App
Store. You can then identify, dowload and test apps that may be best suited to
you.
Browsers: Download
and use less lused browsers like Brave and Firefox. Like most people, you use
Google, Bing, or Chrome but there are numerous social media platforms you can
use for disaster communications. By downloading and using multiple social media
platforms, you ensure you have more choices available during and after a
disaster.
Search Engines: DuckDuckGo,
DogPile, Gibiru, Search Encrypt, StartPage and other less known search engines
do not invade your privacy as much as Google and Bing. They do not keeps logs,
sell data, track you with cookies, and do notbring up similar ads to what you
search to buy. (No logs, no data selling, no tracking cookies0
Social Media Search Engines: Remember that social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and
LinkedIn are also search engines. They can be used to identify people, products
and services just like traditional search engines. Since Captain Scully landed
his plane on the Hudson River and it was on Twitter an hour before the New York
Media, Twitter has provided real-time information on disasters. Be cautious
with reawl time inrormaton, however, as it can be wrong.
Blogs: Many blogs
have excellent tips, procedures, and advice that is useful during and after a
disaster. Blogspot, Wordpress are just two. Do not overlook coroporate (https://blog.constellation.com/disaster-preparedness/)
or government blogs
(https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2018/04/10/when-disasters-hit-help-close-your-usda-service-center).
And as weather impacts EVERYTHING, follow meteorologist Mike Smith’s science-based
weather blog: http://www.mikesmithenterprisesblog.com/.
Podcasts: You can
listen to podcosts while driving your car or doing yard work. Use Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/) to find
disaster podcasts. Here are a few useful natural disaster podcasts: https://civildefenseradio.com/category/podcast/episode/,
https://player.fm/series/natural-disasters-2538998,
https://player.fm/series/disaster-podcast
Securing Social Media to Maintain Privacy
Be aware that hackers and other criminals are
always probing your social media devices (cell phones, computers, tablets, etc.)
to corrupt, steal and sell your data. You must also have a multi-layered
strategy to protect your data and privacy.
The most important step is to set your
settings under privacy to just your family and friends. Do not open up your
data to the whole worls by setting it to everyone.
Disaster Strikes - Implementing Your Social Media Connections
The key to implementing your social media
connections when a disaster strikes is to create, test, and use them BEFORE a
disaster strikes.
That sounds more simple than it is.
In this day of remarkable cell phones when you
download an app for every need, the ability to use both your cell phone and
it’s apps when disaster strikes is assumed.
But everything changes in a disaster
environment.
I know this because I have been through
disasters. And no disaster is worse than one that hits you and your family.
I have known the humiliation of standing in
front of my now burned down house as my burned wife was medivaced out on a
medical helicopter. I only realized that I was doing so in my underwear when a
neighbor said, Do you want a pair of my pants.“
When I asked why he replied, Look down.“
Only then did I realize I didn’t even have a
pair of pants on after I fled our house fire after I got my wife and sons out.
(For more information see https://tacda.org/journal/journal-of-civil-defense-2014-vol-47-no-2-treating-infection-without-a-doctor/)
Don’t be like me standing there with no
clothes on wondering if you wife will recover and where your kids will eat and
sleep next. Take the simple and easy measures now to ensure that such a fate is
not in your future. Here are a few steps that may help.
Simple and Easy Measures to Take
First, do you have electric power? Do you have
sufficient power to transmit your message, data, photos and other communication?
Every device you have will power down quickly when not recharged. Therefore, you
must have the ability to change your devices off the usual grid.
The following warning from a Joplin tornado
survivor applies to the aftermath of all disasters.“After recently going
through this, please be careful where you donate money. Unfortunately, there are
many who are not honest and will take advantage of this tragedy.“
Grifters, criminals, and quick buck artists
know that social media donation solicitations are unregulated. Vet and be
certain of anyone or organization that is arasing money after any disaster.
In contrast, multiple legitimate organizations
will solicit over social media to raise relief funds and to organize
volunteers. Here is one such example from Joplin. “You can sign up as a
volunteer on www.211missoure.org
(United Way).”
Avoid the grifters and support the honest
recovery caregivers on social media.
Accessing Social Media Sites During Disaster when no Cell phones Work
Ideally, you always have an Internet connection. Unfortunately, that is not the reality in during of after a disaster.
There are other places
where you can get a connection when you don’t have a connection at home. There
are many locations where you can access an Internet connection, especially now
that so much of that connection has shifted to cell phones and tablets.
Basically, wherever you
can access a WiFi connection you can access social media. Here are a few places
where you can access the Internet via a WiFi connection:
·
Your car
·
Coffee Shop
·
Library
·
Church
·
Work
·
Gyms
·
Stores
·
Shopping Centers
·
Community Centers
·
Government Buildings
To access social media websites, out of area
contacts are critical. When family members are unable to contact each other who
are geographically close to each other but the power is down are oftentimes
able to contact relatives far away. These relatives, because they have power,
can oftentimes contact other family members even when family members who are
nearby cannot.
Conclusion
Most people by now are familiar with how to
use social media.
However, they do not understand how dramatically social media
access and use can change during and after a disaster. As with any area in
life, forewarned is forearmed.
In a disaster, everything changes. Events
unfold at a pace you cannot imagine. Hyperstress hits and decisions that were
easy a few minutes ago are very difficult to make.
Where just an hour ago you
knew what to do, now you may not have any of the information you need to help
you decide what to do..
Social media has made our world easier but it
creates it’s own set of issues. For example, in any disaster, rumors run
rampant. And yet you have to act based on little or no data or facts and you
may only have rumors.
To help prepare to handle the disruptions
disasters cause, take care to have your social media platforms, apps, and
devices in place, up to date (latest patches, software, operating system),
tested and ready. The suggestions above are at least a start.
Social media awareness may save your dignity,
your life, your possessions and of your loved ones during and after a disaster.
Start now to make that possible.
