*This week is Emergency Preparedness Week. All week long we will be sharing stories and tips about how you and your family can prepare for any potential disasters where you live *
iPhone apps are available to assist you with your emergency preparedness.
Earthquake and tsunami in Japan, terrible tornadoes in the Southern US, massive flooding in Western Canada – it seems like everyday lately we hear about another natural disaster in the world when we turn on the news.
We can’t control or predict when or where a disaster is going to strike, but we can do something about protecting ourselves by being prepared. And as we recently read in a Mashable article, technology is making this easier. According to the article, here are some of the ways how:
One essential part of emergency preparedness is having a plan so you know what to do when disaster strikes. An important part of the plan is knowing where to go if you have to leave your home, and for your family to have a meeting place. With Google’s My Maps service, you can plan a route using landmarks, lines and shapes. You can print your map and/or access it on your mobile browser.
Speaking of mobile phones, there are iPhone, Blackberry and android apps where you can store important emergency contacts, medical and insurance information all in one place. Two such apps are In Case of Emergency (ICE) and Emergency Preparedness Checklist, which also provides preparedness tips.
When a disaster occurs, phone lines might be jammed making it difficult reaching your loved ones to let them know you are ok. But, you might be able to send them a brief message by other means on your mobile device - text messaging, Twitter, or Facebook – to give them much-needed peace of mind.
To be able to access any of the above tools, it’s important to keep your mobile device fully charged. Canadian Red Cross safety radios are available for purchase at Walmart. These radios can be recharged by using hand crank or solar power. In addition to being a radio, it is also a flashlight, and has a USB port for charging your cell phone.
What are some of your favourite preparedness tools? Share them with us in the comment box below.