Who will Emergency Workers contact if you are not able to respond to them?
In Case of Emergency
Hazardous Material Transportation Safety
Most hazardous materials are required to be shipped in containers that meet specifications established by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). A DOT label is found on individual packages, drums, or other small containers and is in the shape of a 4-inch diamond. A DOT placard is also diamond-shaped, but is larger and found on the outside of the transport vehicle. Placards are used only if there are 1,000 pounds or more of various materials on board.
Diamond-shaped symbols are used in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) for indicating the various hazards of the material in a fixed location such as a storage warehouse.
Should you come upon an accident involving a container or truck marked with a label, or placard, do not approach. Do not come in contact with any released materials. Remember, hazardous materials may occur in liquid, solid, or gaseous state. Do not smoke or allow any combustion source in the area.
Advise bystanders that the material may be very dangerous and ask them to leave the area immediately. If the material is on fire, or several substances are mixing together, there is a risk of explosion or other violent reaction. Instruct everyone to evacuate from the area to a distance of at least one mile.
Report the incident to local authorities immediately. Communicating the following information will greatly speed up the response:
1. The exact location of the incident.
2. Type of vehicle (container) involved.
3. If there is a fire.
4. The color of the placard or label and any numbers or names printed on them.
5. Whether the material is leaking.
6. If anyone is injured.
7. Weather conditions in the area.
Severe summer storms can, as we all know, cause much damage. According to the National Weather Service ” In the average year, 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes occur across the United States. These events threaten lives and property.”
What can we do to help prevent the loss of life and property? ALOT!
1. You can, for under $40.00, purchase a NOAA All-Hazards Radio, this life saving device can alert you to severe weather far in advance of it actually arriving in your area, in fact, buy 2, one that is capable of being outside, that way you’ll always be in hearing distance of warnings.
2. You can, attend a Weather Spotters Class in your community, here in Cavalier County we have them each year, usually in April to coincide with Severe Summer Weather Awareness Week. This year, the class was held at the Cavalier County Courthouse on April 22 at 6 PM. Greg Gust of the National Weather Service Grand Forks office, was the presenter. The information on how to tell if a cloud contains a tornado was definitely worth the time, we learned some tips on reading radar images and much, much more.
Any community can host these classes, they are free of charge. If you would like to host one in your community please contact my office. Thank you
3. Prepare yourselves, your family and be a part of community safety.
Some tips:
Extreme Heat*
*Source: http://www.fema.gov/hazard/heat/heat_during.shtm
Hail Safety*
In a car: Stop driving. If you can see a safe place close-by to drive to (like inside a garage or under a service station awning), do so as soon as you can. Make sure you pull completely off the highway. Do not stop under bridges or overpasses.
Do NOT leave the vehicle until it stops hailing. Your car will furnish reasonable protection.
Stay away from car windows. Cover your eyes with something (like a piece of clothing). If possible, get onto the floor face down, or lay down on the seat with your back to the windows. Put very small children under you, and cover their eyes.
In a building: Seek shelter immediately in a sturdy building. Stay inside until the hail stops.
Stay away from skylights and windows, especially windows that are being struck by hail.
Account for all family members, building occupants, pets, etc. Do not go outside for any reason. Large hail can cause serious or even fatal injuries. Avoid using phones and electrical appliances during a severe storm to avoid the danger of electrocution from lightning.
Outdoors: If you are caught outdoors, seek shelter immediately. If you can’t find something to protect your entire body, at least find something to protect your head. Stay out of culverts and lowland areas that might fill suddenly with water. Trees are a last resort. It is common during severe storms for trees to lose branches. Also, large isolated trees attract lightning.
*Source: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/projects/hail08/safety.php
Tornados Tips*
In a house with a basement: Avoid windows. Get in the basement and under some kind of sturdy protection (heavy table or work bench), or cover yourself with a mattress, or sleeping bag. Know where very heavy objects rest on the floor above (pianos, refrigerators, waterbeds, etc.) and do not go under them. They may fall down through a weakened floor and crush you.
In a house with no basement, a dorm, or an apartment: Avoid windows. Go to the lowest floor, small center room (like a bathroom or closet), under a stairwell, or in an interior hallway with no windows. Crouch as low as possible to the floor, facing down, and cover your head with your hands. A bath tub may offer a shell of partial protection. Even in an interior room, you should cover yourself with some sort of thick padding (mattress, blankets, etc.), to protect against falling debris in case the roof and ceiling fail.
In an office building, hospital, or nursing home: Go directly to an enclosed, windowless area in the center of the building — away from glass. Crouch down and cover your head. Interior stairwells are usually good places to take shelter, and if not crowded, allow you to get to a lower level quickly. Stay off the elevators; you could be trapped in them if the power is lost.
In a mobile home: Get out! Even if your home is tied down, you are probably safer outside, even if the only alternative is to seek shelter out in the open. Most tornadoes can destroy even tied-down mobile homes; and it is best not to play the low odds that yours will make it. If there is a sturdy permanent building within easy running distance, seek shelter there.
Otherwise, lie flat on low ground away from your home, protecting your head. If possible, use open ground away from trees and cars, which can be blown onto you. The only fatality in last year’s Northwood tornado remained in his home.
At school: Follow the drill! Go to the interior hall or room in an orderly way as you are told. Crouch low, head down, and protect the back of your head with your arms. Stay away from windows and large open rooms like gyms and auditoriums.
In a car or truck: Vehicles are extremely dangerous in a tornado. If the tornado is visible, far away, and the traffic is light, you may be able to drive out of its path by moving at right angles to the tornado. Otherwise, park the car as quickly and safely as possible — out of the traffic lanes. Get out and seek shelter in a sturdy building. If in the open country, run to low ground away from any cars which could roll over onto you. Lie flat and face-down, protecting the back of your head with your arms. Avoid seeking shelter under bridges, which can create deadly traffic hazards while offering little protection against flying debris.
Outside: If possible, seek shelter in a sturdy building. If not, lie flat and face-down on low ground, protecting the back of your head with your arms. Get as far away from trees and cars as you can.
In a shopping mall or large store: Do not panic. Watch for others. Move as quickly as possible to an interior bathroom, storage room or other small enclosed area, away from windows.
In a church or theater: Do not panic. If possible, move quickly but orderly to an interior bathroom or hallway, away from windows. Crouch face-down and protect your head with your arms. If there is no time to do that, get under the seats or pews, protecting your head with your arms or hands.
*Source: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html
When calling 911 from the road, please keep your cellular phone by the window or dash or step just outside of the door.
Satellites need to send a signal to the GPS chip in your phone only then, can 911 dispatchers can capture your location.
A hazard study done in Cavalier County found that we are most vulnerable to the following;
Winter Storms, Summer Storms,Hazardous Materials Incidents, Floods, Fires, both urban and rural, and Drought . I’m sure this comes as no surprise to any of us.
As humans, we naturally think that nothing bad can happen to us, and we always will hope this to be true! No one wants a disaster to happen, but they can and do.
SO LETS BE PREPARED!
That’s what emergency management is all about and why, as Cavalier County Citizens we should prepare.
On this website, you’ll be provided with links to ideas and sites that are all about preparedness. For private citizens, there are links to all kinds of information. With ideas about winter and summer preparedness kits. How to survive on your own for the first 72 hours following a disaster. What to have in your disaster plan? What does shelter in place mean? What should you pack up to take in a hurry? How big of a generator do you need? What about pets, what do they need?
There are also links to business continuity planning. What happens to that Rolodex full of hot contacts when a fire or tornado destroys your place of business? Do you back up your data? Know a safe spot to keep your backups if you do?
These are all things that are well worth taking the time to plan out, so that you can think, when and if a disaster strikes, about the one important thing, saving lives.
For Emergency Services this site will contain training links and information on upcoming local training. Links to information that you can use to do the jobs that you have volunteered to do. We thank you for that!
Please read on, investigate the site, make comments about what you’d like to see here! Links to preparedness sites are on the left!