Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities

[Texas Pirate]

This is a bit long, but VERY informative.
What the deaf community went thru in the Moore Tornado
with very little warning or clear communication and a lot of confusion/misunderstandings

Evidently, their tv stations don't caption their wx statements....wow, that's smart.

If you don't know sign language or cant' text and a person who is deaf is in the same room
WRITE IT ON A PIECE OF PAPER as to why you are sending them HOME or what to do ...big duh.

Grateful we now have NOAA wx radios for this community. Get ONE! Get INVOLVED!
Know your weather.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNHUZwo_ ... e=youtu.be

[Texas Pirate]

Yes its SUMMER!!!!!!!!! We're already in the 90's with heat indices over 100


Let me teach ya how to be cool and stay safe this summer. From Houston NWS;

The Hazards of Excessive Heat
During extremely hot and humid weather the body's ability to cool itself is affected. When the body heats too rapidly to cool itself properly, or when too much fluid or salt is lost through dehydration or sweating, body temperature rises and heat-related illnesses may develop.

Heat-related illnesses can range from heat cramps to heat exhaustion to more serious heat stroke. Heat stroke can result in death and requires immediate medical attention.

Factors or conditions that can make some people more susceptible to heat-related illnesses include age (older adults and young children), obesity, fever, heart disease, mental illness, poor circulation, prescription drug and alcohol use, and sunburn. Sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation from the sun, can significantly retard the skin's ability to shed excess heat.

Heat-Related Illness Symptoms and First Aid
HEAT CRAMPS

Symptoms:

Painful muscle cramps and spasms usually in legs and abdomen
Heavy sweating
First Aid:
Apply firm pressure on cramping muscles or gentle massage to relieve spasm.
Give sips of water, if nausea occurs, discontinue water
HEAT EXHAUSTION

Symptoms:

Heavy sweating
Weakness
Cool, pale, clammy skin
Weak pulse
Possible muscle cramps
Dizziness
Nausea and vomiting
Fainting
Normal temperature possible
First Aid:
Move person to a cooler environment
Remove or loosen clothing
Apply cool, wet cloths
Fan or move victim to air conditioned room
Offer sips of water. If nausea occurs, discontinue water. If vomiting continues, seek immediate medical attention.
HEAT STROKE (or sunstroke)

Symptoms:

Altered mental state
Possible throbbing headache, confusion, nausea, dizziness, shallow breathing
High body temperature (106°F or higher)
Skin may be hot and dry, or patient may be sweating
Rapid pulse
Possible unconsciousness
First Aid:
Heat stroke is a severe medical emergency. Summon emergency medical assistance or get the victim to a hospital immediately. Delay can be fatal.
Move the victim to a cooler, preferably air-conditioned, environment
Reduce body temperature with a water mister and fan or sponging
Use fan if heat index temperatures are below the high 90s
Use extreme caution
If temperature rises again, repeat process
Do NOT give fluids
Never Leave Children, Disabled Adults or Pets in Parked Vehicles
Each year, dozens of children and untold numbers of pets left in parked vehicles die from hyperthermia. Hyperthermia is an acute condition that occurs when the body absorbs more heat than it can handle. Hyperthermia can occur even on a mild day. Studies have shown that the temperature inside a parked vehicle can rapidly rise to a dangerous level for children, pets and even adults. Leaving the windows slightly open does not significantly decrease the heating rate. The effects can be more severe on children because their bodies warm at a faster rate than adults.

THE LINK TO LEARN MORE:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/heat/index.shtml

[Texas Pirate]

Happy Fathers Day!
Hope your loved one has a plan.
Best present ever. (Well, almost )

There is invest 93L over on our side of the world.
So even though you may hear
"Central America" or "Mexico" landfall...just keep one eye open the
next couple of days. Need I say its "hurricane season?"

Here is the latest from the NHC

NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
200 PM EDT SUN JUN 16 2013

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

DISTURBED WEATHER ASSOCIATED WITH A TROPICAL WAVE NEAR THE COASTS OF
NICARAGUA AND HONDURAS HAS BECOME BETTER ORGANIZED TODAY. ALTHOUGH
THIS SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OVER CENTRAL AMERICA LATER TODAY
AND TONIGHT...SOME DEVELOPMENT IS POSSIBLE IF THE DISTURBANCE
EMERGES INTO THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA IN A DAY OR SO. THIS
SYSTEM HAS A MEDIUM CHANCE...30 PERCENT...OF BECOMING A TROPICAL
CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS. REGARDLESS OF DEVELOPMENT...
HEAVY RAINS AND GUSTY WINDS ARE LIKELY OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
AMERICA DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

ELSEWHERE...TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS.

$$
FORECASTER PASCH

[Texas Pirate]

This is a great link - I hope you bookmark this:

How to Prepare for and Handle Power Outages
for Medical Devices that Require Electricity
Please share this info.

http://www.gachd.org/Home%20Use%20Devic ... utages.pdf

[rnmm]

This is a great link - I hope you bookmark this:

How to Prepare for and Handle Power Outages
for Medical Devices that Require Electricity
Please share this info.

http://www.gachd.org/Home%20Use%20Devic ... utages.pdf

For asthmatics, there is a nebulizer that will run off of your car battery, most insurance companies will pay for them, I know ours did. We have one for our son and I wouldn't be caught ANYWHERE without one, we even take it on vacation with us for the car ride to and from North Carolina and it works great!! Just an FYI

[Texas Pirate]

Thanks Nicole -great advice.

IF you live in Galveston County- they'd LOVE to hear from you BEFORE a storm!


Do You Need Help Evacuating Before A Hurricane? Galveston Wants To Know

People evacuating by bus before Hurricane Ike

June 18, 2013

by: Gail Delaughter

Galveston County officials want to hear from people who may need help evacuating in the event of a major hurricane.

LINK:
http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/137156638 ... -Know.html

[Texas Pirate]

I, for one, am LOVIN this SUMMER SLUGGIN....

A little August in June, thank you very much.

But, I'm hydrating...and hydrating...and hydrating again.

I'm drinkin so much water, I could float across the Gulf of Mexico.

Cuz I love being outdoors and worshipping the sun.

This weekend (June 27-29) we're gonna slam dunk DOUBLE DIGIT

Super Size our Summertime. It's going to be 100 degrees and the heat index, I'm sure

off the chart.

So...what are you gonna do?

HYDRATE..then HYDRATE again.

Wear a hat and SCROLL UP to review STAYING SAFE as we SIZZLE okay?

IF you're going to the BEACH: PLEASE HEED ALL THE SIGNS!

LIKE:

DONT SWIM HERE------------------------------------------X
(Like San Luis Pass)
That sign is for YOU. YEAH YOU.
DONT SWIM THERE.
Its great for the fish, but we want you back ALIVE.

DONT SWIM where it says DONT SWIM HERE.
Common sense always rules.
THERE'S PLENTY OF BEACH AREA WHERE ITS SAFE.

STAYING HOME?
And need a place to cool off? What about OUR COOLING CENTERS:
i]
"Beat the Heat Centers" offer children a lunch and an afternoon snack. The centers are open now until October 4th.[/i]

Beat the Heat Centers locations:

City of Houston Multi-Service Centers (MSC), (Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)

 Acres Homes MSC, 6719 W. Montgomery, 832.393.4145

 Denver Harbor MSC, 6402 Market St., 713.670.2100

 Northeast, 9720 Spaulding, 713.491.5500

 Sunnyside MSC, 4605 Wilmington St., 713.732.5030

 Hiram Clarke MSC, 3810 W. Fuqua, 713.433.2720

Houston Neighborhood Centers

 Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center, 6500 Rookin Street, 713.677.9400

 Independence Heights Neighborhood Center, 205 W. Crosstimbers, 713.691.1393

So lets review:

We're sizzling and need a place to cool off? Cooling Centers/Neighborhood Centers

We're at the beach? We don't compete with the fish and swim near jetties or signs that say HEY YOU DONT SWIM HERE.

We hydrate

We use suntan lotion

We slug

We love SUMMER in Houston.

Happy Fourth of July. Let's SPARKLE!

[Texas Pirate]

I, for one, am LOVIN this SUMMER SLUGGIN....

A little August in June, thank you very much.

But, I'm hydrating...and hydrating...and hydrating again.

I'm drinkin so much water, I could float across the Gulf of Mexico.

Cuz I love being outdoors and worshipping the sun.

This weekend (June 27-29) we're gonna slam dunk DOUBLE DIGIT

Super Size our Summertime. It's going to be 100 degrees and the heat index, I'm sure

off the chart.

So...what are you gonna do?

HYDRATE..then HYDRATE again.

Wear a hat and SCROLL UP to review STAYING SAFE as we SIZZLE okay?

IF you're going to the BEACH: PLEASE HEED ALL THE SIGNS!

LIKE:

DONT SWIM HERE------------------------------------------X
(Like San Luis Pass)
That sign is for YOU. YEAH YOU.
DONT SWIM THERE.
Its great for the fish, but we want you back ALIVE.

DONT SWIM where it says DONT SWIM HERE.
Common sense always rules.
THERE'S PLENTY OF BEACH AREA WHERE ITS SAFE.
Nice Accessible Piers now too.


STAYING HOME?
And need a place to cool off? What about OUR COOLING CENTERS:
i]
"Beat the Heat Centers" offer children a lunch and an afternoon snack. The centers are open now until October 4th.[/i]

Beat the Heat Centers locations:

City of Houston Multi-Service Centers (MSC), (Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)

 Acres Homes MSC, 6719 W. Montgomery, 832.393.4145

 Denver Harbor MSC, 6402 Market St., 713.670.2100

 Northeast, 9720 Spaulding, 713.491.5500

 Sunnyside MSC, 4605 Wilmington St., 713.732.5030

 Hiram Clarke MSC, 3810 W. Fuqua, 713.433.2720

Houston Neighborhood Centers

 Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center, 6500 Rookin Street, 713.677.9400

 Independence Heights Neighborhood Center, 205 W. Crosstimbers, 713.691.1393

So lets review:

We're sizzling and need a place to cool off? Cooling Centers/Neighborhood Centers

We're at the beach? We don't compete with the fish and swim near jetties or signs that say HEY YOU DONT SWIM HERE.

We hydrate

We use suntan lotion

We slug

We love SUMMER in Houston.

Happy Fourth of July. Let's SPARKLE!

[Texas Pirate]

Okay its gonna be a scorcher the next couple of days: hope this image isn't too big. First time I am actually
attempting to post a pix. Stay cool y'all.

[Texas Pirate]

Happy 4th of July to all...

There's something headed to the Bay of Campeche
and its with great hope it may bring us some rain.

Models are not in agreement (what else is new?)
about what its going to do, or where. (as of yet)
Some take it East of us.
In any event, I'm hoping we see some rain this weekend
and perhaps today (the 3rd) some pop up showers.
I know some got lucky last night with much needed rain
Bush Airport is at a deficit of 10 inches....

I hope y'all have a safe 4th with normal temps for summer (90's, as oppose to competing with hell at 107)

I'll update when things become clearer
But do keep an eye on our GOM.

Be safe. Have fun. Stay hydrated.

[Texas Pirate]

Happy 5th of July - hope everyone enjoyed celebrating and enjoying this most wonderful weather.

Time to keep an eye on the Gulf of Mexico with some MUCH NEEDED rain headed our way
this weekend. Tropical moisture coming up from the BOC and we could get some "heavy" rains at time.
NHC has this blob up to 20% at this time - 2:00 p.m./July 5th (read below)

I'll keep you updated. And I don't think many will complain that we get rain.

TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
200 PM EDT FRI JUL 5 2013

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

A WEAK SURFACE LOW IS PRODUCING WIDESPREAD CLOUDINESS AND SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER MUCH OF THE SOUTHWESTERN GULF OF
MEXICO. THE LOW IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHWARD AT 5 TO 10 MPH OVER
THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...AND MOVE INLAND ALONG THE TEXAS COAST BY
SUNDAY. DEVELOPMENT OF THIS DISTURBANCE...IF ANY...SHOULD BE SLOW
TO OCCUR DUE TO PROXIMITY TO LAND AND ONLY MARGINALLY FAVORABLE
UPPER-LEVEL WINDS. THIS SYSTEM HAS A LOW CHANCE...20 PERCENT...OF
BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS. REGARDLESS OF
DEVELOPMENT...THIS DISTURBANCE WILL PRODUCE PERIODS OF LOCALLY
HEAVY RAINFALL AND GUSTY WINDS ACROSS PORTIONS OF UPPER TEXAS AND
SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA BY LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUING INTO
SUNDAY.
ELSEWHERE...TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS.

$$
FORECASTER STEWART

[Texas Pirate]

well...I'm back

as of 3 p.m. we got Invest 94L in the Bay of Campeche.
Regardless of how this will develop, we can expect some heavy rains
coming in this weekend-Monday.

Please monitor the weather and make sure you got your hurricane kits around.
I'll be back to update. Any questions? Please ask away.


NHC:

REGARDLESS OF
DEVELOPMENT...THIS DISTURBANCE WILL PRODUCE PERIODS OF LOCALLY
HEAVY RAINFALL AND GUSTY WINDS ACROSS PORTIONS OF UPPER TEXAS AND
SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA BY LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUING INTO
SUNDAY.

[Texas Pirate]

8 p.m. NHC: Still at 20%

THE LOW IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHWARD OR
NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD AT 5 TO 10 MPH OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS
TOWARD THE NORTHEASTERN MEXICO AND TEXAS COASTS. UPPER-LEVEL WINDS
ARE NOT CONDUCIVE FOR SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT. THIS SYSTEM HAS A
LOW CHANCE...20 PERCENT...OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS. REGARDLESS OF DEVELOPMENT...THIS DISTURBANCE WILL
LIKELY PRODUCE PERIODS OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND GUSTY WINDS
ACROSS PORTIONS OF UPPER TEXAS AND SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA BY LATE
SATURDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUING INTO SUNDAY.

[Texas Pirate]

Hello Friends

Back for a Saturday quick update:

Well, its beginning to look like....much ado about nothing but we still need to keep a watchful eye on the GOMin case something does develop...remember Humberto? Good times.

Makes sense huh? Welcome to SE TX weather. Kudos to our pro mets who patiently watch and wait.

I am going to post a discussion tidbit from the Houston/Galveston NWS
and what they are saying about the blob in the GOM: and I think we need to resort to praying
for some liquid gold. This tidbit is from their Marine forecast. The weather disco is lengthy
and basically says "Could be...keep your eye on the wx."
I posted the "short version" but still says the same thing. "Could be...keep your eye on the wx."

Poor Florida - they certainly have gotten the wet stuff this summer.

Disco:

ALTHOUGH THE MODELS DO NOT CURRENTLY SHOW ANY DEVELOPMENT ACROSS
THE GULF OF MEXICO THERE IS STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY AS TO THE
FORECAST FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A WEAK TROPICAL
SYSTEM IS STILL NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION. COASTAL RESIDENTS AND
THOSE WITH MARINE INTERESTS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST
FORECASTS FOR NEW INFORMATION AS ANY DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE GULF
COULD CAUSE CHANGES TO THE SHORT TERM FORECAST. 38

[Texas Pirate]

Afternoon update:

Here is a wx update from our NWS- please listen:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/?n=briefing

[Texas Pirate]

Good evening
Here is the latest weather briefing from our Houston NWS
(Captioned also)

This is regarding our rain event starting Sunday!
I will say YAY....

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/?n=briefing

[Texas Pirate]

Happy Sunday - well all the bruhahaha is over
Anyone get rain?

TS Chantel, our third storm, has formed and should be affecting Florida and the East Coast.
So far that's what some models are saying.

If you know anyone with a disability in Florida/East Coast - please make sure they are prepared.
NOW is the time to do this.

I'll update as things get a bit more clear with Chantal.

Enjoy your week.

[Texas Pirate]

Well...Chantal came, went, reappeared and we're still waiting for rain.
At least I am by the bay.
Hope y'all are getting something.

It's the lazy hazy crazy days of summer.
And while there is mischief makers in the GOM
nothing with a name on it. Yet. I'm sure the tropics will
begin to crank in no time.

North/Central Texas seems to be getting some good rains.
Crossing fingers for us too!

Out for week, speaking at a disabilities conference in Austin.
Y'all take care, and keep your eyes on the weather.

Have a safe wonderful (hopefully some wet????) week.

And again, thanks to all who read this little forum.

[Texas Pirate]

We've tripped back into July, after our delightful rain and lower temps.
This week promises to be a scorcher again, with temps in the upper 90's
and no rain relief.

Remember to hydrate and check up on those who may need some help.
Information on keeping safe from the heat is in this forum.

Enjoy the week, and hydrate!

[Texas Pirate]

Lets check the backseats of cars in this hot weather.
Too many stories of children, pets and those who are vulnerable
are left alone in cars:

http://www.khou.com/video/featured-vide ... 94361.html