Preparation for an earthquake has taken on additional significance after events last week in Turkey and Buffalo.
Ready.gov, a federal public service campaign designed to educate and empower the American people to prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies, including natural and man-made disasters, is featuring earthquake preparation on its website as increased interest is renewed on how to respond when people start feeling unexpected rattlings and shakings of the ground around them.
Rescuers are still sifting through rubble in Turkey for any survivors of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake which hit the country a week ago Monday, with more than 35,000 people known dead to date.
The same day, in the Buffalo area, residents were jarred by a 3.8 quake, the strongest in 40 years.
Earthquakes of Turkey’s magnitude are less common, but are very prevalent around the world.
As of this writing, five quakes already have been recorded today, including in Alaska and Puerto Rico, with more than two dozen reported yesterday, including Hawaii and Puerto Rico, by the U.S. Geological Survey at http://bit.ly/3xm32Vm.
Ready.gov continues to note that there are four main keys to any individual, family and workplace disaster preparedness efforts:
— Stay informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses;
— Make a family emergency plan;
— Build an emergency supply kit; and
— Get involved in your community by taking action to prepare for emergencies.
For earthquakes, the campaign provides tips as to what to do if a person or family is in a car, a home or building, in bed, or outside, including information for individuals who have physical disabilities.
The guide is available at http://bit.ly/3RZ81Vp.
Allegany County, as we have reported previously, is in the process of updating its Hazard Mitigation Plan for both the county and its local government subdivisions.
Information on the plan, which must be adopted by each local government to avoid forfeiture of future pre-disaster mitigation grant funding, is available at https://bit.ly/3IYqkaM.
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Allegany Hope is a Weather-Ready Nation AmbassadorTM and seeks to provide the most comprehensive weather resources for Allegany County and in its relationship to surrounding areas.
The county is in the position of being in the Western New York forecast area, which is covered by the National Weather Service (NWS) office at Buffalo, while Steuben County east is covered by the NWS at Binghamton and Pennsylvania counties to the south by the NWS at State College.
Therefore, weather within the county and in those areas in which Allegany residents travel can be significantly different.
Our exclusive Weather Resources page, available at https://bit.ly/3YAlcPI and through the link in the left column of this page, provides access to short and long-term forecast information for the entire region and the nation.
We always are seeking volunteers who have an interest in weather and other types of disaster preparedness to expand our coverage and community education. For further information, contact us at AlleganyHopeWNY@outlook.com or (484) 435-0503.