How to Stop a Bleeding Wound, Even in the Middle of Nowhere

02/26/2019 / By Mary Miller

Imagine being in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps you were hiking in the woods, or you might be alone in your remote homestead, far away from civilization. Imagine that for some reason or another, you are injured and your wound won’t stop bleeding. What are you going to do now? Learn how to stop a bleeding wound when SHTF by following this simple first aid guide.

Seniors and Disasters

While disasters take a toll on everyone, no group is more impacted than aging adults - seniors - especially those of us who also have physical limitations and mobility issues.

Though our nation regularly experiences major disasters, it was the devastating hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Sandy that made it crystal clear – seniors suffer the most fatalities, severe injuries and are the most likely to be left behind.

Earthquake Preparedness from the Experts

Earthquake Preparedness.  The paragraphs below are from a series of tweets posted on 02/23/19 by the Utah Dept of Emergency Management @UtahEmergency

The damage a building receives during an earthquake depends on a number of factors below that are in ALL CAPS:

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION -- Wood-framed homes generally fare better than masonry, especially if masonry isn't reinforced. Most modern buildings, built after 1975, should be survivable, which means that they will stand up long enough for people to survive and evacuate.

Emergency?

Is there an emergency and you need to call 9-1-1? Here is some very important information that
you need to be aware of before you make the call. Dispatch centers face several challenges due
to the increasing use of cell phones and landline billing addresses:

1.   When calling 9-1-1 from a cell phone, your approximate GPS address is sent to the dispatch center. Depending on the age of the phone, it is accurate to within a few meters to many meters. This is helpful if you're standing by yourself in the middle of an empty football field but isn't quite as useful if you're calling from your apartment. In the second case, it leaves the emergency responders having to knock on the doors of all of your neighbors to try to find you. Be prepared to give your address, possibly more than once, to pinpoint your location.

Two earthquakes strike near Bluffdale Utah

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2019

One was a magnitude 3.2 and the other was magnitude 3.7 

Many Utahns in the southern part of the Salt Lake Valley and northern part of Utah County felt two earthquakes that happened around 5 a.m. today, February 15, 2019. This is one of our regular reminders that Utah is earthquake country. We typically have around eight earthquakes a year that are magnitude 3. We don’t expect that these earthquakes caused much, if any, damage.

The University of Utah Seismograph Stations, in a news release, says 

This morning’s earthquake was reported felt by more than 7,000 residents of the Salt Lake Valley and Utah Valley.  The foreshock was also reported felt.  Since 1962, five earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater have occurred within 16 miles of the epicenter of today’s event.  The largest of these events was a magnitude 4.1 on March 16, 1992, located six miles west-southwest of Bluffdale, UT.

Published by:  Dpsnews.utah.gov

Drop, Cover & Hold On: Limited Mobility

Pre-Dawn Quakes Near Population Center

Earth tremors were felt, pre-dawn, on February 15th in Salt Lake and Utah valleys.  While this is not unusual – quakes of this magnitude happen several times each year -- these tremors occurred along the Wasatch Fault, close to population centers.

Please, take these events as a prompt, a reminder to move forward on 96-hour emergency kit preparation for your family.  

Additionally, PLEASE, at your earliest opportunity, gather your family and practice DROP, COVER and HOLD-ON in each room of your home.  It is done this way:  DROP carefully to the floor, crawl to a desk or table and take COVER under it.  HOLD-ON to the desk/table to prevent it from shifting, leaving you exposed to falling debris.

Guidelines for Staying Put

Guidelines: Avoid Airborne Danger

Whether you are at home, work or elsewhere, there may be situations when it's simply best to stay where you are and avoid any uncertainty outside.

There may be circumstances when staying put and creating a barrier between yourself and potentially contaminated air outside, a process known as "sealing the room," is a matter of survival.