- Cobra 18WXST II CB Radio Review added to Item Reviews Page!



-  Nuke Detectors to Ring New York City
    

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- "New York City will be protected by a ring of devices to detect nuclear or dirty bombs before the end of the year, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday.

A dirty bomb is one that spreads radiation without employing a nuclear explosion.

The Department of Homeland Security hopes the circle of sensors will give warning if a bomb is transported into the city by land.

<>Most previous detection efforts have focused on preventing a bomb from being smuggled into the city by sea..."


   New York City is really going all out to prevent a Dirty Bomb attack from terrorists.  I hope their precautions work.  Either way, there are methods to mask errant radiation from sources, so if the people of New York are anticipating a threat from a Dirty Bomb, they should take alternate preparations in case their primary detection ring fails.

   Other large cities should take note, as this may prove to be a good first step at detection.





-   More Snow En Route to New York State

 
• Nearly 100 inches of snow in parts of New York
• Dry day gives residents chance to dig out, prepare for more
• Governor declared a state disaster emergency
• Cold wave linked to at least 20 deaths

 

MEXICO, New York (AP) -- "Before weekend squalls add to the 8 feet of snow already on the ground, the communities along eastern Lake Ontario needed the dry respite they got Friday.

"Have to move fast. Want to at least get it off my roof," said Ray DeLong, 75, as he carved a path to his driveway with a snowblower and two contractors pushed streams of snow from the roof of his two-story home..."

    Yeah, how 'bout that Globo-Warming Theory huh?  I just think it's funny how unpredictable the weather is (and has always been), yet mankind is arrogant enough to think we know exactly what to expect one year to the next.

    This is turning out to be a record-breaking winter for upstate New York.

-  Huge Snowfall amounts in upstate New York

     Oswego, NY. (Fox) -  "4 feet of snow is dumped on parts of Upstate New York, including Oswego County, where snowfall totals have topped the 7-foot mark; forecasters expect another 2-3 feet of lake effect snow in communities along eastern Lake Ontario, while the death toll reaches 20 [mostly related to the extreme cold - ed].

While the northern Plains and Northeast shiver in dangerously cold temperatures, the folks in upstate New York are keeping warm shoveling snow — lots of snow.

Since Sunday, the small towns of Parish and Mexico have recorded more than 6 feet of snow, and forecasters with the National Weather Service say it isn't over yet.

The area received short reprieve Thursday as the squalls shifted south into Syacuse, where between 4 and 8 inches fell. The lake-effect bands were expected to move back north overnight and strengthen..."

   Most people don't remember the Blizzard in Buffalo, NY back in 1977/78.  It was the largest recorded snowfall in the U.S... until now.  Most people don't remember the death toll then, which was 14, or the fact that thousands of people were without power, and trapped in their cars and homes.

    It has happened before, so it is likely to happen again.  And now, it is in upstate New York.  Are you prepared for the next big blizzard such as this?  Or in your area, are you ready for the next big natural disaster?  All areas have their own.  It's easy to bury your head in the sand and pretend like it wont happen.  But sooner or later, it likely will. 

    The problems we face in life always seem to be easier to manage if we are ready for them.





-   1984 U.K. Movie, Threads, covers a delicate topic, Full Scale Nuclear War, in the most realistic and graphic way.

     This movie was in fact so realistic, it was banned from the U.K. until recently.  Be warned, the materiel in Threads is equal to being rated "R".

    I highly recommend seeing this movie, in regards to showing how unprepared most people are.  The current mentality that peole hold is still about where it was in 1984.  While Full-scale nuclear war may be less likely then say a major hurricane, tsunami or flood, it still covers one common area:  Lack of infrastructure during a major disaster.

    Either way, this is by far the most realistic and accurate docu-drama that I have ever seen regarding nuclear weapons and fallout.

-  Emergency Backup Generator Buying Guide added to Item Guides!

-  Chemical Fire in Kansas City pumps out massive amounts of hazardous chemicals over the center of Kansas City and surrounding area

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Fox) -  "Multiple explosions have been reported at a chemical distribution facility in an industrial area of Kansas City.  The blast at the Chemcentral plant has prompted the evacuation of nearby schools and businesses.  There were no immediate reports of injuries.  The cloud appeared to be dropping a sticky black substance as it moved southwest across the metropolitan area..."


   I am willing to bet that the people of Kansas City didn't see this coming.  I hope everyone is alright.  As it stands, a chemical cocktail of great scale has just been dumped on Kansas City.  Do you have a response in mind for such a disaster in your area?  If not, it's time to start thinking about your own Readiness Kit and Response Plan.

   Disasters such as this are seldom thought of by the general population, and Emergency Responders literally cannot purify the air of the whole city.  Especially when it's thick with black, chemical smoke laden with Methyl-Ethyl-Kill-You.  I predict, over the next few years, that the areas most concentrated with this fallout plume will exhibit a spike in cancer rates, chronic ailments and birth defects.

   If you live in Kansas City, I hope you have an approved HAZMAT  Bio-Vapor/Particulate filtered seal on your home.  If not, don your full-face OSHA/NIOSH approved HAZMAT respirator and leave the city for at least a week until the cloud settles.  Even still, I don't recommend hanging around Kansas City proper for awhile.





-   Climate Change will require more intense disaster monitoring

   GENEVA (Reuters) - "[Climate Change] will require more robust monitoring of hurricanes, typhoons and other disasters; mirroring systems in place to watch for tsunamis, a top United Nations official said on Wednesday.

    Salvano Briceno, director of the U.N.'s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), said new scientific evidence presented last week in Paris signaled temperature and sea level [shifts]... would "very likely" make natural disasters more frequent and more intense.

    Better weather tracking and early-warning systems could help mitigate the impact of heat waves, heavy rains, mudslides and drought, Briceno said, while warning climate-related hazards cannot be prevented ' outright.

....

    Replicating monitoring efforts strengthened after the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami could help address the "multi-hazards" expected to stem from climate change, Briceno said..."

     Regardless of how you want to label it, Climate Change is a very real situation.  Mankind is not truly informed enough to determine exactly if the apparent shift in climate over the past few decades is caused by man, or part of a much more intricate and natural cycle of warm and cool extremes triggered by the earth's wobbling axis and solar, lunar and magnetic cycles.

    A vast majority of record-breaking weather has occurred within the past thirty years.  True, mankind has only been recording the weather effectively for a few centuries, it is hard to ignore such a notable change in trend.

    Regardless of where you live, it would be wise to assess the any and all likely natural disasters.  And in order to be truly effective at planning, always plan for a worst-case scenario.



 
  

    It seems that SE Asia has truly embraced a Capitalist mentality.  While this may prove a wrench in the works for the world's capacity to produce an effective vaccine, it may be a moot point.

    Many leading health officials agree that if the H5N1 virus mutates to become human to human communicable, it would effectively be a new protein sequence (something like H2NX or H5NX; X being a variable protein strain).

-   Jakarta Floods Begin to Recede

   JAKARTA (Reuters) - "Flood waters receded in parts of Indonesia's capital on Tuesday, but huge areas remained submerged heightening the risk of disease amid questions over why more had not been done to prevent the disaster.

....

    The number of displaced people edged down to 290,000 from 340,000 as the floodwaters subsided, said Eko Prasetyanto, an official at the National Coordinator Agency for disaster management..."

     While the death toll is still under fifty, those displaced at the peak of this disaster numbered over a third of a million people.  Many people still underestimate the swift devastation that can occur in a large-scale flood. 

    If you are in an area that has flooded in the past 100 years, it is only a matter of time before it will flood again.  Are you ready for it?

    While people cannot realistically prevent being displaced from a flood, they can be adequately supplied for any sort of displacement.  Having a plan in mind of how and where you plan on seeking refuge from a flooded area should be in place long before the floodwaters reach your doorstep.




  

-   Major cold snap hits the midwest

     Emergency.com: 

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1123 AM CST SAT FEB 3 2007

-- SOURCE: National Weather Service

-   Indonesian captial of Jakarta reeling after floods

     Reuters:  JAKARTA - More than 50,000 residents in the Indonesian capital have sought treatment for conditions ranging from coughs to diarrhea after days of floods and authorities are monitoring for more serious diseases, officials said on Monday.

     This sheds light on the matter of overall health during times of crisis.  Make sure you and your family keep up with innoculations and booster shots to help your chances of being as healthy as possible in a time of need, should a critical situation arise.

     While having a Readiness Kit and overall Response Plan are both vital to being prepared, if your physical body is not up to the strenuous activity that may be required of you during an emergency, it likely could hamper things for you exponentially. 

     Stay physically ready by staying in shape and keeping your shots up to date.  Also, having a full compliment of over-the-counter medication in your Readiness Kit is a huge plus.

-   Cleanup begins after at least three tornadoes tear through Florida Counties

- Wicked Weather Facts

      This site has a list of the most wicked instances of weather on record.  Reading through this helps one see that no matter where they live, they are at risk for some form of Nature's wrath.