By The Ready Store

With the summer months coming quickly upon us, many of us will be camping in the great outdoors. With that camping, the probability that we will run into a wild animal increases drastically.

We put together this document to highlight some of the things you should and shouldn’t do when encountering a wild animal. Take a look and tell us what you think!

General Rules

1. Do not approach unfamiliar animals even if they look friendly.
2. Stay calm and do not scream or make loud noises if the animal approaches you
3. If the animal is demonstrating odd behavior, remember that you are a predator – act like it!
4. Animals are more likely to attack children – pick them up if you see an animal.
5. Usually animal attacks occur because people don’t make enough noise, get too close to a carcass or other food source or startle an animal with their babies.
6. Don’t hike at night.

Bears
Statistically, a bear attack is very unlikely. Bears tend to avoid humans except to steal food. A grizzly bear is more likely to attack than a black bear.

If you encounter a bear, don’t sit around to watch it. The bear is most likely doing its business and encountered you too. Continue along your business but begin to create space between you and the bear. Do not run directly away from the bear or at the bear.

If the bear follows you, separate yourself for the items of food that you have. If the bear seems uninterested in the discarded food, turn around and face the bear. Usually the bear will back down. If it doesn’t, bring your arms to your side or above your head to make yourself look larger in an effort to scare the bear.

As a last result, play dead. Cover your head and face with your hands. The bear may sniff and paw you. You may even get a few bumps or broken bones but he probably won’t eat you. Humans don’t really fall anywhere in the fish and berry diet of a bear.

Do not run away from the bear, he can run faster than you. You can also climb a tree or try to out swim the bear.

Dogs
If you come across an aggressive dog, avoidance is the best plan of action. As you back away from the dog, locate a stick or something to arm yourself with. Try and use calm, soft language that shows that you are not a threat.

If the dog lunges at you, try to stay tall and erect. Use your legs to try and kick the dog in the face or ribs. Avoid laying down or stooping.

Snakes
Snakes will usually sense vibrations in the ground as you approach. They will typically hide behind rocks, logs or thick brush. Usually they do not attack unless provoked.

Be sure to watch your path if you are turning a trail corner quickly or picking something up that has fallen in a hidden area.

Cougar & Mountain Lions
You should try and avoid mountain lions just as much as any other animal. However, it’s been reported that some mountain lions have made unprovoked attacks on humans. However, this is also very unlikely.

If you are attacked by a mountain lion, use anything and everything to fight back. Try and stay standing and protect your face, neck and head. Try and scream as much as possible for help.

Alligator/Crocodile
Usually alligators and crocodiles will avoid humans by retreating back into the water. If you happen across a nest they will usually chase you out.

If you need to run away from an alligator or crocodile, run in a zig-zag motion away from them. They run well in straight lines but not usually from side to side.

Scorpions & Other Insects
Be sure to shake out your shoes or clothing before putting them on. Insects and scorpions like to nestle into closed, dry locations like that.

Sharks
Firstly, avoid shark infested waters! If you’re in the water, be sure to keep an eye out for sharks and if you see one, get out of the water.

If you can’t get out of the water, remain calm and stay in a defensive position. Try and reduce the shark’s angles of attack by using other obstructions as protection. Sharks also don’t like bubbles from scuba divers.

If the shark attacks you, don’t play dead. Fight back as much as possible by hitting them in the gills, eyes or snout.

Velociraptors
If you come across a velociraptor and they seemed surprised to see you, don’t be fooled! This is a trick they use in their hunting techniques. Jump and weave your way out of the area as quickly as possible. According to the Jurrasic Park movies, all velociraptors are girls and they are very clever.

Be sure to use locks on doors. They have evolved to use door handles so that will not help you. Install smooth round door handles in your home if you fear an imminent velociraptor attack. Your best bet is to trick the velociraptor using mirrors or other reflective surfaces.

By The Ready Store

Often, when we think of weather, we think of moisture, atmospheric pressure, temperature and other qualifiers. However, many of these conditions don’t exist in the vacuum of space.

The key components of space weather include electromagnetic energy (ie. light, x-rays), magnetic fields, and plasma – ionized or charged atomic particles.

This video from Space.com shows how the sun’s activity can have a large impact on our weather and how human technology can make us more vulnerable to solar outbursts.

We’ve included some of the most prominent space weather phenomenon and some resources that you can use to monitor these events.

Sunspots
These are cooler, darker areas on the sun’s surface. They are caused by intense magnetic activity. They are a sign of possible solar flares, coronal mass ejections, etc. They tend to cluster in bands just above and below the equator.

Solar Cycles
Scientists have been measuring sunspots for a long time now. They’ve noticed that the sun will go through cycles of increasing and decreasing numbers of sunspots. They tend to move around an 11 year cycle – also known as a solar cycle.

When the sun reaches the end of solar cycle, new sunspots will appear near the equator. Sunspots tend to appear in high latitudes when it is starting a new cycle. However, many times, the cycles can overlap, causing some confusion.

Solar Winds
The continuous flow of charged particles from the sun that permeates the solar system.

Solar Flares
A solar flare is a brief eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun’s surface. When magnetic field lines cross and reconnect, energy explodes outward with a force exceeding that of millions of hydrogen bombs.

X-Class solar flares have the largest impact on Earth. They cause radiation storms that can cause radio blackouts. These storms typically hit the upper atmosphere. Solar flares can also be classified by M-class (medium) and C-class (low) flares.

The Earth’s atmosphere usually protects us from solar flares by absorbing the x-rays. Usually, when this occurs, it causes the Earth’s ionosphere to expand due to heat and energy. This can affect radios and satellite communication. On some occasions, it can cause an increased amount of friction on satellites and pull them back to earth.

Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)
When magnetic field lines twist around the sun, many times they can twist so tight that they snap like a rubberband, then reconnect at other points. When they snap, the magnetic fields are no longer in place and can release large amounts of the sun’s plasma. Once freed, the plasma explodes causing a coronal mass ejection.

On any given day, the sun may produce one to five CMEs. The intensity of the CME depends on the size of the explosion, the magnetic strength of the particles and the speed at which they are traveling.

Once these particles reach Earth’s atmosphere, they can cause lightning storms due to the magnetic energy they contain. With this increase of power, it can cause damage to power transformers, GPS signals, or gas and oil pipelines.

Space Weather Resources
Check out these website that can help you monitor space weather:

NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Board
NOAA National Geophysical Data Center
Spaceweather.com

What would you recommend? Do you have any sources that help you track space weather? Comment below and share the wealth!

By The Ready Store

In May of 2011, a tornado warning was issued in Joplin, Mo.. Sirens sounded and residents were told to move to a secure shelter. However, most residents did not heed the warning. In the end, 158 people lost their lives that day.

Why didn’t people heed the warnings?

Notice the sirens going off in the background:

I started looking for more information into why people don’t follow tornado warnings and found that scientists are just as stumped as I am.

Wait, Is This For Real?
According to research by Laura Myers, a Mississippi State University sociologist, about 10 percent of the population takes warning at the first sign of bad weather. However, the majority respond to tornado warnings and sirens with “denial.”

“They’re sitting there saying, ‘OK, I don’t want to deal with it. I don’t want to have to worry about it.,” Myers told MPR News. “I want to assume everything is going to be OK.’ That’s why the person will wait for that secondary confirmation. They’ll say, ‘I’ve really gotta know it’s going to hit me.’”

Researchers have found that the majority of people will keep an eye on the news but they look to the sky more often. The average tornado warning in the United States occurs about 13 minutes before an incident, according to the National Weather Service. However, most people spend time looking for more news to confirm the warning.

“People turn into information vampires when they hear their town and village might be struck by a violent tornado,” said Dennis Mileti, retired director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder. “That’s how human beings are wired. Nothing is going to change that.”

In order to combat this problem, the NWS is planning on using more intense tornado warning language. For example, warnings will state that “mass devastation is highly likely, making the are unrecognizable to survivors” or “complete destruction in your neighborhood is likely.”

However, they are finding that many people are still not heeding the warnings because of a perception that most of the warnings are false alarms.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Reportedly, 75 percent of tornado warnings are false alarms – there is no observed tornado. However, that doesn’t mean that a tornado wasn’t forming – it just didn’t touch the ground.

Warning graphics on televisions typically show whole counties that may be affected instead of the actual path of the storm. This leads to whole counties being warned while a city on the edge of the county might be the only area affected.

Issues like this have lead the NWS to issue “storm-based” warnings.

“That means that they do not issue warnings based on political boundaries (like cities or counties),” wrote Mike Eilts, CEO of Weather Decision Technologies. “Rather, the warnings are issued as polygons which precisely outline the area that the expert meteorological believes is in the hazardous path. Yet, many communities continue to set off their sirens for the entire city or county.” And that seems to be the problem.

Eilts recommends that people use modern technology, like phone apps, to get more precise information about their neighborhood. His company offers an app, iMapWeather Radio, that issues alerts via your phone if you are in a polygon affected area instead of just the county.

“We have over 250,000 users of this app, and we have many testimonials about how we have saved people’s lives during tornados,” he wrote. “However, our biggest complaint is: ‘I did not get an alert for the tornado/severe thunderstorm warning in my area even though the sirens were going off and the television meteorologist was showing I was in the warning.’ We actually had to build a tool so that we could investigate each of these complaints … and guess what? EVERY single complaint we have received we have shown that the location of the person was actually NOT in the warning polygon even though they were getting alerts from multiple credible sources!”

What Do You Do?
So we’re curious. What do you do to be forewarned about tornadoes? Is there certain websites or apps that you would recommend? Share your knowledge below and comment!

By The Ready Store

According to a recent survey, more than half of small businesses in the United States have not taken any measures to prepare against natural disasters.

The survey, conducted by FedEx Corp and the American Red Cross, found that 51 percent of small businesses have never practiced evacuations or other emergency drills. Forty-seven percent have not assigned or communicated employee’s roles for the business in a disaster.

Further, while 40 percent of small businesses do not believe they could fully recover within six months if their business was completely destroyed in a disaster, fewer than one third (29 percent) of those surveyed are prepared if a disaster disrupts their business for just one month.

Additionally, the majority of small businesses may not fully realize how a disaster could impact one of their greatest resources–their employees. Seventy-seven percent have not taken steps to encourage employees to create disaster preparedness plans for their homes and families. (Read the BusinessWire release.)

Having natural disasters affect small businesses in the U.S. could have a huge impact on our economy.

After Hurricane Katrina, the largest natural disaster in U.S. history, more than $2.3 billion of small business loans were made to about 22,000 companies in the area.

“Many small businesses put off disaster preparation because of concerns about lack of resources or expertise,” said Rose Flenorl, manager, Global Citizenship, FedEx Services. “But some simple, inexpensive steps can go a long way toward helping businesses be prepared if disaster strikes. The survey found that 77 percent of small businesses would be more likely to take action to prepare for disaster if they were provided with educational materials.”

Previously, we wrote about ways that your business could prepare for an earthquake or other natural disaster. Please take time to prepare your business, along with your family.

By The Ready Store

Each day, you interact with chemicals and probably don’t even realize it. You use them at work, in the kitchen, bathroom, have them in your medicine cabinet and all around your home.

Each year, thousands of new chemical products are introduced into the market place, increasing our risk of chemical accidents. Not to mention, millions of gallons of chemicals are transported across the United States on a regular basis.

With the prevalence of chemicals, it’s important to know what to do if there is a chemical accident close to you. Here are a few tips:

How chemicals can harm
One of the best ways to be prepared is to know how chemicals could potentially harm you. You should be aware that you can be exposed to chemicals in three ways:

• Through breathing
• Consuming food, water or medication
• Touching a chemical or contaminated object

If you come on someone who you believe has been injured in a chemical incident, ensure that you are not in harm’s way before you try and help them.

At the scene of the accident
If you are the area where the incident has occurred, follow these tips:

• Call 911 or your local fire department to report the incident.
• Move away from the accident location and help others to move
• Do not touch the substance
• Avoid inhaling gases, fumes or smoke. It would be helpful to have emergency respirator masks on hand if you deal with chemicals on a regular basis.
• Stay away from accident victims until the substance has been identified. This might be hard to do but it’s important not to spread the chemical. Once the chemical has been identified, help victims by removing contaminated clothing and placing it in a plastic bag. Pour cool water over the victim’s skin or eyes for at least 15 minutes, unless authorities instruct you not to use water on this particular chemical.
• Try to minimize your exposure to the chemical by staying upstream, uphill and upwind from the accident.

At your home
If there is a chemical incident near your home, you will be notified via your emergency notification service. They might appear on the television, on the radio or even through a siren or loud speaker.

They will instruct you on where the incident occurred, what areas might be affected and where you should go to avoid contamination.

If you are told to shelter-in-place by the emergency notification services, here is what you should do:

• Gather all members of your family into an above-ground room. This room should have few doors and windows.
• Seal off your house so no contaminants can enter. Close all windows and vents, turn off all fans, heating or cooling systems.
• Fill a bathtub with a large amount of water and turn off the intake valve to the house. Make sure this water is not contaminated.
• Listen to an emergency radio for updates.

Evacuations
Other times, emergency services will ask you to evacuate to avoid being contaminated by the chemical incident. If you are instructed to evacuate, move quickly to seal up your home before you leave. Seal off vents, windows and doors.

When leaving in a car, ensure that the windows are rolled up and that the car’s heating or cooling system is not on. Close all vents in the car.

Returning home
After an evacuation, be careful when returning home. Local authorities will provide instructions on what you should do when returning home. They will also provide you with information on what do if you come in contact with the chemical again. Be sure to follow these instructions, especially regarding food and water.

Tips?
What advice do you have to prepare against chemical incidents? Do you have a helpful item in your 72-hour kit to help against chemicals?

By The Ready Store

With hurricane season starting soon, it’s important to make sure your home is secure enough to withstand the storms.

Here are a few tips that you can take to prepare your home for the hurricane season that officially starts May 1.

Shingles
Most shingles aren’t necessarily designed to withstand hurricane-force winds. They are more designed to withstand and dispel water. Sometimes, the adhesive on the shingles doesn’t stick correctly. If a qualified inspector agrees that your shingles’ adhesive is not sticking properly, use a quick-setting asphalt cement to fix them.

Apply a quarter-sized spot of cement under each shingle and press it into the shingle below it. Be careful not to bend the shingle too far when applying the cement.

If you notice dark patches on your roof, this can be a sign of moisture and will be a weak spot. Take measures to repair the area.

Secure Roof to Top of Wall
Often, the roof is connected to your house by nails that have been placed at an angle (toenailing). If this is the case, you’ll need more security than that.
You can use hurricane straps to connect the roof trusses to the top of your wall. The National Hurricane Center recommends:

To install hurricane straps and clips, remove the roof sheathing around the perimeter of the roof to reveal the top of the wall. You may also need to remove the soffit and exterior cladding to reveal the top 12 to 18 inches of the wall. In addition, if the exterior cladding is brick veneer, you may need to remove small sections of brick as needed.

If your roof has trusses, make sure you tie them to the wall by either anchoring to the top plate and then the top plate to the wall stud, or strapping the truss directly to the wall stud. (Read the NHC article.)

Windows
Many homes in hurricane zones may already be fitted with shutters. However, you’ll want to make sure that you shutters are impact-resistant. Many people also have laminated window system, which is plastic that has been bonded to glass.

Many times, people will place temporary plywood shutters over their windows. However, many homeowners return to find that these plywood shutters have blown away because they weren’t fastened well enough.

The American Plywood Association has some free hurricane shutter designs that are more dependable. You can download them at APA’s website.

If you decide to purchase manufactured shutters, determine how much bend each shutter has. By gently leaning on the shutter you can determine if the shutter will place stress on your window when the winds starts blowing. Ensure that all shutters are properly installed and that missing connections are replaced.

Doors
Homes will have single or double entry doors. Most solid wood or hollow metal doors can withstand hurricane conditions. However, if you believe your door will put you at risk, the NHC recommends that you place these precautions are in place:

• Install head and foot bolts on the inactive door of double-entry doors.
• Make sure your doors have at least three hinges and a deadbolt security lock which has a minimum one inch bolt throw length.
• Since double entry doors fail when their surface bolts break at the header trim or threshold, check the connections at both places. Be sure the surface bolt extends into the door header and through the threshold into the subfloor. (Read the NHC article.)

Gabled Roofs
A gabled roof is a typical A-frame roof that has an exposed end. This side of your home can take quite the beating during a hurricane. It’s important to ensure that your gable end wall is secure and won’t collapse due to wind pressure.

To secure gable end walls secure eight-foot long braces connecting the roof section the wall. Use 16d nails to secure the braces.

Vents
Make sure that all heater and water vents are well attached and not loose. If they are, take measures to secure them to your home.

Garage Doors
The garage door is very susceptible to hurricane winds due to its size.

You can obtain a garage door bracing kit at many hardware stores. You can also use horizontal and vertical braces on each panel. Use wood or or metal braces that connect into the metal supports.

Exterior
Lastly, be sure that your yard is well kept in case of a hurricane. Many times dead tree branches become weak during a storm and end up causing damage to your home. This is the same with shrubbery and ornaments in your yard. Be sure to put unnecessary items away when you know a storm is approaching.

Also, be sure that water flows away from your home. When it begins to rain, the flood waters will need to flow down and away from your home.

Your Recommendations
What do you usually do to prepare your home for hurricane season? Tell us below and share the wisdom!

By The Ready Store

Our planet is an amazing place! It’s full of plants, animals, geographic anomalies and thousands of other variables that combine to create a perfect space for life.

Even with all this amazing uniqueness, people have begun to notice patterns. Many times, these patterns are helpful when predicting the weather. You can look to clouds, rainbows, colors, animals or even your salt shaker for help with predicting the weather.

Local Geography
While high-pressure and low-pressure systems can create storms, local geography can have a major effect too. Most weather conditions in the United States move west to east. Keep an eye on what is happening to the west of you.

Large bodies of water can have an effect on the weather. Oceans and lakes can keep the temperature more constant. You’ll notice that coast line will be hotter and cool down as you move inland. Many times, lakes can hold in cooler temperatures and you’ll notice cooler air as you get closer to the lakes.

Hills and mountains can also change the weather patterns. For example, the Sierra Nevadas stop most moist clouds from reaching the east side of the slope. Most of the moisture falls on the western side.

Clouds
While you’re imagining what those clouds in the sky resemble, take a moment to notice what type of clouds you’re looking at.

If you see long streamer-like clouds (cirrus clouds) or scale clouds (altocumulus clouds) that typically means that a storm is on its way. Expect a storm within 36 hours.

If you see a lot of cloud cover at night, it typically means that you’ll have a warm night. Heat radiation will be forced to stay underneath the clouds and warm the atmosphere during the night.

If clouds are going two different directions, that typically means that there is a storm coming your way. You’ll notice that one layer of clouds is going right and another layer is going left. This is typical before a hail storm.

Rainbows
Most storms in the United States travel from west to east. Therefore, a rainbow in the west means that moisture is coming your way. If a rainbow is in the east, it typically means that a storm is leaving your area and you can expect some sun.

Remember the adage, “Rainbow in the morning, need for a warning.”

Sky Color
Speaking of adages, most of us have heard “Red sky at night, sailors delight; Red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning.”

If you see a red sky during sunset (when the sun is in the west), that means that there is a high pressure system stirring up dust particles in that area. Since prevailing front movements typically move from west to east, that means that the dry air is moving your direction.

If the sky is red in the morning (when the sun is in the east), it means that the high pressure system has already moved past you. This typically means that a low pressure system is following close behind and that typically means a storm is coming.

Moon
Look for rings around the moon. These rings are caused from light shining through cirrostratus clouds that are typical of warm fronts. These clouds mean that rain is probable within three days.

If the moon is a pale or red hue, it means there is a lot of dust in the air. Sometimes these colors mean there is a lot of pollution in the air too. However, if the moon looks more sharp and brighter than normal, it typically means that there is a low pressure system moving through the area that has cleared out the dust and dirt. Low-pressure systems are also associated with rain.

Humidity
Humid air typically means that there is a heavy rain on its way. You can notice humidity from people’s hair. People’s hair will typically curl up or get frizzy.

Pine cones are a great way to determine humidity too. If a pine cone’s scales remain closed it means that the humidity is high. If they are open, the air is dry.

Wood usually swells when it gets humid too. You’ll notice that wood doors will get a little tighter and won’t open as easily.

Smells
Scents are typically stronger in moist air. You’ll notice a compost smell that plants release in the atmosphere. Swamps typically release gases just before a storm too. If smells are stronger, it typically means that there is a low pressure system in place and that leads to rainy weather.

Animals
You’ll notice that birds won’t go out as much. If the weather is good, you’ll see birds flying high in the sky. If the pressure is dropping, a lot of birds will be on power lines. If you live on the coast, you’ll notice that seagulls tend to take refuge right before a storm.

Cows are another animal to look to. Cows will typically lay down before a thunderstorm. They will also gather close together to protect themselves. If you notice the cows doing this, a storm might be on its way.

You can even look to insects for help. Ants will usually build their hills a little steeper just before it rains. This helps against the corroding effects of the rain water.

Other
Trees. Deciduous trees often show the undersides of their leaves when there are unusual winds. This is supposedly because they grow their leaves to face right-side up during typical winds. If you see the wind blowing the underside of deciduous tree’s leaves, you know that something is different.

You can also look at the leaves of an oak or maple tree. Their leaves tend to curl when there is high humidity.

Campfires. Watch the smoke from your campfire. If the smoke swirling or is being pushed down, it means there is a low pressure system in place. If it rises steadily, you should be fine.

Dew. In the morning, check to see if there is dew. If the grass is dry, it typically means that there are clouds and strong breezes. If there is dew on the leaves in the morning, it probably won’t rain that day.

Your Recommendations
So we’ve covered a few points here, but what do you think? Let us know your superb outdoor tricks to predicting the weather!

By The Ready Store

The Center for Disease Control issued a very interesting statement on Thursday afternoon. They addressed the use of helmets during a tornado.

The CDC reasserted that the best recommendation is to find a shelter or tornado-safe room in case of a tornado. They recommend going to the basement or under a sturdy table or workbench.

“We understand that people who have seen the tragedy that tornadoes can impose are looking for any useful and effective ways to protect themselves,” the release stated. “We have long made the recommendation that people try to protect their heads. Individuals may decide to use helmets to protect their heads. However, because the time to react may be very short, people who choose to use helmets should know where they are and have them readily accessible. Looking for a helmet in the few seconds before a tornado hits may delay you getting safely to shelter. For those who choose to use helmets, these helmets should not be considered an alternative to seeking appropriate shelter. Rather, helmets should be considered just one part of their overall home tornado preparedness kit to avoid any delay.” (Read the full statement.)

The CDC also mentioned that they don’t have any research that shows the effectiveness of helmet use during a tornado.

However, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham say that it can help.

When a tornado ripped through Alabama on April 27, 2011, at least 11 of the 21 fatalities resulted from head and neck injuries. That led researchers to recommended in a January 2012 commentary, “the use of any helmet, or head covering made of a hard material and worn to protect the head from injury, stored in an easily and readily accessible location in the home, workplace or vehicle for which one of its purposes is to be worn in the event of or threat of tornadic activity.” (Read the CBS News article.)

This got us wondering why the CDC issued this specific statement now. Has there been a influx of people using helmets during tornadoes?

After looking a little deeper we found out why. CDC senior press officer Benjamin Haynes told the Washington Post that “around the time parts of Alabama were devastated with tornadoes, local meteorologists were suggesting helmets.”

Tell us your thoughts below!

Do you think that helmets would be an effective preparation for tornadoes?

By The Ready Store

While many natural disasters have seasons, a thunderstorm could strike at any time. It’s important to know what to do if a severe thunderstorm is declared in your area.

Why prepare for thunderstorms?
A thunderstorm is considered severe if it produces hail at least 1 inch in diameter or has wind gusts of at least 58 miles per hour.

Surprisingly, lightning from thunderstorms kills more people each year than tornadoes or hurricanes. The thunderstorm can produce heavy rainfall causing flash floods or high winds that will damage your home, blow down trees, utility poles and more.

Preparations before a thunderstorm
Local warning systems. Take time to learn what warning systems are in place to let you know of approaching storms. You can obviously get severe thunderstorm warnings from your television or radio. However, you can also subscribe to Facebook and Twitter accounts from The Weather Channel, the National Weather Service, NOAA, or your local weather services.

It’s important to know the difference between a Severe Thunderstorm Watch and Warning. A watch means that thunderstorms are possible in your area. It pretty much means that you should stay alerted to see if a warning is issued. A warning means that there is imminent danger to life and property.

Prepare your yard and house. You’ll want to make sure that you keep your yard in good condition. Dead branches on trees can be very susceptible to storms and end up damaging your home. You can also make sure that shingles and other objects on your home are in proper working order and won’t end up causing more damage.

You’ll also want to make a list of the things that you’ll need to bring indoors if a storm hits. You might even consider practicing this with your family. You can list out responsibilities of who is going to find the dog, who will bring in lawn chairs, etc.

Emergency location. If things get really messy, you’ll need a place inside your home that is away from windows, skylights and other glass structures. The center of the home is usually a good spot to protect your family.

What to do during a thunderstorm
Stay indoors. If you hear a severe thunderstorm warning, be sure to stay inside as much as possible. Many times, people who are struck by lightning are not in the area where rain is occurring. If you’re close enough to hear thunder or see lightning, you’re close enough to be hurt.

If you are driving or stuck outdoors, avoid high places. If you’re in a vehicle, stay inside of it. Don’t stand next to a tall tree to get out of the rain. Avoid picnic shelters, sheds, fences and other metal objects.

Don’t use plumbing. During a thunderstorm, it’s best to avoid taking showers, baths or use other plumbing. You can also avoid using electrical equipment by using battery-powered TVs and radios instead.

What do do after a thunderstorm
Stay away from floods. If you drive up to a flooded road, don’t try and cross it. Just turn around. Many people think they can just get a running start and power through the flooded road. Don’t make this mistake.

Listen. Continue to listen to the radio or local weather stations for updates. You might think that a storm is over when it’s really not.

Help others. Once you’re sure that the storm has passed, make sure that those around you are OK. Since you are so well prepared, you’ll be able to help neighbors, the elderly and others clean up from the storm.

Last week, The Ready Store wrote a featured article in The Enterprise, a business journal, on how to prepare your business for an earthquake. Take a look:

By The Ready Store

In February 2008, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit near Wells, Nev., Fortunately, this large earthquake didn’t take any lives. Instead, the quake damaged half of the non-residential buildings in the town.

The disaster cost the city over $9 million dollars and steered businesses off track for months after the event. …

Your Responsibility to Prepare Your Business
If you are preparing your family for an emergency, why should your business be any different? …

When you think about it, an earthquake might not strike while you and your family are at home. Instead, it’s probable that you’ll be at your desk (or perhaps on the golf course if you’re lucky)! You have a responsibility to prepare your business and your employees to know what to do in case of an emergency.

There are a few things that you can do to prepare before a quake, train your employees on what do during a quake, and keep your business financially stable after an earthquake.

Prepare Your Location
The first thing you’ll want to do is assess how ready your business location is for an earthquake. This will help you develop a plan for your business.

Identify potential hazards. Does your office have a lot of pictures hanging on the wall? Is there more than one escape route out of the building? You should assess what concerns your location presents while you create a plan.

Also consider your businesses utilities. Is your water heater properly installed so that it won’t fall over in a quake? Are fire alarms and extinguishers in proper working order?

Your building. There are many factors to take into account to ensure that your building is ready for an earthquake. Even things like design, furnishings and when the building was constructed can have an effect.

The soil underneath a building can also have a major effect on its sustainability during a quake. Soft, clay-like soils tend to absorb the motion of an earthquake better than a rocky soil.

Emergency materials. If you and your employees were trapped inside of the building, would you have the supplies to survive? You should consider purchasing or creating emergency kits for your business. Include things like flashlights, collapsible shovels, first-aid materials, water and some snacks. Be sure to make a few extra kits for customers or guests who might be at your building that day.

These kits should be accessible and easy to grab if you need to exit the building.

Prepare Your Employees
The next step in preparing your business is to prepare your employees to know what to do during the earthquake.

Establish an emergency coordinator. Depending on the size of your business, you may want to establish one of your employees as the emergency coordinator. They can head up projects that deal with emergency planning and conducting drills.

Also consider providing incentives to employees who become CPR certified or take time to teach your customers and the community around you about emergency preparedness.

Under the desk. The best thing that you and your employees can do during an earthquake is get underneath a desk or some sturdy structure and hold on. You might have heard in the past that that getting under a door frame is the best idea. However, Steve Bowman, project manager for Utah Geological Hazards, sets the record straight.

“Getting to a door frame might be harder than you think,” Bowman said. “There might be a lot of falling objects around the room. We recommend getting under a desk and holding on – the ‘Drop, Cover and Hold On’ technique.”

Escape plan. Be sure to have a plan in place and practice it periodically with your employees. They should all know their escape route from the building. You should practice this plan at least once a quarter.

Establish a meeting location. Once the earthquake stops, you and your employees need to know where to meet. Have a location where your business can check in to make sure everyone is OK. This location should be outdoors and easy to access if emergency responders need to help you.

An emergency coordinator will have the responsibility of taking roll and making sure everyone is safe.

Communication. After you’ve made sure that everyone is accounted for. Have plans in place to ensure that your employees can reach their family members. While many times, phone lines are jammed after an emergency, the Federal Communications Commission recommends that you send text messages to ensure family members that you are safe. Many times text messages will go through the system easier than a phone call.

Prepare for the Effects on Your Business
There are many smaller business that don’t make it out of an earthquake financially.

“Many times, the impact of being closed for a few days or having their utilities or shipping interrupted for a few days can devastate a business,” Brown said. Remember that your mortgages and bills will not wait because of an earthquake.

Earthquake insurance. Would insurance cover your business location in case of an earthquake? Not all insurance policies do! Check out your insurance policy to see what kind of damage it covers. There are some types of earthquake insurance policies that can be purchased separately, which might be a good fit for your business.

Federal assistance. Interestingly, the majority of federal assistance money after an earthquake goes toward low-interest loans to qualified business.

FEMA assistance is only available when the government declares a federal disaster. Business can apply for loans to help against building damage, employee loss or other working capital needs. However, if a disaster is declared, your business will have to apply to FEMA or the Small Business Administration (SBA) for a loan.

Emergency power. If an earthquake strikes, the power grid might be knocked out. Be sure to have a contingency plan in place for electricity and power at your business. You might consider a generator or installing solar panels.

Helping your local community. As a business, you have a responsibility to your local community and customers. You can include plans to be able to help people in your local community clean up after the mess.

Your business would have to make plans to have access to tools, food, water, extra clothing and more to help the community. Besides fulfilling your duty to the local community, this will also establish a long-lasting relationship with customers and potential customers.

You’ll be prepared!
Once you’ve established a plan and ensured that your business will keep going – you’ll be ready to face an earthquake.

There are lots of resources out there including videos, brochures and reading material on ussc.utah.gov. You can also learn more and sign up to participate in the Utah Shake Out on April 17th at shakeout.org/utah.

We would encourage you to prepare for an earthquake by making plans now!

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