Category Archives: Emergencies

MA Emergency: Gas Explosion Resources

By RENAISSANCE ALLIANCE

 

Many of our Massachusetts neighbors experienced a terrible crisis last night, complete with gas explosions, fires and mass evacuations.  We’ve compiled a few resources and links that might be of help.

Emergency Services: Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) – If you need non-emergency assistance or information, call 2-1-1. Call 9-1-1 for emergencies.

MA Red Cross: American Red Cross of Massachusetts. Also see:  Get Help Now and Find Open Shelters  If you or someone you know needs assistance, please call the Red Cross at (800) 564-1234. This hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Gas Utility: Columbia Gas MA

Lawrence MA: Lawrence MA Emergency Alert – info on evacuations & shelter

North Andover MA:North Andover MA Columbia Gas Leak Information

Andover MA: Andover MA Gas Leak Updates

Twitter is often a quick way to get emergency updates. Here are some relevant Twitter links:

If you need to file an insurance claim, contact your local independent insurance agent.
For your convenience, here’s a list of many of the top insurance companies with links to their online claim reporting resources.

Reminder: Hurricane season continues through November

By RENAISSANCE ALLIANCE

hurricane seen from space

All eyes are on the eastern seaboard as Hurricane Florence bears down upon southern states. As of right now, forecasters don’t expect any direct impact on New England, but we’re all watching North Carolina and South Carolina, where widespread mandatory evacuations are in place, the largest peace time evacuation the country has seen. This is predicted to be a multiple-day prolonged flooding event with 12-foot storm surge. See the fascinating infographic on storm surges below, courtesy of CoreLogic.

If you have friends or relatives in affected areas or are just a storm tracker, here are a few resources: Tracking Hurricane Florence: The Weather Channel • Twitter • New York Times
The National Weather Service: Hurricane and Tropical Storm Watches, Warnings, Advisories and Outlooks • Hurricane Preparedness  • Red Cross: Hurricane Safety

While New England folks may dodge this bullet, remember that hurricane season lasts from June through November.

infographic on hurricane strom surge

Do you have a “bug-out bag” ready?

By RENAISSANCE ALLIANCE

emergency preparedness checklist

If you’ve followed news about the California wildfires, you know that many people are forced to flee their homes unexpectedly at a moment’s notice. A little bit of planning goes a long way when it comes to disaster preparedness. One of the best ways to get ready for the worst is by putting together a “bug-out bag” – a collection of important documents and valuables, all in one place, ready to be scooped up and transported at a moment’s notice.

What’s In The Bag?

A quick online search will show a plethora of survival kits available for purchase, and while those are useful (and you already have a small emergency kit in your vehicle for the winter, right?), they’re not exactly what we’re looking for here. For most of us, wilderness survival isn’t our goal when putting together a bug-out bag – when the wildfire comes or the hurricane hits or the earthquake shakes, we want to have handy the documents and means to begin the long and complicated process of rebuilding our lives.

So think of your bug-out bag as a starting point. It’s going to have in it the stuff you need to get started again. And a lot of that stuff is paper records.

The Virtual Bag

One of the best ways to ensure that your valuable records aren’t lost is redundancy. And one of the best ways of storing those redundant records is electronically. Keep copies on your phone, on your tablet, on your PC, and in the cloud. Take care to encrypt and password-protect those files. Then you’ll have them at your fingertips when you need them the most. Do the same with irreplaceable family photographs and videos. Inventory your belongings by photo or video. If it can be digitized, digitize it! And then make sure it’s securely stored in more than one place.

What Records Are We Talking About?

The vital ones! Birth certificates, marriage certificates, deeds and titles, passports and visas, papers of incorporation, leases, contracts, you name it! Some of the most important documents to store in your bug-out bag (virtual or not) are insurance records. Make sure those documents have with them your policy numbers, your insurance agent’s contact information, and instructions on how to file a claim.

And While You’re There…

Since you’re already going through all that insurance paperwork, now’s a great time to review your policies and make sure you have adequate coverage. Have you built additions to the house not covered by the original policy? What’s your policy’s loss-of-use coverage? Has your property value increased? What’s the cost to replace your property? Maybe a quick chat with your insurance agent is in order! It can’t hurt to check in with her annually, anyway. Go see her. She’ll probably give you one of those little magnetic tear-off fridge calendars; those are cool. Whether you rent or own, staying up-to-date with your personal and business insurance is the best way to limit the damage a catastrophe can cause.

Peace of Mind

Now that your documents are digitized and distributed, your vital papers safely stashed, and your emergency supplies consolidated, relax! Enjoy the feeling of being prepared. Add items and remove them from your bug-out bag as you see fit and as your circumstances demand. It’s much easier to maintain a secure document cache than it is to create one. Once you’ve put a process in place, you’ll find it easy to maintain. And now that you’ve got all your unique documents duplicated and secured, go to FEMA for a comprehensive checklist of other items to keep close in case of emergency.

Related posts:

Get free emergency apps for National Preparedness Month

By RENAISSANCE ALLIANCE

September is National Preparedness Month – here’s one simple thing you can do: Download some free apps for your phone so that if you find yourself in an emergency, you are ready. Pass them along to your family members too, so you can all be informed. Here are a few suggestions.

The free FEMA app

FEMA-appThe free FEMA app is a must. One great new feature is that you can get weather alerts from the National Weather Service for up to five locations across the nation. That allows you to follow severe weather alerts for friends and family located anywhere in the country – even if your phone is not located in the area.  The app is available in English but it will default to Spanish if those who have set that as the default language. It can be downloaded from the App Store for Apple devices and Google Play for Android devices.

The new weather alert feature adds to the app’s existing features: a customizable checklist of emergency supplies, maps of open shelters and Disaster Recovery Centers, and tips on how to survive natural and man-made disasters.

Some other key features of the app include:

  • Safety Tips: Tips on how to stay safe before, during, and after over 20 types of hazards, including floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes
  • Disaster Reporter: Users can upload and share photos of damage and recovery efforts
  • Maps of Disaster Resources: Users can locate and receive driving directions to open shelters and disaster recovery centers
  • Apply for Assistance: The app provides easy access to apply for federal disaster assistance

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Red Cross has an excellent suite of free emergency apps:

first-aid

 

First Aid – Get instant access to information on handling the most common first aid emergencies.

 

 

pets

Pet First Aid – Be prepared to help your furry friends with veterinary advice for everyday emergencies.

 

 

 

blood

Blood – Schedule blood donation appointments, track total donations and earn rewards as you help us meet the constant need for blood.

 

They also have emergency apps for tornado, hurricane, wildfire, flood, earthquake and general emergencies, along with a few apps for kids.

Earthquakes, floods & other catastrophes: Could they happen here?

By RENAISSANCE ALLIANCE

Depositphotos_69207769_m-2015It’s sad and shocking to see the devastation in Italy from the recent earthquakes in Italy and the widespread flooding in Louisiana. Natural catastrophes are always difficult, particularly when there is heavy loss of life and when the devastation is severe enough to cause severe dislocation and change the character of a place. Our hearts go out to victims – we’ve listed some relief efforts at the end of this post.

When disasters occur, it’s also human nature to wonder: could it happen here? Let’s take a look.

New England & earthquakes
While some regions are more geographically disposed to certain catastrophic events like earthquakes, they can indeed happen anywhere. Most of the recent New England earthquakes have been minor, but we can and have experienced more severe quakes, such as the 1755 earthquake off Cape Ann, which registered at more than 6.0. While the odds are in our favor, experts say that the chance of a damaging earthquake in New England is not zero.

Plus, an earthquake doe not need to be devastating in scope to cause property damage and typical homeowners insurance policies do not cover damage from earthquakes. This video from the Insurance Information Institute talks about earthquake damage and offers some great advice that would increase the safety of your home and property regardless of whether we ever experience a damaging quake.

Floods & New England
Floods know no geographic boundaries. While people who live near rivers, oceans or in flood plains are at the most risk, many New Englanders have been taken by surprise by flash flooding from storms. According to a list of US Floods from 2001 to the present, floods are generally caused by excessive rainfall, excessive snowmelt, storm surge from hurricanes, and dam failure.

Some old timers may recall the The Great New England Flood of 1936 but we’ve had some recent doozies too: Hurricane Irene caused severe flooding. NECN cites other historic floods that wreaked havoc in our region.

Flash floods can be very dangerous and can take quite a toll on property. And, as with earthquakes, typical homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage. You need a separate flood insurance policy to be covered – and your policy must be in place for at least 30 days to be in effect, so a last-minute purchase when you hear about flooding potential would be too late. For more on protecting yourself from flood damage, see these posts:

September is a good time to focus on these matters since it September is National Preparedness Month. Ready.gov has before, during and after advice for all types of emergencies including floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, blizzards and more.

Disaster relief for Italian Earthquakes

Disaster relief for Louisiana floods