Vol 5., No. 6, June 2004

 Contents

 

THOUGHTS & QUOTES

"Be Aware! Be Alert! Be Alive"...

Do we prepare for the emotional side of the storm?

There are many sources of information -- including the Disaster Handbook -- about managing the physical aspects of disaster, such as preparing for an event, weathering the event, then cleaning up after the event. It is also important to be prepared for possible emotional impacts of the storm -- impacts which can linger long after the event itself. And, the event in question need not be a large-scale disaster, these principles also apply to more individual events such as personal injury or crime. We should recognize that emotional reactions to these events are not out of the ordinary. Alertness to the emotional impact of a catastrophe -- or a near-miss -- can help us avert drastic consequences if someone does take those feelings too far.

Many states have experienced severe flooding in recent weeks. This flooding will affect its victims for a long time. It's a good time to be reminded of resources such as the new edition of "Community Response to Managing Trauma in Times of Disaster and Terrorism", which appeared in last month's SN&N.

The recent flooding in various parts of Iowa struck a personal chord with me. I was in Iowa during the 1993 floods. I can look back and laugh at myself now, but at the time, it was anything but a joke. It wasn't until I began working with disaster-related topics here in Florida that I understood that my experience was a classic example of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

I knew I was in trouble the morning of July 5, 1993 when I heard pumps out in the street. I awoke to find 2" of water in my lower level family room. Fortunately, my damage was minor compared to those around me. We hauled the furniture upstairs to the living room where it would sit until the flooding risk had subsided in September. Of course, there were things to throw away, carpet to remove, etc. For the remainder of the summer, I had to have sand bags in the lower level covering the floor drains and the toilet.

Due to the high water levels, Interstate 380 was shut down leaving only a two-lane highway for crossing the Cedar River. What was formerly a 20-minute drive to work was now a 2-hour trip (needless to say there was a lot of telecommuting that summer!).

As with any disaster, we first got busy cleaning and repairing. At first, there was plenty of help, then came the 'honeymoon is over' phase, when helpers left the area; then we had to accept what had happened and get on with life. Throughout the whole experience, I tended to minimize my losses by comparing myself to others who had it so much worse -- but I was also feeling a bit guilty about feeling bad about stuff I lost.

At some point, life began to seem normal again. Linoleum was laid in the family room; furniture was back in place; the sand-bags -- by now they had become friends -- were left at the curb. Roads were open and we were all returning to our routines.

Soon, it was the first week in December and time to haul out the Christmas tree and decorations. I had a lot of special decorations, many of which I had made (though some needlework ones were ruined by the flood). I was busy upstairs, and my son and daughter were working on the tree. I heard a crash and glass shattering -- that triggered something inside me and I went ballistic! I shot downstairs to see a fallen tree surrounded by debris. I said words and combinations of words that I didn't even know I knew. I tore out the door almost instantly, explaining at the top of my voice to the kids, the neighborhood, and the Deity just exactly what I thought of Christmas and what could be done with it!

I got into the car. (Not the recommended thing to do -- I wasn't thinking like a safety specialist at the time!) I had no idea where I was going, but I needed gas, and that gave me a direction. As I filled the tank, reason began to kick in and I started focusing. My new mission would be cleaning up the mess and fixing that tree so that it could never fall again -- ever! I decided that uneven carpet had caused Christmas tree instability. So, off to the nearby home improvement store to purchase a sink cut-out or flat piece of board on which to secure the tree stand. I found the object of my mission and went to the check-out lane. To my surprise, the man in front of me in line was a colleague on the Ag Machinery Conference engineering committee! He said casually, "Hey Carol, how are you?"

That's all it took. I broke down completely, crying and sputtering "...my...my...my... tree (sob) fell (sob) over (more sobbing!)." **

I came home with my purchase (in the meantime, my daughter had anchored the tree to the drapery rod with the drapery cord!) -- proudly nailed the tree stand to the flat piece of sturdy wood and put it back in place. Sifting through the broken items, I found that most damage was to the inexpensive pieces. After everything was back in place, I was still obsessed with stability. I went out to the garage, mixed up some concrete, and filled the stand with cement. That tree wasn't going anywhere.

I share this story because it can happen to anyone. To this day, I hang what's left of a broken ornament on my Christmas tree as a reminder. Even when the physical impact of the disaster is over, the emotional impact can be waiting for the right trigger. Yes, it happens to those who usually appear to take everything in stride. And there's a name for it -- PTSD.

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**Needless to say at our next committee meeting, I told him not to say a word about 'the incident'! :-)

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New Awareness Program about Rip Currents: "Break the Grip of the Rip"

"Break the Grip of the Rip" is a new awareness program that was launched May 24 by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore. They typically extend from the shoreline, through the surf zone, and past the line of breaking waves. Although typically associated with ocean beaches, they can occur on any beach that has breaking waves -- including the Great Lakes.

Since 1989, an average of 19 persons have died each year as a result of rip currents in Florida, according to the National Weather Service East Central Florida Rip Current Program. Rip currents, on average, result in more deaths in Florida than hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and lightning combined.

Information and materials are available at: <http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/>.

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Turn Around, Don't Drown

Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm-related hazard. Why? The main reason is people underestimate the force and power of water. Many of the deaths occur in automobiles as they are swept downstream. Of these drownings, many are preventable, but too many people continue to drive around the barriers that warn them the road is flooded.

Whether you are driving or walking, if you come to a flooded road, Turn Around, Don't DrownTM. You will not know the depth of the water, nor will you know the condition of the road under the water.

The materials providing this safety alert are at: <http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tadd/>.

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Model Safety Commitment for Middle and High School Ag Education Programs

Rob Brown, a former ag safety class student who teaches ag education has developed a "Commitment to Agricultural Safety" for students and their parents to review and sign. It includes the rules for the course and contains lists of the equipment that students might encounter. Parents must review and sign the form and return it to the school. This form was reviewed and approved by the Pasco County School Board as well as their legal consultants. It also meets requirements for their insurance company.

Since this has been developed and approved, others may find it useful as a model to meet their school's requirements. The document is at: <http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu/pasco-rob/>.

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A Brief Guide to Mold in the Workplace

This OSHA Safety and Health Information Bulletin is not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations. The Bulletin is advisory in nature, informational in content, and is intended to assist building managers, custodians, and others who are responsible for building maintenance. Contractors and other professionals (e.g., environmental consultants and health or safety professionals) who respond to mold and moisture situations in buildings, as well as members of the general public, also may want to refer to these guidelines.

The bulletin can be found at: <http://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib101003.html>.

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Mowing Safety

With summer in full swing, it is a good time for reminders about mowing safety -- whether you are mowing lawns, roadways, ditches or other large areas.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 60,000 injuries are treated by hospital emergency rooms each year because of unsafe operation of power lawn mowers. Kids under the age of 15 are the most common victims.

Fatal incidents with riding lawnmowers have several common elements: the machine tips over, the victim falls under or is run over by the machine (most of the deaths that involve young children fall in this category), or the victim is thrown from or falls off the machine. The risk of an injury with a ride-on mower is almost twice the chance of a mishap with a walk-behind rotary mower. Other fatalities have occurred when the operator is attempting to load the mower onto a trailer. Ramps designed for this purpose are commercially available.

Even though millions of homeowners routinely use power lawnmowers every year without mishap, there is still a fairly constant parade of people into hospital emergency rooms with injuries from walk-behind power mowers. Most often, patients are treated for minor injuries and released. However, emergency surgery is sometimes required to treat severe injuries resulting from hand or foot contact with the rotating blade. Toe amputations are not uncommon with homeowners cutting grass.

Several fact sheets about Outdoor Power Equipment are on line at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety site:< http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/tools.html>. Individual fact sheets are available for:

  • Riding Lawnmowers
  • Brush Cutters
  • Chain Saws
  • Pressure Washers
  • Weed Trimmers
  • Power Lawnmowers

A Mowing Safety Fact Sheet for push behind and for riding lawn mowers can be found at: <http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d001501-d001600/d001525/d001525.html>.

A Mowing Safety PowerPoint Presentation can be found at: <http://www.traumasystems.com/lawn/lawnmowers1revised_files/v3_document.htm>

A PowerPoint presentations about chain saw safety and about eye protection (a must when doing summer grounds maintenance) are at: <http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu/Publications.html>.

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Other Summer Safety Topics

Bicycles - Information about bicycle safety is at: <http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/bikepubs.html>. Included here is Sprocket Man -- which is in comic book format -- fun for kids. PowerPoint slides are at: <http://siri.uvm.edu/ppt/bike2001/index.htm>

Poisons - Information for poison prevention is at: <http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/pois_prv.html>. Since summer is more "laid back" and kids are home from school there are more opportunities for children and chemicals to come into contact, either at their own homes or at friends'.

Playgrounds - Playground safety information is at: <http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/playpubs.html>. Rural residents may be interested in "Creating Safe Play Areas on Farms" from the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety. Note: The ideas in this publication are not limited to just farms. There are a lot of good ideas that can apply to rural and acreage residents as well. A downloadable copy of the publication is at: <http://research.marshfieldclinic.org/children/safeplay.pdf>.

Camping and Hiking - Camping and Hiking Safety reminders are at: <http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/tips/hiking.html>.

Camping and Thunderstorms - This publication was written by a scoutmaster: <http://www.cimms.ou.edu/~doswell/tstm_camping_safety.html>

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Health & Safety Risks When Working Long Hours - New NIOSH Publication

A new NIOSH publication titled "Overtime and Extended Work Shifts: Recent Findings on Illnesses, Injuries, and Health Behaviors" [DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2004-143] presents an integrated review of methods and findings from 52 studies. The document can be accessed at <http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-143>.

The review indicates that the influence of long working hours on health and safety involves a complex interaction of a number of factors. It also recommends issues and priorities to consider in future research. The document was released in conjunction with a national conference titled Long Working Hours, Safety, and Health: Toward a National Research Agenda which was held April 29-30, 2004 on the University of Maryland campus in Baltimore, Maryland. The conference brought together researchers and representatives from labor and industry to discuss the sociological, economic, and health aspects of long work hours. The conference was conducted under the auspices of the National Occupational Research Agenda (Organization of Work Team) and cosponsored by NIOSH, the University of Maryland School of Nursing, and the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Free Safety Power Point Presentations

Vermont Safety Information Resources, Inc. has PowerPoint presentations on many safety topics. Many of them are industrial related. Check out the topics at:

<http://siri.uvm.edu/ppt/powerpt.html>.

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Tornado Warning and Sheltering Radio Spots in Spanish

This information was forwarded to us by a member of the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) in Missouri. Their Web site has radio announcements that you can download or point local radio stations to that explain tornado warnings and proper sheltering. These are for Spanish-speakers that may not be able to read guide sheets in Spanish.
If you have Spanish-speakers in your county or state, this can be a very important resource. Announcements are at: <http://outreach.missouri.edu/cemp/index.html> .

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Free FEMA Courses On-line

FEMA offers Independent Study courses that can be taken on-line. These are excellent courses that can be taken by anyone. They are free of charge. A test can be taken if the person wants to receive a certificate of completion. Access to the courses can be found at: <http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/crslist.asp>.

Courses are:

IS-1 - Emergency Manager: An Orientation to the Position
IS-2 - Emergency Preparedness, USA
IS-3 - Radiological Emergency Management
IS-5 - Hazardous Materials: A Citizen's Orientation
IS-7 - A Citizen's Guide to Disaster Assistance
IS-8 - Building for the Earthquakes of Tomorrow: Complying with Executive Order 12699
IS-10 - Animals in Disaster - Module A Awareness and Preparedness
IS-11 - Animals in Disaster - Module B Community Planning
IS-15 - Special Events Contingency Planning for Public Safety Agencies
IS-55 - Household Hazardous Materials - A Guide for Citizens
IS-100 - Introduction to the Incident Command System
IS-111 - Livestock in Disasters
IS-120 - An Orientation to Community Disaster Exercises
IS-139 - Exercise Design
IS-195 - Basic Incident Command System
IS-208 - State Disaster Management
IS-230 - Principles of Emergency Management
IS-235 - Emergency Planning
IS-240 - Leadership & Influence
IS-241 - Decision Making and Problem Solving
IS-242 - Effective Communication
IS-244 - Developing and Managing Volunteers
IS 253 - Coordinating Environmental and Historic Preservation Compliance
IS-271 - Anticipating Hazardous Weather & Community Risk
IS-275 - The EOC's Role in Community Preparedness, Response and Recovery Activities
IS-279 - Engineering Principles and Practices for Retrofitting Flood-Prone Residential Structures
IS-288 - The Role of Voluntary Agencies in Emergency Management
IS-292 - Disaster Basics
IS-301 - Radiological Emergency Response
IS-317 - Introduction to Community Emergency Response Teams
IS-324 - Community Hurricane Preparedness
IS-330 - Refresher Course for Radiological Response
IS-331 - Introduction to Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Exercise Evaluation
IS-346 - An Orientation to Hazardous Materials for Medical Personnel
IS-362 - Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools
IS-386 - Introduction to Residential Coastal Construction
IS-393 - Introduction to Mitigation
IS-394 - Mitigation for Homeowners
IS-600 - Special Considerations for FEMA Public Assistance Projects
IS-630 - Introduction to the Public Assistance Process
IS-631 - Public Assistance Operations I
IS-632 - Introduction to Debris Operations in FEMA's Public Assistance Program
IS-650 - Building Partnerships with Tribal Governments
IS-700 - National Incident Management System (NIMS)

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SAFETY NEWS & NOTES is an e-mail newsletter prepared by Carol J. Lehtola, Extension Agricultural Safety Specialist and team leader for the Prevention and Preparedness: Agricultural Safety & Disaster Management program. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, UF/IFAS. If you have safety- or disaster-related questions or ideas that you would like to share with other agents, please contact Dr. Lehtola. If you know someone interested in receiving this newsletter, we will gladly add them to the e-mail list. Past issues of Safety News & Notes are archived on the Florida AgSafe Web site.

BE AWARE!

BE ALERT!

BE ALIVE!

Florida AgSafe Web site: http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu

The Disaster Handbook: http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu

National Agricultural Safety Database: http://www.cdc.gov/nasd

Extension Disaster Education Network: http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/eden

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