You've Been Warned

CRESA Emergency Management staff has the ability to launch several different types of alerts within the Clark County. Our goal is to deliver coordinated, prompt, and reliable information to the whole community to effectively share information regarding a threat or hazard.

Beings emergencies and disasters vary widely our alerting systems must be diverse in order to meet the needs of the particular situation.

Each of the warning methods have specific benefits and limitations

• No single notification system will work in every circumstance
• Some of the warning systems require residents to pre-register in order to fully realize all of the benefits 
• Some warning methods require little more then owning a newer smart phone or paying attention to the loud alert signals on the radio or TV

Let's review the major types of alerts that can be launched within Clark County.  Each of these warning types can be used independently or in conjunction with each other.  Emergency management officials and key stakeholders work together to identify the best fit for the situation.

Emergency Alert System (EAS)

EAS alerts are immediate, widespread, and cover the whole county.  Beings Clark County shares the broadcast market (TV channels) with the entire Portland and SW Washington region, EAS alerts cannot be limited to a single county or city. When an EAS alert is issued the entire region will receive the message.

These alerts broadcast on:

• Television
• Radio
• NOAA weather radios

More information about the Emergency Alert System can be found at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-alert-system

Emergency Community Notification System (ECNS)

ECNS alerts are outbound phone calls, emails, and text messages sent to a very targeted geographic area.  

These alerts are used for a wide range of local emergencies, including:

• Missing people
• Criminal threats
• Chemical spills
• Boil water notices

Land-line phone numbers in Clark County are automatically included in the system.  You must self-register cell phones, email addresses, and VoIP (voice over internet) to receive additional alerts. 

To register your additional information with various community's systems visit www.PublicAlerts.org

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)

WEA are text type alerts that can be sent to most newer smart phones within a geographic area. Alerts are based on your current location, not your home county or address associated with your cell phone.  These messages have a unique tone and vibration.  This short message will give immediate advice.

There are 3 types of alerts:

• Extreme weather, or other major hazard
• AMBER Alerts
• Presidential alerts in a national emergency

You can opt out of all except Presidential alerts, we strongly encourage you to continue to receive all alerts.

Visit www.fema.gov/wireless-emergency-alerts for the latest information on Wireless Emergency Alerts

PublicAlerts.org

The PublicAlerts website provides regional news and Twitter feeds in real-time.  Information is shared by participating agencies throughout the Portland Metropolitan Area.  The site also provides links to register cell and VoIP numbers with numerous community notification systems in the region.

Examples of information shared on the site include:

• Service disruptions
• Weather related closures
• Public health emergencies
• Transit delays
• Road conditions

Visit www.PublicAlerts.org for the latest information

As you can see there are many different tools in our alert & warning toolbox.  Technology and communications systems change very quickly.  We strive to incorporate a diverse assortment of platforms to achieve our mission of informing the community potential hazards and threats.  

Are You Cyber-Prepared?

Nearly every day, there is another news story about a business that fell victim to a cyber-attack.  Recently, security experts revealed that cyber criminals stole up to one billion dollars in a single organized attack on 50 banks. In 2014, the total number of information security incidents increased by 48% from 2013 and the FBI predicts that the number of attacks will grow exponentially in coming years.  They now consider cyber threats to be among their top priorities.

Most cyber attacks take advantage of computer users doing mundane, day-to-day tasks such as reading emails, clicking links, and downloading files.  So, at home and in the work place, we each need to be vigilant and we need to see ourselves as the first line of defense against these attacks.

Take steps now to prevent cyber attacks and be prepared to deal with the consequences.  Here are some basic tips.

1.   Update.  Update your passwords.  Update your security settings.  Update your software.  This might be another thing to add to your to-do list when we change our clocks in the spring and fall.

2.   Backup.  Make electronic backups of, at least, your most critical information.  Make hard copy backups of essential documents and other media.

3.   Practice safe surfing.  For example:

·     Only connect to the Internet over secure, password-protected networks.

• Do not click on links or pop-ups, open attachments, or respond to emails from strangers.
• Do not respond to online requests for personal information.  Most organizations – banks, universities, companies, etc. – do not ask for your personal information over the Internet.
• Password protect all devices that connect to the Internet and user accounts.

Those are the very basics.  There may be other steps you need to take depending on the type of computer user you are.  For example, do you use social media a lot?  Do you use mobile devices?  Do you do a lot of shopping or banking on the Internet?  You should research additional steps based on the specific ways that you use computers.  

Here are some additional resources:

Stop. Think. Connect.

Ready.gov – Cyber Attack

US Computer Emergency Readiness Team – Alerts and Tips

CRESA Kicks Off 5th Year of #30Days30Ways Challenge

September is the 11^th Annual National Preparedness Month which means that public safety agencies are busy working on a number of events to ensure that their communities are educated, informed and ready to face any type of crisis situation.  This year’s national theme is “Be Disaster Aware, Take Action to Prepare!” 

This year, CRESA will  help You take action as we launch the fifth year of our huge online social media game called the 30 Days, 30 Ways Preparedness Challenge which has its own website. Game rules can be found at www.30days30ways.com.    

Being prepared for emergencies should be as common as wearing your seatbelt, and yet nearly every emergency preparedness survey conducted over the past 11 years indicates that 40-80% of people are unprepared to face certain hazards. 

Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA) created this 30-day contest in September 2010 and have, in the last 4 years, recorded the completion of over 10,000 readiness tasks from players in 36 states, 1 territory and 13 countries.    

  

 #30Days30Ways 2014

Players are given a daily challenge at 7:00 a.m. PDT each morning.  Players may submit replies to each of the tasks involved throughout the month to either Facebook, Twitter, commenting on the 3O Days Blog or by email.  Players can choose to play as many days as they would like throughout the month. Players may also catch up and complete past tasks for the month if they miss a day.  All tasks will be short and will not require a significant amount of time to complete.   

CRESA’s primary goal is for people to share information about emergency preparedness, on social media, to reach people who may not otherwise think about being ready for disasters.  Through sharing and re-sharing information, it is vital for people to think about these interesting themes.         

Submissions will be reviewed for their creativity, relativity to the task and its evident popularity online.  Thanks to generous sponsors, winners will be selected and rewarded with gift cards to Amazon.  There will also be 2 Grand Prize winners, based on overall play and creativity selected in October, who will win a $50 Amazon card.

This game sparks great conversations and is a wonderful platform for neighborhoods, scouts, schools and workplaces.  Let it help you “Be Disaster Aware...”  to “Take Action to Prepare!”

We Relay This Weekend!

This weekend at Columbia River High School in Hazel Dell is the 25th annual Relay for Life of Vancouver. Relay for Life happens across the United States and in 20 other countries to raise funds and awareness to save lives from Cancer. TEAM-CRESA will again join the relay event this year!! The Survivors and Caregivers Lap will kick off Relay For Life of Vancouver at 10:00 am on Saturday, July 20, 2013.  The Luminary Ceremony will begin at 10 pm. 

A little road work will close the I-5 Exit of 99th Street, but you can easily access this from 78th Street Exit also.  Go west on 78th Street, north on Hazel Dell Avenue and West on 99th Street.

Come by and visit Team CRESA. as we'll be there for 24 hours starting at 9 am Saturday, July 20 through 9 am Sunday, July 21.  Look for the blue CRESA canopy on the east side of the track, near the bleachers.  

I Know My Address, However Does Your Child?

This time of year marks a spike in community events, and here at CRESA, we are always happy to share important information in regards to better preparing  for  emergencies  or what you need to know when you have to call 9-1-1.  Over the past couple weeks, CRESA Public Educators have been out in full force, as we share information  during our partners Open House events.

At one of these events I recently worked, I had the opportunity of chatting with a couple hundred  young kids.  As I shared 9-1-1 stickers, temporary firetruck tattoos and coloring pages,  I would ask them the question, "What number do you call in an emergency if you need help?"  Almost all of them knew the answer of "9-1-1." This usually would be followed by,  "Do you know your address?"  Sometimes I would get a shrug of the shoulders or a nodding of the head, sometimes "yes", sometimes "no."  I had several parents urge their kids, asking them, to tell me if they knew.  As they would respond, I would hear telephone numbers rattled off or perhaps a house number, but very few times did I hear a complete address. During our little discussions in the few minutes I had before their attention was distracted by a shiny fire truck or the Law Enforcement K-9's,  I would share why it was important for them to know their address, and the importance this plays in helping  9-1-1 dispatcher's know where to send the help!

As the day went on, it got me thinking.  Little things like learning our phone number and address easily slip through the cracks with all the technology we have at our fingertips.  I can tell you from personal experience, there are very few phone numbers I honestly still have memorized. They are all conveniently stored in my smartphone.  To this day, I still glance each time I give out my work cell number.  Its just one of those numbers I take for granted.  Yet if you ask me my childhood phone number or address, I can rattle them, along with my grandparents numbers off with ease. No matter where we keep these important pieces of information, to have them handy, nothing replaces having them stored to memory when you need them.  For me learning needs to be interesting and fun.   Doing a little research, I found some great fun ideas for you to use with your child in helping them learn their address. I hope the following ideas are useful in teaching your child important information that could be invaluable in an emergency.  I know I may practice a couple of these myself.

Step 1

Point out the numbers on the side of your home and the street signs in your neighborhood. Say your address so that your child hears it and sees the street name and numbers together.

Step 2

Cut out a house shape from a piece of paper. Write the address in large print so it's easy to read. Hang the house picture in your child's room so he sees it every day and becomes familiar with it.

Step 3

Hand your preschooler a stack of envelopes so he can practice writing his address. Writing down the information may help it stick because he gets the repetition along with the visual of the numbers. If your economy friendly side cringes at using all that paper, laminate an envelope and use a dry erase marker so he can write, erase and repeat.

Step 4

Rhyme the address to make it easier to remember. For example, for the address 321 May St., say, "I have fun at 321; I play all day on a street called May." The rhyme doesn't have to make sense as long as it gets your child excited about learning his address.

Step 5

Belt out a tune about your address. Like rhymes, songs make it easier to commit the address to memory. Make up your own tune, or use your child's favorite song. Don't worry if you're off key. Your preschooler won't notice, but he will have an easier time learning his address.

References

• The Bump Blog "How to Teach a Child Their Address."
• International Reading Association: Learning Your Address and Phone Number
• DLTK: Address Practice Craft
• Nickelodeon Parents Connect: Child Safety: "Phone Number and Address" Song

CRESA will be Out and About!! Stop By and Say Hi!!

Well you can tell we are past Memorial Day!  The busy summer weekends have started, and why not kick it off right!! CRESA Public Education will be out and about in force on June 1st!  Make sure if you are attending one of the following events, you come by one of our public education tables and say "Hi!!"

Clark County Fire District 3 Open House,  It just happens to be part of  Hockinson Fun Days.  The annual Pancake Breakfast and open house kick off the morning at the Main Fire Station. Also  included in this fun event; a Water Squirt, Car Extrication Demo, Life Flight Helicopter landing, K-9 demonstration, a sprinkler house demonstration, and a structure fire/rescue demonstration.  CRESA will have our table open from 7 am to 11 am. 

Clark County Fire District 6 Open House,  Featuring automobile extrication demonstrations, Clark County Sheriff's Office K-9 shows, a Life Flight helicopter landing, the fire escape smoke house (a mobile structure in which we teach children to practice escaping from their own home as if it were filled with smoke or on fire), free food, low cost bicycle helmets, fire engines (new and old), and more. It is a community event you don't want to miss. CRESA will have a display table there between 12 pm and 4 pm.

Hike on the Dike, 11 am to 2 pm at Pendleton Woolen Mills to support the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society.  We will be supporting their event and and this great cause while sharing CRESA Pub Ed information and recruitment for the CRESA Bark For Life to be held June 15!!


So if you need a fun activity for this weekend, and it looks like its gonna be a great one, or you are just out and about, stop by and say Hi!  We'd love to see you!!