• The latest NOAA advisory for Hurricane Earl
• Tweets from Red Crosser Jason Golden in North Carolina
• Tweets from Red Cross Lynette Nyman in Long Island
• Tweets from FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate
• Tweets from the American Red Cross
• Tweets from #earl
• Discuss your experiences on our Facebook Page and the Global Disaster Relief page

Prepare for High Winds

• Give yourself enough time before a storm to conduct a home hazard hunt and perimeter search, in which you inspect your home for items that can move, fall, break or cause a fire.
• Make trees more wind resistant by removing diseased and damaged limbs
• Install hurricane or high-wind shutters on your windows or cut plywood to cover windows, and add protection to the outside areas of sliding glass doors
• Strengthen garage doors and un-reinforced masonry
• Move or secure lawn furniture, outdoor decorations or ornaments, trash cans, hanging plants and anything else that can be picked up by wind and become a projectile

If a hurricane watch is issued:
The Red Cross strongly recommends that individuals and families take preventive measures to ensure their personal safety during a hurricane watch and before a warning is issued:

• Listen to media hurricane progress reports via battery-operated radio or television
• Get a battery-operated radio, flashlight and extra batteries
• Check disaster supplies kit, including food, water and clothing
• Fill vehicles with fuel
• Bring in outdoor objects such as lawn furniture, toys and garden tools, anchor objects that cannot be brought inside
• Secure buildings by covering windows with storm shutters or pre-cut plywood.
• Remove outside antennas
• Turn refrigerator and freezer to coldest setting. Open only when absolutely necessary and close quickly
• Store valuables and personal papers in a waterproof container on the highest level of your home

If a warning is issued or officials indicate evacuation is necessary:

• Before you evacuate, consider registering with the Safe and Well Web site at www.redcross.org.
• If time permits, and you live in an identified surge zone, elevate furniture or move it to a higher floor to protect it from flooding
• Secure your home by unplugging appliances and turning off electricity and the main water valve
• Bring disaster supplies kit
• Take warm protective clothing, blankets, sleeping bags and prescription medicines
• Tell someone outside of your storm area where you are going
• Lock your home and leave immediately
• Avoid flooded roads and watch for washed-out bridges
• If you see water, turn around and go another way.

If local authorities have not advised you to evacuate:

• Check tie-downs and evacuate as told by local authorities, for manufactured homes
• Stay inside, away from windows, skylights and glass doors
• Do NOT use open flames, such as candles and kerosene lamps, as a source of light
• If power is lost, turn off appliances to reduce damage from a power surge when electricity is restored

Something else to keep in mind is the value of neighbors during a difficult time. Working with neighbors can save lives. Know your neighbors’ special skills and consider how you could help neighbors who are elderly or have disabilities. Make plans for child care in case parents cannot get home – that way, all of the children in your neighborhood can be safe.

At any time, everyone can take steps to Be Red Cross Ready for all types of disasters in three simple actions: 1) get a kit, 2) make a plan and 3) be informed.

One step is to stay informed. Be sure to follow your local news, especially if you’re on the east coast.

Here’s what people are saying about Earl on Twitter:

This Hurricane:

This TV show:

This actor of stage and screen:

This tea:

This song:

This sandwich:

This baseball manager:

This basketball player:

Emergency Managers say Twitter and Facebook being used differently [In Case of Emergency ... Read Blog]
Our own Gloria Huang is quoted here discussing how different our Twitter and Facebook communities are from one another.

As Hurricane Earl approaches, @CraigatFEMA uses a little humor [In Case of Emergency ... Read Blog]
Do you find humor refreshing? Or should we keep our Boy Scout earnestness?

Want to help disaster relief efforts? Make your gift unrestricted [Bob Ottenhoff Blog]
There are already many organizations in Pakistan working diligently to help, and they’ve had to reach into their operating budgets or disaster-relief funds to provide this aid. [...] And once their work in Pakistan is over, they’ll need resources to respond to the next unanticipated emergencies, particularly in the early hours, when quick action can literally mean the difference between life and death.

The Category 2 hurricane is picking up speed over the Atlantic Ocean, causing warnings in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and surrounding areas.

By late today and early Tuesday, many areas may receive up to eight inches of rain, which could cause flash floods, mudslides and storm surges. And if you’re living on the East Coast, you’re not immune from Earl — he may just ruin your Labor Day weekend, or at the very least produce rip currents near your beaches.

Earl is currently located east of Puerto Rico, heading west-northwest at 15 mph. (via CNN)

Please review our Hurricane Safety tip sheet:
Hurricane Safety

Hurricane Danielle is currently a Category Four storm with winds of 135 mph. She is projected to travel well east of Bermuda and not make landfall in the US. Forecasters are predicting dangerous waves and rip tides all along the coast over the next several days.

If you’re planning a trip to an east coast beach this weekend, please brush up on these tips:

• Be aware of how dangerous rip currents are.
• Swim only at beaches with lifeguards in the designated swimming area.
• If you are caught in a rip current, stay calm and don’t fight the current.
• Swim parallel to shore until free of the current.
• Once free, turn and swim toward shore.
• If you feel that you won’t make it in to the shore, draw attention to yourself by waving and calling for help.
• If you see someone in trouble, get help from a lifeguard. If a lifeguard is not available, have someone call 9-1-1. Throw the swimmer something that floats – a lifejacket, cooler, inflatable ball, and yell instructions on how to escape the current.
• When at the beach, check conditions before you enter the water. Check to see if any warning flags are up or ask a lifeguard about water conditions, beach conditions, or any potential hazards.

For more information on Rip Currents, please visit NOAA and United States Lifesaving Association.

While disasters are inevitable, unfortunately, effective response to them isn’t. With the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina upon us, we’re reminded of the increasingly large role the private sector is playing in disaster relief worldwide, joining forces with non-profit organizations to aid regions hit by natural and man-made disasters.

Here is our 5 year report: Bringing Help, Bringing Hope:

Katrina 5 Year

Red Cross begins massive SMS campaign in Port-au-Prince [ReliefWeb]
The Red Cross is this week sending hundreds of thousands of SMS across Port-au-Prince in an effort to help people prepare themselves for the hurricane season.

First Aid Kit [MySpace]
Swedish folk group aiming for hearts instead of charts. You can buy a physical first aid kit from us here.

Ella [YouTube]
This is the story of Ella, a Sierra Leone Red Cross Society employee.

Pakistan Floods [YouTube]
You can donate via American Red Cross

Wordless Wednesday [Heritage Zen]
World War I Red Cross volunteers standing in front of St. Mary’s Church (Our Lady of Czestochowa), in Worcester, MA.

Archives Reveal [Smithsonian Institute blog]
During World War I, Woodrow and Edith Wilson kept a flock of sheep on the White House grounds to save costs to cut the grass, The wool was also auctioned off to raise money for the Red Cross.

I can see the headline now… [Columbus Red Cross chapter blog]
I felt a strong responsibility to tell gawkers, including my own family, to find shelter instead of watching this funnel cloud turn up in the sky on a warm evening in August while vacationing on Lake Erie – I work for the Red Cross after all.

9 year old hero saves drowning brother [ABC]
A 9-year-old boy is being credited with saving his 2-year-old brother’s life in a swimming pool accident in Joliet, Illinois, thanks to a life-saving CPR class. Take a class today.

California to deploy nation’s first mass mobile alert system [Government Technology]
California and Sprint have officially joined forces to spearhead the nation’s first mass mobile alert system, which means warnings about terrorist attacks, wildfires, hurricanes, school shootings and other emergency situations could soon be at citizens’ fingertips.

A rare fire tornado filmed in Brazil [BBC]
A ‘fire tornado’ has been caught on camera in the Brazilian municipality of Aracatuba, caused by strong, dry winds that fanned wildfires. A whirlwind of flames spiralling several metres high danced across fields, bringing traffic to a halt on a nearby road, before it disappeared. The phenomenon followed weeks of drought which have sparked brush fires across the country.