August 26, 2011
Getting Ready for Hurricane Irene
As many of you already know, Hurricane Irene is a category 3 hurricane moving toward the East Coast of the United States, expected to make landfall this evening in North Carolina and continue its trajectory up the Eastern seaboard throughout the weekend. The Ready Campaign is urging all residents in East Coast states to take steps now to prepare their families and businesses for hurricanes and severe weather.
For more forecast information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Hurricane Center, click here.
I encourage everyone to visit Ready.gov or Listo.gov and take steps now to keep their family safe and secure. The most important thing for people to do right now is to listen to and follow the instructions of their local officials. If you are told to evacuate, evacuate. If you are not in an evacuation route, stay home.
Now is the time. If you haven’t already, to get your plan together for what you and your family would do if a hurricane or other disaster strikes and assemble the emergency kit items you would need should severe weather cause extended power outages, flooding or other conditions.
You can also get information about how to prepare for and recover from hurricanes and other disasters on your mobile devices by downloading the FEMA Smartphone App today in the Android market, and look for FEMA App for Blackberry version 6 devices and iPhones in the coming weeks.
In addition, our text message updates will allow all cell phone users to receive text message updates from FEMA.
- Text PREPARE to 43362 (4FEMA) to sign up to receive monthly disaster safety tips
- Text SHELTER + your ZIP code to 43362 (4FEMA) to find the nearest shelter in your area (example: shelter 12345)
(For availability of shelters and services, contact your local emergency management agency. - Text DRC + your ZIP code to 43362 (4FEMA) to find the nearest disaster recovery center in your area (for example, if you lived in Annandale, Virginia with a Zip Code of 22003, you’d text DRC 22003).
The Ready Campaign encourages everyone, regardless of whether they live in a hurricane-prone area, to take steps to ensure their families, homes and businesses are prepared for a possible emergency. As a reminder, the month of September is designated as National Preparedness Month (NPM), an opportunity to encourage Americans to be prepared for disasters or emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities. Individuals and families can learn about events and activities, and groups can register to become a NPM Coalition Member by visiting http://community.fema.gov. NPM is sponsored by the Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and the Ad Council.
Filed under: Campaigns, Communications, Federal Government Communications
Tags: Hurricane, Irene, Preparedness, Ready
August 9, 2011
My Birthday Wish
The following blog was originally posted on The Huffington Post.
Today is my 67th birthday, and my birthday wish is the same as it has been for the past 67 years — to end human-caused wildfires.
I made my debut on a 1944 wildfire prevention poster. It shows me wearing my dungarees and my now famous Smokey Bear hat while pouring water on an unattended campfire. Since 1944, my message has always been about being careful when you use fire.
And that message still holds true. Today, nearly 9 out of 10 wildfires nationwide are caused by people. That means 9 out of 10 wildfires can be prevented.
Since I first appeared, many people have helped me reduce the number of acres burned by wildfires from about 22 million in 1944 to an average of 6.5 million today, but my work isn’t done yet.
I still need your help.
That’s why you should be extra careful whenever you use fire. Be sure that your campfires are out cold when you leave them. Don’t burn on windy days and always check about local burning regulations. Put used charcoal briquettes into a metal canister — don’t dump them into dry grass. Be sure your motorized equipment has working spark arrestors. Be careful when parking a vehicle in a grassy area — the hot exhaust system can set the grass on fire. Remind your friends and family to be careful and teach youngsters about me and my wildfire prevention rules.
When you choose to join the Wildfire Prevention movement, you’re not alone. I’ve got lots of friends on Facebook and Twitter who are also helping to take action and spread the word. I have videos on YouTube and I can even travel around with you in your pocket when you download my new mobile app. I’ll do whatever it takes to prevent wildfires. But I can’t do it alone. Please help my birthday wish come true.
Remember, only you can prevent wildfires.
Filed under: Campaigns, Communications, Federal Government Communications, Public Relations, Social Media
Tags: Smokey Bear, Wildfire
June 21, 2011
POTUS does Twitter
Let’s talk about BO. No, I’m not talking about the guy next to you on the metro who desperately needs some deodorant, I’m talking about our Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama. He may have tough initials (I should know, mine are BS), but those two letters just became twitter code indicating 140 characters straight from the President’s personal keyboard.
In an effort to re-engage young voters and to stay relevant amidst the media circus of the GOP primary, President Obama kicked off his personal tweets with a Father’s Day message for the nation, “Being a father is sometimes my hardest but always my most rewarding job. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. –BO” All posts with the “BO” signature on the @BarackObama Twitter handle can be attributed directly to the President himself.
With a call to initiate grassroots voter efforts and a request for suggestions on what to tweet about on the campaign trail, Obama is venturing back into the social media space that played an integral role in his 2008 election. And that space has become more important than ever for politicians across the country and across party lines. The recent rush to secure an additional two votes in support of same-sex marriage in New York was brought to the social media stage when Republican Senator Greg Ball asked his fans and followers how they would vote if they were in his position. Although the results on Facebook have been somewhat inconclusive with roughly a 50-50 split, the sentiment on Twitter is overwhelmingly in favor of passing the bill. Whether or not this will have an effect on how Senator Ball votes is still yet to be seen, but it’s a testament to the power of these tools when our elected officials use them to reach out and hear the voices of their constituents.
Filed under: Federal Government Communications, Internet, Just for Fun, Social Media
Tags: Election, Obama, Social Media, Twitter
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