disaster preparedness

Sticker Shock on Cost of Flood Insurance

Posted on December 1, 2017December 1, 2017 by Stacey Stearns

Published by The Day September 23. 2017 6:18PM | Updated September 24. 2017 7:15PM

By Martha Shanahan Day staff writer

Owning a home in coastal Connecticut can be expensive.

So ever-increasing premiums for flood insurance through the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program are making the policies a hard sell, despite more heavy storms hitting homeowners in areas at risk of flooding, according to data compiled by the Associated Press.

Connecticut is one of 43 states where the number of people paying for flood insurance has gone down in the last five years.

According to the Associated Press analysis, 6 percent fewer people have flood insurance policies in New London County this year than were insured in 2012, and the number of policies is down in all Connecticut counties but Middlesex County.

Diane Ifkovic, Connecticut’s flood insurance coordinator, said the drop in policies can be attributed to two pieces of legislation: the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014.

Guide to Emergency Preparedness

Posted on September 13, 2017September 13, 2017 by Stacey Stearns

By Katy Davis

guide Did you know that September is National Preparedness Month? The State of Connecticut Department of Public Health has issued the Connecticut Guide to Emergency Preparedness, with tons of information so you can prepared during an emergency.

Also, The Connecticut Guide to Emergency Preparedness has come out in ten different languages! Those languages are English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Italian, Polish, Russian, and Vietnamese. Inside the guide is a lot of useful information for any case of an emergency. There are different areas of emergencies such as natural disasters, pandemic flu, nuclear emergencies and even drinking water emergencies. There is also a chapter on what to do if you are in an emergency situation. The Connecticut Guide to Emergency Preparedness (in all ten languages) can be found at this link: http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3115&q=482616

National Household Survey

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Stacey Stearns

 In July 2015, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducted a nationally representative household survey to measure household and individual preparedness and awareness of preparedness information.
 The survey also included a series of oversamples in U.S. counties where specific hazards present a relevant risk to those populations. These hazards included: earthquakes, extreme heat, floods, hurricanes, nuclear events, tornadoes, wildfires, and winter storms.
 The survey findings indicate that specific levers can be used to influence and increase overall individual and community preparedness.
- – The survey’s findings also indicate that having an increased awareness of the necessary steps to take to prepare for a specific hazard can motivate individuals to take steps to prepare for that particular hazard.
- – This raised awareness also increases the likelihood individuals will take the basic (i.e., non-hazard-specific) preparedness steps to develop and discuss a household emergency plan; make copies of critical documents; store supplies; and know how and where to get real-time alerts and warnings.

The results of the survey can be viewed on the FEMA website.

Equine Disaster Planning

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Stacey Stearns

Dr. Jenifer Nadeau has developed a fact sheet on How to Prepare for Equine Disasters, the fourth in a series on best practices in effective horse management. The fact sheet reads:

“We have all watched the evening news and seen horses stranded in floods or have heard about the latest barn fire in our communities. First, some shocking statistics. Every year, floods in the United States cause $2 billion in damage and animals risk death from hypothermia or drowning. Annually more than 300,000 people are driven from their homes by floods. An estimated 20,000 agricultural fires per year result in $102 million in direct property loss.”