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Hurricane Preparedness Week

Posted on May 29, 2012 by servprolexingtonsc

Are you prepared for a hurricane? What would you do? These are questions that you should have answers to because hurricane season is fastly approaching. This week is Hurricane Preparedness Week and we will give you safety tips on what to do in case of an emergency!
Two keys to weather safety are to prepare for the risks and to act on those preparations when alerted by emergency officials. These are essential pieces to the Weather-Ready Nation.

Refer to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) ready.gov/hurricanes for comprehensive information on hurricane preparedness at home and in your community.

Gather Information-

Know if you live in an evacuation area. Assess your risks and know your home’s vulnerability to storm surge, flooding and wind. Understand National Weather Service forecast products and especially the meaning of NWS watches and warnings.
Contact your local National Weather Service office and local government/emergency management office. Find out what type of emergencies could occur and how you should respond.

Contacts

Keep a list of contact information for reference: Local Emergency Management Office

County Law Enforcement
County Public Safety Fire/Rescue
State, County and City/Town Government
Local Hospitals
Local Utilities
Local American Red Cross
Local TV Stations
Local Radio Stations
Your Property Insurance Agent

Image of an Example Disaster Supply Kit

Plan & Take Action

Everyone needs to be prepared for the unexpected. Your friends and family may not be together when disaster strikes. How will you find each other? Will you know if your children or parents are safe? You may have to evacuate or be confined to your home. What will you do if water, gas, electricity or phone services are shut off?

Supplies Kit

Put together a basic disaster supplies kit and consider storage locations for different situations. Help community members do the same.

Emergency Plans

Develop and document plans for your specific risks.

Protect yourself and family with a Family Emergency Plan – [PDF] [Google Docs]
Be sure to plan for locations away from home
Business owners and site locations should create Workplace Plans
Make sure schools and daycares have School Emergency Plans
Pet owners should have plans to care for their animals. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention offer information on animal health impacts in evacuation shelters.
Prepare your boat and be aware of marine safety if you are on or near the water.

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Quickly Ensure your Home & Property is Secure from Damage

Make an Inventory of Tasks to Make your Home Wind Safe. Watch the Video.
Understand how you can secure your home and reduce hurricane damage from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Organization

One Hour: video
One Day: video
One Weekend: video

Use your inventoy to quickly secure your house in:
Put up DIY Temporary Plywood Shutters: video

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Evacuation

Image of Interstate Traffic in an Evacuation

Review the FEMA Evacuation Guidelinesto allow for enough time to pack and inform friends and family if you need to leave your home. FOLLOW instructions issued by local officials. Leave immediately if ordered!
Consider your protection options to decide whether to stay or evacuate your home if you are not ordered to evacuate. <!–
Determine multiple safe evacuation routes inland.
Keep copies of important papers such as identification and insurance policies with you.

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When waiting out a storm be careful, the danger may not be over yet…

Be alert for:

Tornadoes – they are often spawned by hurricanes.
The calm “eye” of the storm – it may seem like the storm is over, but after the eye passes, the winds will change direction and quickly return to hurricane force.

Recover

Wait until an area is declared safe before returning home.
Remember that recovering from a disaster is usually a gradual process.

Resources

Content Credit: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/ready.php
-Denea Duran

10 tips to stay motivated

Posted on May 25, 2012 by servprolexingtonsc

If you’re like me then you’re probably kicking yourself now that summer is right around the corner. I really wanted to have a beach body but it has been a task getting motivated to go to the gym. If I’m not going to a Zumba class then, let’s be honest, I really don’t want to be there. Here are some tips that have kept me motivated (and, believe it or not, really good at going to the gym! ).

This also helps with motivation to conquer the treadmill!

1. Make it a Routine: The nature of a routine is that after a while it becomes mechanical, or just something you do, which eliminates the need for daily internal pep talks. Maybe that’s what Nike meant when they said, “Just Do It.”
2. Set Goals: For runners training for a marathon, a regular exercise routine is essential to success, and is therefore motivating. This can be true for more moderate goals, such as running a mile or increasing the amount of weight you’re lifting from five to eight pounds.
3. Reward Yourself: You are your own teacher, so give yourself a gold star for a job well done (or a well-deserved pedicure?).
4. Make it Fun: Exercise doesn’t have to be boring. Spice up your treadmill experience by making a playlist of your favorite music, or by downloading a personal training session online. Or forget the gym and turn up the music and let loose in your own living room.
5. Switch It Up: A sure way to lose motivation is to do the same exact thing everyday. Keep it interesting – take a belly dancing class, a martial arts course or just take a nice long walk to a new area of town.
6. Keep Going: Push through those off weeks when nothing seems to be going your way. Go easy on yourself, but don’t give up entirely, even if that means taking a 15-minute walk or going to the gym and sitting in the sauna for 20 minutes; just stay in the game.
7. Be Positive: Focus on feeling good and the high that comes from an intense, sweaty workout. Don’t concentrate on how much it hurts, how tired you are or how much you would rather be lying on the beach with a frozen drink.
8. Visualize Success: Take a few minutes before your workout and see yourself enjoying the exercise; visualize it coming naturally and easily to you. Top Olympic athletes practice this technique regularly with great success.
9. Feed Your Soul: Exercise not only your body, but also your mind. Yoga is a great way to engage both – it can stabilize your mood, and even improve your endurance. Or get outside and take a walk, touch the leaves and breath in the fresh air.
10. Know the Benefits: Remember that exercise gives you energy; it strengthens your bones, muscles and joints; it lowers risk of heart disease, colon cancer and type 2 diabetes, and helps control blood pressure, prevent weight gain and fend off depression and anxiety. In short, exercise makes you feel good and on the inside and out. Remembering that should make it easy to stay motivated.

Content Credit: http://www.healthywomen.org/content/blog-entry/exercise-10-ways-stay-motivated

-Denea Duran

Myth-busting: Lightning

Posted on May 22, 2012 by servprolexingtonsc

After seeing my dog Charlie shove her face (the only part of her body that would fit) under my bed during the storm last night, I found myself with inspiration for today’s blog. You see, I wish I could have told my terrified pup that we were completely safe and that she was not facing her final hours. As silly as she seemed, though, I couldn’t help but think that we act similarly. We often approach storms with too much or too little fear because we don’t know the facts. So please take a moment to test your knowledge and enjoy some lightning myth-busting.

Myth: Lightning never strikes the same place twice.

Fact: Lightning often strikes the same place twice, especially if it’s a tall, pointy object. The Empire State building is struck nearly 25 times per year!

Myth: If clouds aren’t over my head and it isn’t raining, lightning poses no threat to me.

Fact: Lightning often strikes more than three miles outside of the thunderstorm and has been known to travel as far as 10-15 miles before striking the ground.

Myth: “Heat lightning” occurs after a very hot summer day and poses no threat.

Fact: “Heat lightning” is just a term used to describe lightning from a thunderstorm too far away to be heard.

*Don’t forget to fill out the poll on our home page about how you heard about SERVPRO. We’d love to hear from you!

Sandy Hayden

We are ready! Are you?

Posted on May 21, 2012 by servprolexingtonsc

The best way to handle an emergency is to be ready before it happens. In no way does this require a worrisome worst-case-scenario mindset, but simply a few steps of preparation.

In the case of a serious emergency, you may be in a situation requiring you to survive on your own. It may be a few hours or even days until help arrives. This is why it is imperative to keep an emergency kit on hand in case of such an emergency. Here are some suggestions for what to keep in your kit:

Water – You want enough for three days. Be sure to allow a gallon per person per day.
Food – At least a three-day supply of nonperishable food.
Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert – Be sure to have extra batteries for both.
Flashlight and extra batteries
First aid kit
Whistle – This is valuable for signaling for help.
Dust mask – This helps filter contaminated air.
Moist toilettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation.
Wrench and pliers to turn off utilities.
Can opener – This is only necessary if you have canned food in your food supply.
Local maps
Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger
Waterproof matches