Disaster preparedness progress today: more intumescent paint, slowly working through the rest of the paint in order of vulnerability. (first was the siding, the the eaves above remaining plants next to the house, then the lower level eave exposures, and now the other side of the house with eaves that have exposures.) Running short on energy, not paint, LOL. (it's an arm workout!!). Also trying to finish off sections one at a time, so it doesn't look the house is disassembled.

Japan's parliament has enacted a bill to facilitate restoring ports damaged by natural disasters so they can be used as transportation bases for relief supplies. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/04/16/japan/ishikawa-earthquake-ports/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #earthquakes #ishikawaearthquake #notopeninsula #ports #disasterpreparedness

Finished painting and touching up my now more fire resistant siding, in between other projects. Still need to finish off the eaves. Main lessons:

1. Need to make sure the intumescent paint is dry as possible before top coat.

2. THIN top coat and second coat better than one thick coat. (Keeps paint lighter and less likely to slide or sag)

3. COOL air temperatures a lot better for the top coat than HOT. Even within paint range. More viscosity helps.

Hmm, still have a LOT of intumescent paint. Looks like I will be doing everything wood attached to the lower level of the house, LOL. Also means I will have to buy more paint to top coat later. Turning into a month long project.#disasterpreparedness #wildfires

Fine. Moved a few of the "foundation plants" near my house into pots, so they are portable (a few small coffee plants and former houseplants). Procedure will be to move them away from the house when Red Flag Warning conditions appear. In the -0-5 ft defensible space area. #disasterpreparedness #wildfires

Hmm, I have a lot more fire retardant paint left still, so I guess I will keep on going. (siding is painted, working on eaves). The big issue with paint (as usual) is how labor intensive it is, especially on the undersides of the eaves (up on a ladder, arms up...). After it's all painted, will need to cure for 4-5 days before top coat. Intumscent paint, which provides significant protection from ignition. #random #disasterpreparedness #painting #wildfires

Painting the siding of my house with intumescent paint. Some small amount of insurance. (Mitigate your attic vents first, they are the primary risk in wind driven wildfires). #disasterpreparedness

Hot disaster prep tip. Ride a bike? Got small lights that can be removed and charged via USB? They're handy when the power goes out. A red one is nice if you're comfortable with mostly sitting in the dark because it won't torch your night vision. A white one can also be useful. Bike lights often have good battery life relative to other things like aging cell phones. #BikeTooter #DisasterPreparedness

Tip to save your life.

If you ever need to call for help in an emergency (police/fire/rescue/etc) you need to give your location. What if you are not at a street address or you do not know the address?

GPS chips in phones all basically work the same way. They produce (1) your latitude longitude coordinates in decimal degrees and (2) an accuracy value in meters.

Caution! When you first turn location services ‘on’ the accuracy value could easily be over 5,000 meters.

Caution! Some software (looking at you Google maps) only displays coordinates and does not display the equally important accuracy value.

https://findmesar.com is an open source #ProgressiveWebApp (PWA) I developed that displays your coordinates and accuracy value in several formats. It can be installed on Android and iOS for offline use. **Not available in any app store, not on GitHub and 100% enshitification free.**

To give it a try, open FindMeSAR, scroll down and tap ‘No’ and then give permission to use your location. Now tap ‘Next format’ to scroll through the various formats.

For instructions on how to install it for offline use, tap ‘Tips’.

Other buttons let you copy the data to the clipboard and, if your device is online, open the GISsurfer web map with a marker at your location. I am the GISsurfer dev and you can read more about it at https://gissurfer.com.
#Disaster #DisasterPreparedness #Emergency #SearchAndRescue #Rescue #shtf #PWA

Infrastructure businesses in Japan are stepping up measures to reduce potential damage from a possible huge earthquake in the Nankai Trough. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/04/02/japan/society/infrastructure-measure-nankai-trough/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #earthquakes #nankaitrough #disasterpreparedness #phones #telecoms #internet #electricity #jr #nttdocomo

Korea Midland Power secures top honors in 2024 disaster preparedness drills, highlighting commitment to safety and efficient emergency response capabilities
#YonhapInfomax #KoreaMidlandPower #DisasterPreparedness #SafeKoreaExercise #EmergencyResponse #PowerPlantSafety #Economics #FinancialMarkets #Banking #Securities #Bonds #StockMarket
https://en.infomaxai.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=56592

This looks interesting. Found on Facebook from #MutualAidDisasterRelief , who say to email mutualaiddisasterrelief@gmail.com with questions or to RSVP or you can text Malik at 504-428-4177 so they make sure to have enough supplies for everyone.

I'm going!

In a new strategy, the European Commission is calling upon Europeans to enhance the stockpiling of critical equipment and maintain at least 72 hours worth of supplies in case of emergencies. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03/27/world/society/eu-72-hours-emergency-supplies/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #society #europe #eu #disasterpreparedness #terrorism #cybersecurity #europeancommission #ursulavonderleyen

Beyond the Wine-Dark Sea – Eos https://www.diningandcooking.com/1980777/beyond-the-wine-dark-sea-eos/ #DisasterPreparedness #EarthScience #Hazards&Disasters #Mediterranean #MediterraneanWine #NaturalHazards #TransdisciplinaryScience #Wine

Trump signs order to shift disaster preparations from Fema to state and local governments

Reuters
Tue 18 Mar 2025 22.12 EDT

“From day one, the Trump administration has been eroding the nation’s capacity to plan for, respond to, and recover from disasters,” Moore told Reuters.

"'They’ve overseen the dismissal of 1,000 Fema staff – who won’t be there to respond to a flood or wildfire – and are withholding funding from local and state governments who are doing risk reduction projects and more.'

"Shana Udvardy, a senior researcher at the #UnionOfConcernedScientists, said she was concerned the order marked 'another dangerous step' that would leave communities with fewer resources to prepare for future disasters.

"'The executive order shifts most of the responsibility for #DisasterPreparedness to state and local governments, asking them to make more expensive infrastructure investments without outlining the federal role in that,” she said."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/18/trump-executive-order-fema-disaster-preparation
#ExtremeWeather #Polycrisis #USPol #FEMA #WereOnOurOwn

Japan's government has adopted a program to introduce what are known as hospital ships, which provide medical care at sea in the event of large-scale disasters or infectious disease outbreaks. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03/18/japan/politics/hospital-ship/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #shigeruishiba #earthquakes #nankaitrough #disasterpreparedness #hospitals #health

Japan has passed a bill that centers around advancing disaster prevention efforts that take into consideration the unique geographic features of peninsulas in the wake of last year's Noto Peninsula earthquake. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03/18/japan/politics/bill-peninsula-disaster-prevention/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #lowerhouse #notopeninsula #disasterpreparedness #earthquakes

The Hiroshima District Court on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the operation of the No. 3 reactor at Shikoku Electric Power's Ikata nuclear plant in Ehime Prefecture. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03/06/japan/crime-legal/hiroshima-court-rejection-ikata/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #nuclearenergy #hiroshima #japanesecourts #ikata #restarts #earthquakes #disasterpreparedness #ehime

As billionaires looting the US government annihilate its ability to identify and respond to disasters (#FEMA, #CDC, #NOAA, etc), I would like you to take a moment to imagine a system that couldn't so easily be hijacked. Imagine a system that can't simply be taken over by a couple of people whose only skill in life is manipulation.

Imagine a #DisasterPreparedness system with distributed funding and support that can't be cut off by just attacking funding. Imagine a system that would continue to remain active even if a tiny portion of the population didn't understand it and didn't want to be part of it.

Now imagine that system isn't just focused on pandemics, hurricanes, fires, and earthquakes. Imagine it also considered other disasters, like the current crisis of mass displacement created by (among other things) a capitalist housing market. Imagine a disaster preparedness system so comprehensive that it included the personal crises (thereby eliminating the need for the entire insurance industry) and global crises (that states have failed to address for longer than most folks reading this have been alive) like climate change.

Imagine a system that could not only resist fascism, that could not only survive complete state collapse, but could make the state entirely irrelevant as an entity.

This is anarchism. This is what we are trying to build. This is what we have been building. Anarchists have been deeply involved in disaster relief efforts since at least Katrina (Occupy Katrina, Occupy Sandy, Mutual Aids Disaster Relief, etc). We will continue to build this.

I hope that we will have built enough to support you when the state withdraws or is pushed out by some crisis or other, but if you'd rather not wait you can start building with us. Because that's how we build it: everywhere, together.