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There are many organizations dedicated to keeping your family prepared in the event of a disaster. Please help keep your family and community informed by reviewing these resources and sharing them to anyone that will find them useful. You can learn more about preparing for a disaster by contacting or visiting any one of the following organizations:
List of Vital Links
Los Angeles
County Department of Public Health
- Emergency Preparedness Hotline
1-866-999-LABT (5228)
This hotline is staffed by multi-lingual operators available
between 8:30 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday to provide
information on disaster preparedness. The information provided
by the operators is similar to the information that is included
in this labt.org web site. Callers are connected directly
with hotline operators who speak Spanish, English, Korean,
Armenian, Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese, Vietnamese and
Russian. Callers who speak other languages will be assisted
by a tele-interpreting service.
Los Angeles
County Emergency Survival Program (ESP)
www.espfocus.org
This web site was developed by the Emergency Survival Program
(ESP) and the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management.
The web site contains a calendar style collection of easy
to print disaster information sheets that include topics
on:
- Understanding terrorism
- Actions for threat levels
- Tuning into the media
- Weapons of mass destruction
- Taking cover
- Planning for a trip
- Staying or going
in a disaster
- Being safe at work
- School preparedness
- What to do if you are in a public place
- Volunteering
- Preparing an emergency kit as a gift
There is also
a description of disasters that have occurred in Los Angeles
County. Most of the web site contains disaster planning
resources for local government officials and an overview
of the Office of Emergency Management's role in a
disaster. The information is available in English only.
Los Angeles County
Disaster Hotline
1-800-980-4990
This hotline has recorded information (no live operators)
on disaster and emergency preparedness in English and Spanish
available 24 hours a day. As of July 2005, the hotline had
taped information on the following topics:
- Current information
on terrorism and the recent threat level for Los Angeles
area
- Information from the LA Department of Public Works
on a number of storm-related emergency situations, including
power outages, sandbags, landslides, hillside fires, traffic
signal problems, homeowner's guide
- Information
on anthrax and mail handling procedures
- Emergency
preparedness and basic first aid, with specific guidance
on both.
211- Los Angeles
County (simply dial 211)
(Formerly INFO LINE Los Angeles)
Info Line Los Angeles - TTY: 1-800-660-4026
Live operators at this line are available 24 hours a day,
7 days a week and provide free, confidential information
and referral services to individuals for such critical issues
like health care and substance abuse, domestic violence,
shelter, food, legal and financial assistance, children
and senior programs and mental health services. Services
are available in English, Spanish and over 140 languages
via a tele-interpreting service.
Note:
Use 211 not 911 if you need information about the above
topics that 211 operators have available. You should call
911 only if you have a life-threatening
emergency.
City of Los
Angeles Emergency Management Department
www.lacity.org/epd
Helpline: 1-888-356-4661
This web site provides a brief summary of how to prepare
for a disaster while at home, work, or in the car. It also
gives a brief description of how to prepare children, elderly,
special needs populations and pets. The web site contains
easy to print Spanish brochures on disaster preparedness,
power outages, and how to prepare for extreme heat. The
City of Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Department coordinates
the interdepartmental preparedness, planning, training and
recovery activities of the Emergency Operations Organization,
its divisions, and all City departments.
City of Los
Angeles Emergency Management Department Helpline
1-888-356-4661
1-213-473-6296 (TTY)
This helpline has comprehensive recorded information (no
live operators) 24 hours a day in English and Spanish for
each of the following emergency preparedness related topics:
1) Information on the City’s annual Emergency Preparedness
Fair; 2) Emergency preparedness tips; 3) Earthquake preparedness;
4) Fire safety and heat wave protection; 5) Storm emergencies;
6) Information on City services (power lines and water problems,
erosion and structural damage, blocked storm drains, refuse
collection and debris removal, and lost and found animals);
7) Sandbag information (sandbags free to public). The helpline
also refers people to the Update LA web site,
which is the official web site of the City of Los Angeles
Emergency Operations Organization. During major emergencies
impacting Los Angeles, information of potential interest
to the public and media will be posted here.
City of Los
Angeles Department of Disability (DOD)
http://www.lacity.org/dod/
1-213-485-6334
1-213-485-6655 (TTY)
The DOD web site has information on emergency preparedness
for people with disabilities, including a 46 page handbook
that can be downloaded for free. The handbook is easy to
read with large print and includes information that will
be of special interest to those with visual, and mobility
disabilities, owners of service animals and pets, persons
who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, and those with special
medical needs.
California Emergency
Preparedness Office
http://bepreparedcalifornia.ca.gov/epo/
This web site contains comprehensive information about
floods, ricin, wildfires, smallpox, and biological, chemical
& radiation agents in both English and Spanish. Some
information on floods and hurricanes is also available in
French and Vietnamese. There are 21 fact sheets that cover
biological, chemical and radiation emergencies some of which
are in multiple languages including English, Spanish, French,
Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
Centers of Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) Emergency Preparedness &
Response
www.bt.cdc.gov
1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636)
1-888-232-6348
(TTY)
You can call the above CDC numbers at no charge and
talk to a hotline operator 24 hours a day (24/7) 365 days
a year about emergency preparedness for natural and intentional
disasters.
CDC has comprehensive information on bioterroism agents
(English & Spanish), chemical emergencies (English only),
radiation emergencies (English & Spanish), mass trauma
(English & Spanish), natural disasters & severe
weather (English, Spanish & French), and recent outbreaks
and incidents (English & Spanish). It also contains
easy to print fact sheets in many of the topics mentioned
above.
U.S. Department
of Homeland Security
www.ready.gov
This web site is easy to use and provides information in
English and Spanish on preparing families and businesses
for a disaster for emergencies involving biological &
chemical threats, explosions, nuclear blasts, radiation
threats, and natural disasters. The web site has a special
section for children: FEMA for Kids! that uses cartoon characters
to teach kids how they can be prepared for disasters and
prevent disaster damage. Children can also learn what causes
disasters, play games, read stories and become a Disaster
Action Kid.
Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA)
www.fema.gov/areyouready
A copy of Are You Ready? A Guide to Citizen Preparedness
in English and Spanish can be downloaded free from this
web site. Are You Ready? provides a step-by-step approach
to disaster preparedness by walking the reader through how
to get informed about local emergency plans, how to identify
hazards that affect their local area, and how to develop
and maintain an emergency communications plan and disaster
supplies kit. Other topics covered include evacuation, emergency
public shelters, animals in disaster, and information specific
to people with disabilities.
Are You Ready? also provides in-depth information on specific
hazards including what to do before, during, and after each
hazard type. The following hazards are covered: Floods,
Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Thunderstorms and Lightning, Winter
Storms and Extreme Cold, Extreme Heat, Earthquakes, Volcanoes,
Landslide and Debris Flows (Mudslide), Tsunamis, Fires,
Wildfires, Hazardous Materials Incidents, Household Chemical
Emergencies, Nuclear Power Plant, and Terrorism (including
Explosion, Biological, Chemical, Nuclear, and Radiological
hazards).
American Red
Cross
www.redcross.org
This web site has extensive disaster preparedness and response
information for the public, including information on preparing
for and responding to terrorism and natural disasters, family
disaster planning guidelines, helping your child cope with
a disaster, preparedness for the elderly and individuals
with special medical concerns, preparedness for pets, service
animals and livestock, and preparedness guidelines for business
and industry. The web site has disaster preparedness information
in the following 14 languages: Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese,
English, Farsi, French, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Laotian,
Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
Living Independently
in Los Angeles (LILA)
LILA is an on-line project designed to benefit people with
disabilities living in Los Angeles County. LILA uses an
interactive map that may include the location of services
and programs benefiting people with disabilities including
local businesses, accessibility features of publicly subsidized
housing, inclusive recreation programs, and independent
living resource information. It includes a list of disaster
and emergency resources in the website’s Community
Resource Directory.
The National
Child Traumatic Stress Network – Terrorism and Disaster
Branch
http://www.nctsnet.org
The focus of this web site is to serve the mental health
needs of children and their families in the event of disaster
or terrorism. The web site has numerous resources on child
trauma for parents, healthcare workers, and other professionals,
including specific guidelines on dealing with disaster and
terrorism-related childhood trauma. The web site also has
information on family preparedness and response for natural
disasters and terrorism, including a Family Preparedness
Guide and emergency Wallet Card in the following 6 languages:
Armenian, English, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.
American Veterinary
Medical Association (AVMA)
www.avma.org/disaster
AMVA has a 15-page booklet entitled, "Saving the
Whole Family", that will help you design a disaster
preparedness plan for your small and large animals. Booklet
comes in English only. It can be downloaded for free from
their web site.
