Disasters

Apocalypse Now: Preppers Are Gearing Up for Ebola

Jason Charles knows the exact moment he will lead his wife and five kids out of their Harlem home, pile into a car, and take off for the wilderness. It will be not long after Ebola reaches the population of New York City, hospitals overflow, and looting begins—when the first riots break out on the streets of Manhattan. “Right now it isn’t bad, but if the first case happens in New York, you start hearing about hundreds or thousands of people getting sick and it shotguns through the city, then you want to start getting your plan together to leave,” says the 37-year-old fireman and dedicated prepper.

Japan ‘not ready’ for invasion of redbacks as venomous Australian spiders reach Tokyo

Experts warn Japan’s medical system is not ready for an invasion of potentially deadly redback spiders, with limited supplies of the anti-venom available to authorities. About a dozen of the venomous Australian spiders were found in a small park in a residential area of Mitaka in Tokyo, terrifying local parents. The redbacks were quickly captured and exterminated by authorities but government official Motosugu Tanaka said they would not be able to stop them from spreading.

Brazil Water Crisis Seen Worsening As Sao Paulo Nears ‘Collapse’

Sao Paulo residents were warned by a top government regulator today to brace for more severe water shortages as President Dilma Rousseff makes the crisis a key campaign issue ahead of this weekend’s runoff vote. “If the drought continues, residents will face more dramatic water shortages in the short term,” Vicente Andreu, president of Brazil’s National Water Agency and a member of Rousseff’s Workers’ Party, told reporters in Sao Paulo. “If it doesn’t rain, we run the risk that the region will have a collapse like we’ve never seen before,” he later told state lawmakers.

The Spread Of Ebola In Africa Is Being Limited Due To Tight Border Controls In Two African Countries

Considering the CDC’s conflicting and confusing statements –  I’m not sure which is more dangerous – government incompetence or Ebola. Aside from being a grave threat to human life, an Ebola epidemic in the US would have serious consequences for our economy, inhibiting Americans from flying, going out to restaurants or to see a movie, or  just going out in public in general. Just look at the public fear incurred in the past couple of days, with only one infected person (Amber Joy Vinson) travelling on a commercial airline.

Top Scientist: This Version Of Ebola Looks Like ‘A Very Different Bug’

Barack Obama and the head of the CDC need to quit saying that we know exactly how Ebola spreads. Because the truth is that there is much about this virus that we simply do not know. For example, a top Ebola scientist that is working in the heart of the outbreak in Liberia says that this version of Ebola looks like it could be “a very different bug” from past versions.

Ebola: Liberia deaths ‘far higher than reported’ as officials downplay epidemic

The true death toll from the Ebola epidemic is being masked by chaotic data collection and people’s reluctance to admit that their loved ones had the virus, according to one of west Africa’s most celebrated film-makers. Sorious Samura, who has just returned from making a documentary on the crisis in Liberia, said it is very clear on the ground that the true number of dead is far higher than the official figures being reported by the World Health Organisation. Liberia accounts for more than half of all the official Ebola deaths, with a total of 2,458.

Warning: A Massive Government Solicitation Could Cause a Shortage of Protective Clothing, Gloves, Masks

The National Institute of Health has placed a massive order for protective clothing and supplies that could make it impossible for you to procure your own gear. And by massive, I mean a year’s supply for employees of facilities across the country, replenished throughout the year no matter what happens, and taking priority over any personal orders. Here’s some of the text of the solicitation, entitled “EMERGENCY DISASTER EVENT PREPARATION FOR PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)”.

When Should I Go Into a Full Pandemic Lockdown Mode And Self Quarantine?

Gross mismanagement of the Ebola crisis by CDC and health officials around the country has left many Americans wondering what steps they need to take to prevent getting infected. Some of the key questions facing concerned citizens revolve around the concepts of self quarantine and social distancing. When do you make the call to bug in or bug out?

Nurses Union: Ebola Patient Left In Open Area Of ER For Hours

A Liberian Ebola patient was left in an open area of a Dallas emergency room for hours, and nurses treating him worked without proper protective gear and faced constantly changing protocols, according to a statement released by the nation’s largest nurses’ union. Among those nurses was Nina Pham, 26, who has been hospitalized since Friday after catching Ebola while caring for Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with the virus in the U.S.

Dallas Nurse With Ebola Traveled By Air The Day Before Her Symptoms Surfaced

The CDC has announced that the second healthcare worker diagnosed with Ebola — now identified as Amber Joy Vinson of Dallas — traveled by air Oct. 13, the day before she first reported symptoms. The CDC is now reaching out to all passengers who flew on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth.

Nurses at Texas hospital: ‘There were no protocols’ about Ebola

“The guidelines were constantly changing” and “there were no protocols” at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas as the hospital treated a patient with Ebola, the president of National Nurses United told reporters Tuesday. Protective gear nurses wore at first left their necks exposed, union co-president Deborah Burger said, citing information she said came from nurses at the hospital. Union officials declined to specify how many nurses they had spoken with.

Nurses Blast Hospitals Over Ebola Safety

A national nurses union said during a hastily-scheduled press conference Tuesday evening that hospitals are dropping the ball on safety for nurses caring for Ebola patients. RoseAnn DeMoro, director of National Nurses United, which has been critical of hospitals’ response to the Ebola crisis, said safety protocols recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not been followed by the Dallas hospital where Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, died last week. “Our nurses are not protected, they’re not prepared to handle Ebola or any other pandemics,” DeMoro said.

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