In January, tornadoes bombarded the South , taking more than fifty lives — at least thirty of those in my native state of Tennessee. Stories of survival in this tragedy include a man who managed to protect himself by pulling a couch over his head, bank employees who sought protection in their bank vault, and a woman who huddled in her bathroom as the twister roared through her neighborhood.

The far-reaching path  of the tornado and its accompanying storms extended from Texas to Ohio and the damage was bluntly described by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen when he said, "It looks like the Lord took a Brillo pad and scrubbed the ground." Tornado experts say this round of tornadoes is the worst they have witnessed  in about twenty-three years.

The swath of area  that tornadoes frequently go through every year is called Tornado Alley . But the untold story is that tornadoes don't just occur in Tornado Alley — they appear in some of the most unlikely places in the United States.

For instance, I had just gotten off the MAX  about a month ago, and as I headed to my son's school in Vancouver (across the Columbia River from Portland), I learned that a tornado  had come within a half mile of the school.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, earthquakes, flooding, and forest fires are the disasters we expect, not tornadoes. This small tornado had wind speeds of 90-110 mph, was 440 yards wide, and had a two mile path that touched down several times. Damage was not nearly as severe as in the South, because the Pacific Ocean and mountain terrain of the Pacific Northwest helped to limit the damage.

After hearing with relief that my kids were safe, I was interested in how often twisters went through Southwest Washington.

The last tornado that swept through Vancouver took place on April 5, 1972 , taking six lives and injuring 300. It ranks as the deadliest tornado in the state and was ranked the 7th worst weather-related event  of the 20th century in Washington State. It destroyed a grocery, a store, a bowling alley, and an elementary school, causing over five million dollars in damage. On the same day, tornadoes touched down near Spokane and in Stevens County, Washington.

All this stresses the fact that tornadoes can happen anytime, anywhere. As the year unfolds — and the traditional tornado season looms nearer — it's time to update your disaster plan, keeping in mind that tornadoes touch down  in unlikely places.

Posted by Steve at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Home, At Work, Environment, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Perspective, Prepare, Tornadoes, Wells Fargo Bank

Wells Fargo's Minneapolis History Museum has a program this month commemorating the 1982 Thanksgiving Day Fire. The Fire and people's memories are also featured on Wells Fargo's History site.

That blaze in downtown Minneapolis destroyed the Northwestern National bank headquarters, the company that rebuilt itself as Norwest and later merged with Wells Fargo.

The fire took everyone by surprise and the event was seared in the community's memory.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Fire. Minneapolis Curator Megan Schaack blogged about the fire, developed exhibits and hosted events that culled memories of the disaster, good and bad.

WellsFargoHistory.com has video memories from employees, including today's CEO John Stumpf, who began work immediately to get business back on track. The fire occured on Thanksgiving Thursday and burned through the weekend, but the Company opened first thing the following Monday morning. Rock stars!

The fire is a big deal in the Twin Cities. The Museum's events got a lot of attention from the media, in print from the Downtown Journal  and on TV at KARE  (Channel 11) and Fox 9 

(Check out how Channel 5   uses WellsFargoHistory.com as their content — that darn media!)

Posted by Charles at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in At Work, Events, Experts, Fires, First-hand Accounts, Minneapolis, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Participate, Perspective, Prepare, Remember, Thanksgiving, Wells Fargo Bank

The 25th anniversary of the Thanksgiving Day fire that destroyed Northwestern National Bank  (now Wells Fargo) in downtown Minneapolis is fast approaching. The fire was, at the time, the largest office fire in US history and caused an estimated $100 million in damages. The flames burned for four days and demanded the efforts of 180 firefighters. Amazingly, the first five floors of the bank building were untouched by fire. Charles Lindberg’s first plane, a "Jenny" , on display in the lobby was unscathed (Lucky Lindy lives on), as were the safe deposit boxes and vault.

A new emergency plan — quickly put into place along with computer backup files stored four blocks away (new technology in those days) — allowed the bank to continue business the next day. By the following Monday, 1,500 team members were working from new office spaces throughout town.

The empty shell of a building stood for two years until it was demolished in 1984. The city block stood empty for another four years until the construction of the Norwest Center (now called the Wells Fargo Center ). Designed by Cesar Pelli , the 57-story bank tower opened in 1989. Pelli salvaged and reused many architectural parts from the demolished 1930 bank building. “These elements," Pelli declared, "help make the connection between past and present, old and new, to strengthen the continuity through time that is the hallmark of all great cities.”

Join us in remembering the fire. Contribute your stories online at our history website. And visit the museum on Tuesday, November 20, for a reception from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. CST. Objects on display at the Wells Fargo History Museum in Minneapolis include a melted telephone retrieved from the charred office remains.

Posted by Megan at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in At Work, Fires, Get Involved, Minneapolis, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Participate, Perspective, Prepare, Remember, Thanksgiving, Wells Fargo Bank

Almost four years to the week from the Cedar Fires , San Diego is again the center of a firestorm. For me personally, this one was both nearer and farther away.

Good friends have been staying with us all week, unable to move back into their heavily damaged Rancho Bernardo  neighborhood. Their house has survived but all around them destruction has visited and left its cruel calling cards. If we've learned anything about the rebuilding process from the previous conflagration, it's that it will be years before those destroyed homes will be replaced. And much of what they lost is irreplaceable, no matter how many kings’ horses and men  are called on to help them.

The response of the firefighters , police, and public officials has been much improved. Communication between different agencies and cities was clearly better. A reverse 911 system  warned many residents that flames were headed their way, but by no means were the warnings given to everyone who needed to hear them. My friends were warned with that most intimate and American of all emergency notifications: a neighbor knocking on the door at 4 in the morning. They received no call, but managed to evacuate in a hail of embers.

The incessant finger pointing of four years ago has been largely replaced by pats on the back and kudos, and much is well-deserved. The local news agencies'  shotgun approach to covering the fires and evacuations was mostly effective in getting important information to the residents of the afflicted communities, but you could miss a lot if you weren’t both internet and media savvy . Some of the best information came from residents being interviewed about what they knew. As such, it seems to me that Journalism should no longer be an elective course in our school systems. If you don’t know how to evaluate the utility of different information streams, you will likely pay a high price in ignorance and frustration — or perhaps worse.

Blogs may be good for getting some facts out, but the lessons from this fire will require a more substantial hearing. Perhaps my handlers will allow me to revisit this topic weeks from now, after the smoke clears and some clarity returns to the skies surrounding San Diego.

Posted by Allan at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Home, At Work, Events, Fires, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Perspective, Prepare, San Diego, Wells Fargo Bank

I was born and raised in Wisconsin, spent winter vacations in Upper Michigan , and spent summer vacations camping around the country. My husband was raised in Indiana, where the ice storms  are legendary. We were both taught to have an attitude of preparedness. Our cars are outfitted with jumper cables, emergency shovels, sleeping bags, windshield scrapers, and (of course) umbrellas.

We don't have hammers.

When your car falls into water, you can't open the door because of the pressure from the water. If you have manual windows, you can open a window and swim out. If you have power windows, you must break a window in order to escape. How do you prepare for this? Keep a hammer in your car, within reach of the driver's seat.

The night of the I-35W bridge  collapse, I watched regular-channel programming for the first time in two years. I watched all night. By the time the rescue efforts were called off for the night, I had finally figured something out. All along, people had been saying that there were 50 or more cars on the bridge when it collapsed. But on the news coverage, there were more like 20, if that. I finally realized that all those missing cars were underneath the part of the bridge that was in the water.

Did those people keep hammers in their cars? Could I have gotten out?

There is a running joke in Minnesota that all we can talk about is the weather . There's a good reason for that: We have a lot of weather, and it causes the natural disasters that we deal with here. We have blizzards, we have tornados, we have flooding. We don't have earthquakes, or hurricanes, or tsunamis. So, of course, we talk about the weather. But now we're talking about bridges.

The I-35W bridge across the Mississippi is as complicated in its death  as it was simple during its life . For many of us, it is as though we lost a family member. Many of us drove that bridge twice a day; I myself drove it about twice a week. Its death has caused tangled emotions and tangled conversations, no less than it has caused tangled traffic. Some of us ran to give first aid help; some of us ran for our cameras; some of us ran away. Some of us want to get as close to it as possible; some of us can't even see pictures without shedding tears. Some of us blame the mayor; some blame the governor; some blame the legislature; some blame the construction company doing repairs. Some of us want to spend more on all of our highways; some of us want to spend more on mass transit; some of us want to spend more on maintaining the status quo.

I just want to buy a hammer .

Posted by Phyllis at 01:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Found in At Home, At Work, Events, Get Involved, Minneapolis, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Perspective, Prepare, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

Yesterday evening, the I-35W bridge between Minneapolis and St. Paul collapsed during rush hour. Many died or suffered major injuries. At this point, the rescue operations are still going on, and it's hard to know what the ultimate toll will be.

Guided By History has bloggers in Minneapolis, and there are many people who work with us in preparation and publication. We all like each other a lot, laugh a lot about some of the things we put together here, and really believe in our company and its outreach. At this point, I know some are OK. I have not heard about others, but the calls are in and I'm waiting to hear.

The whole thing freaked me out because these are people I know and care about. I've been to Minneapolis on business, winter and summer, and it's a wonderful place. We have a terrific relationship with the Minnesota Historical Society  in St. Paul. Twin Cities people are my neighbors, and I feel this tragedy deeply.

Please contact the Red Cross chapter in Minneapolis  and do what you can to help. If you are part of this blog community, send an email or comment to let me know how you're holding up.

Posted by Charles at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in Events, Get Involved, Minneapolis, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Perspective, Wells Fargo Bank

The other day I was listening to a CD in the car. It was the Bee Gees  and other disco from the late '70s and early '80s. Even though I should have been dancing, the songs told me, I had to drive. So I started thinking, which is what I do and what makes these posts so memorable. (Alright already!)

Disco  was the combustion of three important historic ingredients: dancing, Watergate  and the music biz. Dancing returned to rock 'n' roll after the egotistical '60s had destroyed it. Rock 'n' roll was all about dancing at the beginning, with the Big Bopper , the Killer  and The King . Later, during the British Invasion , dance clubs played rock 'n' roll as hipsters jerked and frugged . The late '60s put that on hold as young people focused on consciousness raising, festivals and fashion.

Altamont  revealed the limitations of the Age of Aquarius, as Kent State  revealed the determination of leaders to continue the Vietnam war. After Watergate, many people tuned out public affairs, tired of scandal and violence. The rock 'n' roll generation retreated to the original fun of the art form: concerts and dancing. Meanwhile, soul music had reached its political and artistic heights in the '60s. While artists sang about contemporary themes, the music never lost its mission to make people dance. The sound kept changing with fresh artists and producers who found new ways to mix in scads of musical elements and effects. The more that was produced into a song, pulsing dance rhythms had to be more prominent. Combined with multi-vocal traditions from doo-wop  days, the result was those smooth but funky records of the '70s.

Producers had fat new technology available, kids were buying records in huge quantities, and people were dancing to rock ' n' roll instead of taking over office buildings . Everybody in the music business was looking for a place to mix it all together and make a fortune. The Gibb brothers, who had enjoyed some success a decade before with British Invasion ballads, were experimenting with new pop mixes that would get AM airplay and get on the playlists at dance clubs. They scored an independent film that featured a rising TV star and was about the emerging new dance club culture.

It was called "Saturday Night Fever,"  and the Gibbs produced the soundtrack featuring their own songs and those of several other artists. The movie was an instant hit, thanks to John Travolta  as star, but the soundtrack  was bigger. After the two debuted in winter 1977, the airwaves were saturated for another few years with disco and the Bee Gees' song-making juggernaut.

By the early '80s, many people had had enough, and disco got a terminal reputation as stupid and greedy, produced in seconds by non-artists in sound factories. Fair enough—too much of anything is not good (like '60s self-importance, maybe?). But it was a real force for a few years. It was happening.

Listening to some of these songs 30 years later, in the self-containment of a Toyota on the freeway, I got a momentary different vibe. A lot of work went into disco—the instruments and voices were usually real people—and good songs are good songs. Disco was dumb, sure. So were hair metal bands in the '80s  and white shoe-wearing fakes in the '50s. Don't sweat disco, my friends. It's just history anymore.

Posted by Charles at 06:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in Disco, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Natural Disasters, Perspective, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

A year ago today, Guided By History appeared in the Blogosphere.

The idea was a simple one: put Wells Fargo's outstanding heritage and collection in the conversation swirling around out there. We figured people would dig it. And we thought it would demonstrate that knowing what has occurred in the past has relevance to what happens now—and what might happen in the future. If you understand where you've been, and how you responded to situations in the past, you'll have a better idea how to cope with situations happening now.

History is experience. Your own experience is your history and it's as valid as George Washington's. (OK, probably on a smaller scale, but you get my drift.)

So enjoy your situations today—even the weird ones. Because at worst, you are gaining the experience that will help you cope with situations to come—even the weird ones. Chances are, they won't be so bad because you know how to handle 'em. And enjoy those good moments too. There's no better experience for the individual, the group and, yes—the whole dang world.

Feel that experience! Be history as it happens!

Posted by Charles at 02:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Found in Natural Disasters, Perspective, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

This from paradise:

Kilauea is ready to fall into the ocean, scientists fear . Well, not actually—the delta formed by continuous lava flow is about to break off the side of the volcano and return to Davy Jones' Locker .

The good news is that volcanoes are busily forming land masses,  at least over zillions of years. With a little patience, there will be more Hawai'i for more people.

And with more turf comes more life. Lush, tropical life  in paradise.

Posted by Charles at 01:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Experts, Natural Disasters, Wells Fargo Bank

The Hurricane Season of 2006—in the U.S., that is—was a dud. That is, if you like hurricanes, evacuations, insurance claims ...

The latest  from both government agency  and academic research  sources suggests that 2006 was a no-hurricane year thanks to El Niño. The change in oceans directly affects hurricanes, which are brewed in the air over the oceans. Naturally, next year promises to be a doozy.

The news report added: "No hurricanes hit the U.S. Atlantic coast in 2006—only the 11th time that has occurred since 1945."

Lull before the storm?

Posted by Charles at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Ernesto, Experts, Hurricanes, Katrina, Natural Disasters, Prepare, Wells Fargo Bank

Today is the 65th anniversary  of the attack on Pearl Harbor . That event is the general historical moment the U.S. entered the Second World War. That conflict created the recent, modern world with the U.S. in the driver's seat, a situation(with many, many caveats, of course) that has been altering for years. But the general historical moment when the world entered a new era will probably be the attack of September 11, 2001.

What have we got in those 60 years between historic events? Well, the U.S. went from World War to Cold War right away. The threat of complete destruction (by scientists arming soldiers) prompted the exploration of new territories—including outer space (soldiers driving new science). The expansion of technology got us to space and now we behold Mars , finally ready and willing to ="host our exploration">host our exploration.

Chuck Norris declares  the lesson of December 7, 1941—we are under constant attack and have to behave as such. That's a reasonable interpretation (with many, many caveats, of course) from a martial artist, where anticipation is the basis of response. But for all the weapons, there are many other kinds of explosions that affect ordinary people. Like the Milwaukee plant that abruptly blew up , or a freak tornado in London , of all places. With anticipation the basis of quick response, we are ready for explosions, attack or otherwise.

We individually can make our homes and our selves as tools against the big kablooey. Minnesotans were recently found the healthiest Americans , challenging the snobs who declare everyone between the coasts is grossly out of shape. Those least healthy? Louisianans, whose geography was recently, uh, totaled by natural disaster and hapless response. Collectively, we can monitor our use of the geography and try to find ways to achieve balance. The movie "Chinatown"  showed a corrupt elite in Los Angeles using public resources for private gain. Recently, L.A. is working to give back some of the water  they "stole" back when.

Treat yourself right as a way to keep your own health, of course—but also as a way to create a better social organism. A healthy, interconnected world. It might not usher in the epoch of peace and brotherhood, but it can sure postpone Armageddon .

Of course, there will be mistakes. You might have good intentions that fall a little short. But it's OK. We love ya for who you are, not what you ate for lunch! 

Posted by Charles at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Home, Events, Katrina, Natural Disasters, Prepare, Remember, Tornadoes, Wells Fargo Bank

Winter storms have hit the Heartland . Guided By History is on it.

For starters, you're going to need a little knowledge. Begin your winter storm prep here(PDF)  for the basic overview, then expand your know-how and survival kit with this  from Springfield, Ill., and this info  from Stearns County, Minn. Winters are long and cold there, so these are people who know snow.

New England also knows snow—and how to tame it. New England Motorsports has this forum on tires . Connect with these guys if you need more info. These fellas here  can get you started down the cleared road to do-it-yourself environmental alteration. If they don't know gear, it can't be known. Keep in mind you need to get going before dawn—that's when plowing's done, cowboy. Or you can leave it to the giants of plowage .

Now you're getting ready, but you need one last thing—something to laugh at us bluebloods from out West. Here it is . Just know we have an answer  for you.

Most of us came out here to the crowds and the smog precisely because of everything I've just written about.

Posted by Charles at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Found in At Home, At Work, Natural Disasters, Prepare, Wells Fargo Bank

According to the news , they barely felt the 'quake in Japan on Wednesday (Thursday there—no, wait ...) before tsunami warnings got everyone to safety. Then, the tsunami traveled all the way from Asia to California and —WHAM!—struck Crescent City , wrecking docks and sinking a boat. One local said he was not aware of the tsunami until he heard about it from others. "We're only three blocks from the harbor," he said to the San Francisco Chronicle. "We didn't know it was coming."

Meanwhile, half a world away in North Carolina, a tornado upended Riegelwood  and killed eight people. "There was no warning. There was no time," one victim said in the AP report. "It just came out from nowhere."

I searched the National Weather Service for "warning system" and got a full page  of links to their procedures and policies.

So why are warnings not received? Is it fiscal trouble in counties? What's our weak link here?

Posted by Charles at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Earthquakes, Get Involved, Natural Disasters, Participate, Tornadoes, Tsunamis, Wells Fargo Bank

According to USA Today , the drought that has tormented the Great Plains  the last few years is starting to ease. But as we wrote last summer, drought has such a wide area of impact and is of such duration that it's hard to treat it like a disaster  in the usual sense. You can't just hunker down in your "drought cellar" and wait it out—drought  affects everything while it sizzles.

Water means power, and low levels don't turn the generators . Ecosystems are stressed as wildlife moves away  from dry areas and then congests other areas. The quality of remaining water is lessened, meaning water contaminated with microbes and an increase in disease-carrying agents .

So far, the USDA has a long list of programs  for mitigating the effects on farmers, ranchers and other food producers. When I search the Web for drought relief agencies in the U.S., all I see is tons of news on international drought relief.

Is there an agency or a program that treats drought the same as a hurricane or a volcano? Let me know!

Posted by Charles at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Experts, Natural Disasters, Wells Fargo Bank

Memorial services are being held today  for one of the five firefighters killed on October 26. The five lost their lives  while fighting the the Esperanza fire in Southern California.

Those killed were Jason McKay, 27, of Apple Valley; Jess McLean, 27, of Beaumont; Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, of San Jacinto; Mark Loutzenhiser, 43, of Idyllwild, the captain of Engine 57; and Pablo Cerda, 23, of Fountain Valley .

"Bump Up," Engine 57. Godspeed.

Posted by Charles at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Fires, Natural Disasters, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

Were you there?

There was a 6.7 earthquake in Hawai'i over the weekend . The media were abuzz with the story. The focus was not just the damage or the unnerved residents, but also on the threat of tsunamis .

Nevertheless, everything is OK on the Big Island, even as authorities comb for tragedy. According to the USGS (your top earthquake and volcano resource), this alarm is founded in fact —guided by history, if I may. A 1946 quake in Chile sent 55-foot waves to Hilo, causing extreme damage. This event prompted the Tsunami Warning System  that still operates today.

Most Hawaiians are cool about the whole thing, as you'd expect. Will Kyle details his day , one of three historic earth-broncos he's busted. He also writes about the potential for continent changing: The science he invoked gave me a jolt, by golly.

Just another day for Hawai'i, although a more interesting one, to be sure. And at the end of each Hawaiian day is that one-of-a-kind sunset and some cultural magic .

Aloha.

Posted by Charles at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Earthquakes, First-hand Accounts, Natural Disasters, Tsunamis, Wells Fargo Bank

USA Today reports  that a large number of American cities have gotten an "F" grade for their evacuation plans. Meaning, there is no plan—or the one these cities have is, well, dumb.

So your area has little or no real plan for moving people quickly and safely in the event of trouble. Added to this, the nation is looking at a population of 300 million people by (tick, tick, tick) this week . Evac + no plan = panic & chaos. Imagine 300 million people climbing over you. No, really. You have to be ready. You have to be strong. You have to be healthy to face the future.

Start with what you eat. Many people are getting wiser about what's in the food they order or prepare. Globs of unhealthy oils, for instance , are being looked at recently as bad enough to be like smoking or other health no-nos. Make sure you understand basic nutrition: The old saw about "everything in moderation" applies except with fruit and vegetables . (It's my own personal quirk that I treat Brussels sprouts  as I treat sour cream and onion potato chips—avoid at all costs. When offered at a dinner party, eat one to be polite.)

Then there's how we eat . This is where our society has its challenges, but we can get a hold on it anyway. It's all about the mind. That's right, eat with your head. You already do, you know!

So there you go. You drop a few pounds, give your bod some solid building blocks. When the Big, Bad Storm comes and City Hall tells you to get outta town, you're one of the people with the strength to walk a few miles past the traffic jams or ride the mountain bike  over all the hills and dales .

You can be Jack La Lanne . Well, almost anyway. There's only ONE Jack La Lanne!

Posted by Charles at 04:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Home, Natural Disasters, Prepare, Wells Fargo Bank

In the hurricane that devastated Galveston, Texas, in 1900 , at least 6,000 people perished and most of the city's buildings were obliterated. America had become an industrial power in that era, and the technology of the time—telegraph, newspapers, telephone and telegraph—enabled news and recovery to travel to the farthest reaches. The disaster got a huge response from concerned Americans.

The Salvation Army, 20 years in the U.S. by that time, sent a big delegation to the stricken city to provide relief . "From these beginnings, The Salvation Army has developed local, regional and national disaster services programs," the Army's website states. Today, The Salvation Army has a substantial disaster response program in place  to aid community recovery.

In 1893, Charles Sutro , of the vaunted San Francisco family, gave The Salvation Army a donation of $100. (The check was drawn on Wells Fargo Bank, the vaunted San Francisco institution.)

I salute The Salvation Arny, on scene still in New Orleans, and with a recovery team in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania , to assist those folks how ever they can.

Posted by Charles at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Hurricanes, Natural Disasters, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

For me, tornadoes have a certain romanticism. I’m not sure if this stems from watching "The Wizard of Oz"  too many times or from my childhood, when the South Dakota storm sirens would blare and my mother would sweep me from my bed and head for the basement.

Just last weekend McCook County, which is about 45 miles from where I live, was hit by an early autumn twister. There was nothing romantic about it: South Dakota Emergency Management officials estimate that the tornado destroyed two homes, 10 grain bins, 20 farm buildings, five head of cattle, and plenty of farm equipment.

No one was seriously hurt.

Interestingly enough, eastern South Dakota’s historical tornado activity apparently is greater than the overall U.S. average. Eight years ago, the same area was struck by the most destructive tornado in the state’s history . It killed six people, injured 150, and caused $18 million in damages.

Given that history, I’m not surprised by the community’s response to this latest storm. McCook County residents seem to experience tornadoes more often than the average American, so they have the clean-up down to a science. Plus, South Dakotans—in general—are good neighbors.

Three days after the tornado, more than 100 volunteers arrived at the most devastated areas. They sorted through piles of debris—twisted metal, splintered wood. They corralled livestock, cleared fields, and built burn piles. They offered as much emotional support as they did physical labor. And Sioux Empire Red Cross  volunteers provided coffee, hot cocoa, and beef stew—stay-warm sustenance for a cold, hard day’s work.

McCook County isn’t back to normal, but it’s on its way.

Good neighbors, indeed.

Posted by Staci at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Home, First-hand Accounts, Get Involved, Natural Disasters, Participate, Prepare, Remember, Tornadoes, Wells Fargo Bank

Toshiba announced today they are recalling laptop batteries made by Sony . This follows the high-profile recall last month  of Sony batteries by Apple  Computer and Dell , after the batteries were found to overheat and actually catch fire .

Last winter, a UPS plane made an emergency landing in Philadelphia  with laptop batteries ablaze. During the nation's killer heatwave, the NTSB held public hearings  on the incident, which focused on properties of the batteries and how flammable they are.

Such an occurence would be a real disaster for an individual. (The laptop fire, I mean. A fire aboard a plane is totally the other end of the spectrum—a full-on disaster.) How do you prepare for such an occurence? How do you protect one's data and gear?

Dan Phillips, a Risk Manager with Wells Fargo, suggests an easy list of things to do to protect against computer malfunction. As more and more people utilize laptop computers to perform their functions and processes, he tells me, it's vital to:

• Ensure your data is backed up on a regularly scheduled basis.
• Keep backup data in a secure location away from the laptop itself. This ensures that a laptop disaster does not also affect the backed-up data.
• Give consideration to where and how you could obtain another laptop quickly in the event your primary unit fails.
• Ensure your laptop is current and up-to-date on security standards, such as encryption, anti-virus software and remote access software.
• As laptop technology continues to evolve and improve, older platforms easily become outdated and obsolete. Make future budgetary plans for laptop upgrades every 2-3 years.

Dan and other experts have suggested that the flammable battery is a technology glitch and is likely to be a thing of the past very soon. For the immediate term, though, it's wise to check and double-check the serial numbers and other identifiers against lists of defective batteries.

If you're not sure, contact the maker of your laptop or take it to a dealer.

Posted by Charles at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in At Home, At Work, Experts, Natural Disasters, Prepare, Wells Fargo Bank

All across the Heartland, a lack of rain is tormenting this year's crops . Does your state have a drought plan? Let’s play citizen journalist here: If you find your state’s plans, let us know!

Drought is a tough situation and it is toughest when moisture goes below a pre-determined "normal" line. What "normal" is, and where that line is, varies among several indices , or methods of getting and presenting data for a big picture.

Hey, this is science—you knew it would get complicated.

Anyway, the data takes into account rainfall, snowpack, groundwater levels and anything else that makes up the the water resources in an area. It will be different resources in Bali than in Ventura, say, or Yankton. And this year, it's rough going in the nation's breadbasket. And in the South and Southeast, too. Levels are "moderately" and "very" dry. The Dakotas are hardest hit.

The Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln  details the plans for drought and how to get prepared. Drought as "disaster"—that is, as a natural hazard that strikes a large area and affects a population—are quite different than floods or hurricanes . The preparedness plans reflect this and have a "social" scale. Whole states and regions have to coordinate. Most states and regions have plans and Illinois has a long-term plan.

Posted by Charles at 03:59 PM |