U.S. Military Warns Mexico May Collapse

The United States military has released a report warning that Mexico may suffer from a sudden collapse.

The collapse could stem from the current chaos and violence fueled by gangs and drug cartels.

The Report also states that a response from the United States would be imminent if such a collapse takes place.

The report specidicly states: "The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and press by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone."

To view a copy of the report see our references below.

In related news, the Marines have also made it difficult for any personnel to travel to Mexico and it is also being reported that if the violence along the border spills over into the U.S. the military may respond to back the border patrol.

Plane Crashes Into Hudson River Off Manhattan, All Survive.

Earlier today a USAirways, Flight 1549 from Laguardia to NC, crashed into the Hudson River off Manhattan.

Apparently, the plane struck some birds, and had to make an emergecny landing into the Hudson.

ALL passengers and crew aboard (approximatly 151 people) survived. 70 people sustained minor injuries, and 1 person moderate injuries. Most passengers remained dry, and were rescued by area water taxis that were on the scene within 3 minutes of the incident.

The water temps for NYC were around 41 degrees F and air temps about 21 degrees F with sustained winds of 14 MPH.

A tug boat ran a cable through the front doors on either side of the plane to help keep the plane afloat.

Disaster Tip of The Week: Have An Out of State Contact

During a major disaster, it is possible that you may become separated from other family members. Especially if the disaster occurs during a weekday while you're at work and other members of your family are at school, work, or at home.

This leads us to our Disaster Tip of The Week: Have An Out of State Contact

During disasters, traditional methods of communications such as your cell phone, or even your land-line phone may be unusable. However, if you can get to your emergency meeting place, a designated emergency shelter, or other safe gathering point you should be able to get in touch with your emergency contact. Remember other members of your immediate family may not be able to contact you directly.

When you call your Out of State Contact person, tell that person where you are, if you  are staying put, or are still on the move, and where you may be headed if leaving the designated gathering point. Tell the person what happened and when you plan to call again and if possible how they can reach you as well as any other pertinent information that may be necessary.

Each member of your immediate family should have the same person as their point of contact to call in case of an emergency. The person you choose as the point of contact should write down all the information that you give them and let you know if other members of your family have called and where they might be.

Once the emergency contact has been called he/she should also try to monitor to the news as well so they can relay any information if needed.

If you do not have any friends or relatives living out of State, try another county or even the next town if you must. The idea is to have the person as far away as possible so that they would not affected by the disaster taking place in your region.

For instance my the emergency contact for my family is in NY, and I live in CA, I also have a secondary contact in PA if needed.

Free Emergency contact cards you can use for your family are included here in this post (see link below).

For further reading on keeping your family safe using contact information please refer to one of my past posts, ICE...In Case of Emergency, Who Do You Want Contacted?

Emergency Contact Cards

Earthquake Swarm At Yellowstone Comes To An End...For Now.

The Swarm of Earthquakes that started December 26, 2008, beneath Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park has stopped for now. Similar large earthquake swarms have occurred in the past at Yellowstone, without triggering steam explosions or volcanic activity.

A series of more than 900 seismic events was most intense on December 27, 2008. The sequence included sixteen events of magnitude 3 to 3.9 and approximately 70 of magnitude 2 to 3 (as of Sunday afternoon, Jan. 4, 2009). Visitors and National Park Service employees in the Yellowstone Lake area reported feeling the largest of these earthquakes.

Listen to a podcast interview with Dr. Jacob Lowenstern, USGS Scientist-In-Charge at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, about how scientists monitor volcano and earthquake activity at: http://www.usgs.gov/corecast.

To view up-to-date volcano monitoring information at Yellowstone National Park, visit the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Web site.

Washinton State Hit By Severe Weather 30,000 Evacuated

Washington State, hit by storms that caused massive flooding, mudslides, avalanches and the evacuation of 30,000 people from western Washington.

State officials closed a 20-mile stretch of I-5, other routes such as the state's three major east-west routes across the Cascade mountains due to avalanches.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for about two dozen rivers in western Washington, and Amtrak passenger train service out of Seattle was suspended because of mudslides.

Current information on state highways is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov, with county-by-county closure lists at www.wsdot.wa.gov/news/update.

Here are some Flood Safety Tips

Real Time Information: (was provided by @carolARC)

Seattle Situation Page

Resilient 2 Disaster: Western Washinton