A recent study published in the New Scientist magazine found that blogs, maps, photo sites and instant messaging systems played a larger and perhaps better role in  providing warnings, help and lists of how individuals were affected than traditional sources.

From The Telegraph in UK:

During the Virginia [Tech] shootings, they found the emergency services were slow to update their reports on the latest situation and the names of those killed.

Within just 90 minutes of the first deaths, however, a web page accurately describing the events appeared on web encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Twenty minutes after that, Facebook users had set up a group called ‘I’m OK at VT’, which allowed students and staff to reassure the wider world that they were safe.

Along with online blogging and social networking sites, another emerging trend is  emergency text messaging, especially at colleges. Other large organizations such as the Red Cross have also set up online sites, like the Safe and Well site, for victims to let their families know they’re safe.

How has social networking played a role in your family’s life after a disaster? Have you been able to learn more about what has happened or to get in touch with others?

Share your story in the Comments section below! 

Virginian residents have started the cleanup process after a huge storm system swept through yesterday.

The tornado season is just getting started. We’ve spoken with meteorologists, tornado victims, emergency management officials and even storm chasers about how to prep for the season ahead.

Top 5 tornado prep tips:

1. Watch for changing weather conditions. The sky may turn very dark (like night) or have a dark green tinge. Blowing debris or the sound of an approaching tornado may alert you; people who have lived through it say that an approaching tornado sounds like a freight train.

2. Create a “safe room” in your home where family members can gather during a tornado.

• Pick a room that’s toward the middle of your home. It shouldn’t have any windows. (The basement, the bathroom or a closet can work)

3. Prepare a readily available and fully stocked Home Disaster Preparedness Kit.

4. Stay tuned to your NOAA Weather Radio. At any time if there is a severe warning in your area, an NOAA weather radio automatically turns on and alerts you with beeps and sirens.

5. Remember, tornadoes can happen anywhere, anytime - not just in Tornado Alley. Downtown Atlanta experienced a tornado on Mar. 14, 2008. Tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica.

Want more? Top preparedness articles:

• Get Ready! Tornadoes
• Home Disaster Preparedness Kit
• Mythbusting: Top Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Tornadoes
• Real-Life: Storm Chasing
• What’s a Tornado?

Oil prices hit another all-time high again today meaning gas prices are also soon to rise again.

If you’re still driving, here are some top gas mileage tips from our favorite car mechanic and expert, Lauren Fix, The Car Coach:

As soon as next week the economic stimulus plan checks will be pouring into bank accounts and household mailboxes. To learn more about the stimulus plan and when to expect a check (it’s ordered by the last two digits of your Social Security Number), read a CNN Money article about the plan here.

Unfortunately you won’t be the only one waiting for your check. Mail thieves could also be on the lookout for these checks since they know that these checks are on the way.

According to the IRS, identity thieves are already pushing scams involving the stimulus payments. At least one telephone scam is making the rounds using the proposed rebates as bait. News release IR-2008-11, IRS Warns of New E-Mail and Telephone Scams Using the IRS Name; Advance Payment Scams Starting, has more details.

• FAQ about the Stimulus Plan - IRS
• How to Detect Mail Theft - Stolen Mail: Advice from USPS
• Reporting Mail Theft

Around the country, high school boys and girls are getting ready for the biggest event of their lives…so far. Prom!

My prom experiences were pretty happy ones: a lot of laughter and dancing but a lot of awkward posing for photos, my first painful memory of high heels and not-so-pretty dresses.

One pre-prom memory though, sticks out more than others. Right before my first prom, I took part in a “mock car crash” demonstration at my high school. Designed to warn kids about the dangers of drinking and driving, the “mock crash” is a simulation of what a real-life accident situation might look like. The non-profit organization Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) explains the scenario here.

Talking to kids about driving can be tough but thankfully, there are some great sites with expert tips and resources:

1. Set a good example. In a study by Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and Liberty Mutual, nearly 60% of high school students said that the way their parents drive is the way that they will drive. Leave the cell phone off, don’t eat while driving and follow the rules.

2. Learn the laws. Some states have restrictions on cellphone use while driving for teenagers. Read the laws here.

3. Do some talking. AAA has some great info for parents on talking to teens about driving (look for the Parent Guidelines link towards the bottom of the page). TeenDriving.org also has some good information.

Have a driving tip or prom story to share? Post it in the Comments below!

Spring is certainly moving season. This weekend, I saw many people - college students, families, neighbors - schlepping couches, mattresses and hundreds of boxes from car to house and house to car.

Moving is a great time to catalog (and get rid of) your belongings, forcing you to think - “is this couch really worth the effort?”

With spring cleaning and moving in mind, here are some top tips you can put into action this weekend:

1. While you’re cleaning and sorting before the move, do a home inventory.

• You’ll need a complete list and pictures of your possessions for insurance claims after a disaster.
• Start with your most expensive items and write down their serial numbers, make, model and price at time of purchase.
• Pick just one room to start with. It can be overwhelming do it all at once.
• Remember to keep all of this info somewhere other than your apartment (e.g. work, store it online, safe deposit box, at Mom’s house)!!

3. Now that you’ve sorted your “to keep” and “give away” items, find homes or have a garage sale for your plants, books, clothing and other items to give away.

4. Complete a change of address form at the post office or online. The last thing you need is a case of identity theft.

• You’ll probably also need to contact and set up new accounts with utilities and other public works departments.

5. Check out the location of safety features before you move furniture in.

• Place furniture in a strategic manner so you can access windows and exits in a hurry.
• Locate emergency exits and safety features like smoke detectors, sprinklers and fire extinguishers.
• Make an escape plan as soon as you move in because disasters and fires are unpredictable!

After researching a query from a reader, I rediscovered a gem of a website we’ve already linked to in the past: the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division’s website.

Focusing on the consumer side of air travel, the Aviation Consumer Protection Division (ACPD) operates a complaint handling system for consumers who experience air travel service problems. They also have a plethora of helpful tips for any traveler whether you’re a frequent flyer or a once-a-year vacationer.

Here are the top five tips from their site I found to be the most helpful:

1. Refunds. Contrary to the belief of some, airlines are not required to compensate passengers for “damages” when flights are delayed or canceled. Compensation is required by law only when you are “bumped” from a flight that is oversold.

2. Delayed passengers - food and amenities. Each airline has its own policies about what it will do for delayed passengers waiting at the airport. There are no federal requirements regarding these amenities or services. If you are delayed, ask the airline staff if they will pay for meals or phone calls. Some do not provide any amenities to stranded passengers.

3. Know where your bags are checked to. They may be checked only to one of your intermediate stops rather than your final destination if:

• you must clear Customs short of your final destination, or
• you are taking a connecting flight involving two airlines which don’t have an interline agreement (e.g., Southwest Airlines does not transfer bags to other carriers).

4. Avoid overnight stays. When selecting a flight, remember that a departure early in the day is less likely to be delayed than a later flight, due to “ripple” effects throughout the day. If you book the last flight of the day, you could get stuck overnight.

5. Consider paying by credit card, which provides certain protections under Federal credit regulations. For example, in all recent airline bankruptcies passengers who had charged their fare and were not provided service were able to have their credit card company credit their account for the amount of the fare.

• Aviation Consumer Protection Division
• Get Ready: Air Travel

A 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook residents awake this morning in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The quake was felt as far away as Florida. A 4.6 aftershock also occured around 10:45 am CST.

Here are some really cool earthquake links (courtesy of Al Tompkins at Poynter Online):

• Constantly updated, worldwide earthquake activity from the Earthquake Hazards Program.
• Info, including history, for each state.
• List of the largest earthquakes by state.
• Seismic hazard maps showing where earthquakes are most likely.
• “Did You Feel It” page, where you can see maps of recent events with color-coded areas indicating how strong people reported the tremors. You can submit your own report there, too.
• “Top Ten” earthquake facts for the U.S. and the world, including deadliest, largest, most recent and most significant.

And for some Friday video fun - a TV station at the epicenter of the quake (Evansville, IN) certainly felt the tremors: watch it here on YouTube. 

Have you ever been in an earthquake? What happened? What did you do? Add your Comments below!

With airplane bankruptcies, mergers and cancellations due to wiring regulations, who knows what the busy summer travel season will bring.

Here are a few top tips from bloggers and top travel columnists:

1. Know your rights in terms of delays and cancellations. “For example, you may have the right to a meal voucher if your flight is delayed more than four hours. If you miss a connection because of a flight delay, you may also have the right to be booked on the next available flight,” says Gerri Willis, CNN. “This can be found in the airlines’ contract of carriage. To find that info, go to the airline’s web site. It’s a good idea to print it out and take it with you.” Read Gerri’s other tips here.

2. Save money by nixing curbside services. “American Airlines, United Airlines, Northwest Airlines and US Airways, for example, have already instituted a $2 per bag fee (tip not included) for curbside bag check-in service,” says Harriet Baskas in her article for MSNBC.

3. How to get a hotel room upgrade: Pay a higher rate. “The higher your rate, the better your chances of being extended special favours,” says Daniel Edward Craig, Vice President of Opus Hotels and blogger. Read more of his hotel tips here.

4. Want more? Last summer we spoke with Scott McCartney, the columnist for Wall Street Journal’s The Middle Seat. Read what he had to say… 

• Get Ready: Air Travel
• Flight Delays: What to Do!

There’s an email scam out online attempting to reel in the nation’s top executives:

Thousands of high-ranking executives across the country have been receiving e-mail messages this week that appear to be official subpoenas from the United States District Court in San Diego. Each message includes the executive’s name, company and phone number, and commands the recipient to appear before a grand jury in a civil case.

A link embedded in the message purports to offer a copy of the entire subpoena. But a recipient who tries to view the document unwittingly downloads and installs software that secretly records keystrokes and sends the data to a remote computer over the Internet. This lets the criminals capture passwords and other personal or corporate information. [NYT]

This just goes to show that everyone and anyone can fall victim to identity theft. So what can you do?

1. Keep an eye on your bank statements and your credit reports. You can order your free credit reports from the credit bureaus: http://www.annualcreditreport.com

2. Read emails carefully. Although you may receive an “official” document, think and proceed carefully. Online searches of “common phishing scams” might provide answers.

3. Report any “phishy” activity to the correct authorities. If an email is posing to be a PayPal account update request, email PayPal and let them know you’ve received this phishing email so they can investigate it properly. Also, report any identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission as well so they too can investigate.

• Prevent Identity Theft
• Recover from Identity Theft