Who said emergency preparedness has to be boring?

If you live, work or spend a good amount of time in Topanga, this free downloadable document is a must. The team that designed this 17 chapter disaster guide did an extremely beautiful job putting this visually exciting document together. And why did they do it? Here is the introduction from County Supervisor Yev Zaroslovsky:

I am honored to present the inaugural edition of the Topanga Disaster Survival Guide. Topanga is a unique community—in terms of both its community spirit and its natural beauty—but that natural beauty comes with a price. The same forces of ecology and geography that make Topanga one of the most spectacular places in Southern California have also made it particularly vulnerable to natural disasters such as brushfires and floods. In order to better prepare for this threat, an extraordinary collaboration among members of the Topanga Community, numerous County Departments, and other government agencies has come together over the past two years to strengthen disaster response plans and make sure that every Topangan knows what to do when a disaster strikes. The Guide is an important tool in this effort, and I urge everyone to read it and use the checklists to plan and prepare now, because you never know when you will need to act quickly to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Topanga’s effort will be a model of disaster preparedness for the rest of the County,
and I congratulate all those who worked on this effort.

The guide covers quakes, animal/pet preparedness and evacuation, slide, storm, wildfire, house fire, recovery and many other important information needs. Start today by downloading this information. Even if you do not live in Topanga, it still is useful.

Using the latest and greatest Internet tools, the Los Angeles Fire Department is setting an example for public communication and ubiquity in the information age. After being notified via text message of a "traffic collision with entrapment on Sherman Way," we paid a call to LAFD for an update on their ever-expanding Web endeavors. We caught up with veteran LAFD firefighter and public service officer Brian Humphrey during one of his 24-hour shifts in The Bunker -- an old bomb shelter under City Hall that serves as the fire department's public information dispatch center.

Photo by Dave Bullock via flickr.

LAist: We noticed that LAFD is now transmitting alerts directly to mobile devices, via Twitter. What other tools and Web applications are you currently using and why?

Brian Humphrey: Here at LAFD Labs we're currently employing or experimenting with 80-85 Web 2.0 properties.