Did You Feel It?

A minor earthquake, a 3.7 temblor centered near Berkeley, happened about 30 minutes ago. My wife and I felt it, watching TV in our home in San Francisco, and immediately went outside, just in case a bigger one followed. Thankfully, that was all.

Did you feel it? If so, take a minute to complete a form with the U.S. Geological Survey.

"Text messaging plan for emergency alerts"

This in today's Chronicle. You can register at alertsf.org.

Cell phone text messaging isn't just for tech-savvy teenagers. Officials in San Francisco hope it will help save lives in the event of an emergency.

In a new program announced Tuesday, the 17th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake, the city will send text messages to the cell phones of anyone who registers for the service, which will provide post-disaster information, such as where to find emergency shelters, or even tsunami warnings or terror alerts.

People could learn about evacuation routes and approaching severe weather, while teams of emergency workers could receive directions on response needs. Users of the service could indicate ZIP codes and addresses of concern to them and receive alerts targeted to those locations.

Text messaging has proven a reliable way to communicate during emergencies, including Hurricane Katrina, when phone lines are down and there is no electricity.

The service is free. To register visit www.alertsf.org.

New CPR Guidelines

"Push hard, push fast" next time you give CPR to someone having cardiac arrest, say new, simpler guidelines in a radical departure from past advice.

Putting the emphasis on chest compressions instead of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the American Heart Association now urges people to give 30 compressions — instead of 15 — for every two rescue breaths.

"Basically, the more times someone pushes on the chest, the better off the patient is," said Dr. Michael Sayre, an Ohio State University emergency medicine professor who helped develop the guidelines announced Monday.

"We have made things simpler," he said. "Push hard on the person's chest and push fast."

The streamlined guidelines should make it easier for people to learn CPR. Earlier rules were different for adults and for children and called on untrained rescuers to stop pushing the chest periodically to check for signs of circulation.

"Heart Assoc. Offers New CPR Guidelines," San Francisco Chronicle, Nov 28, 2005