Winter – Cold Weather and Power Outage Safety

Winter brings cold temperatures, snow, freezing rain, and high winds. When rain freezes, ice weighs down trees and power lines, this can lead to power outages (see below for multi-language fact sheets).

Photo by Brett Sayles (cc license)

During a winter storm

Washington Department of Health tips:

  • Wear several layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing rather than one layer of heavy clothing. Wear mittens rather than gloves. Wear a warm, woolen cap.
  • Do not drive unnecessarily.
  • Reduce the temperature in your home to conserve fuel.
  • Heat only the areas of your home you are using. Close doors and curtains or cover windows and doors with blankets.
  • Use alternative heat methods safely. Never use a gas or charcoal grill, hibachi or portable propane heater to cook indoors or heat your home.
  • Never use a generator indoors or in a garage or carport.
  • Be careful when shoveling snow. Do not overexert yourself.
  • Be sure to eat regularly. Food provides calories that maintain body heat.
  • Watch for signs of frostbite and hypothermia — slurred speech, disorientation, uncontrollable shivering, stumbling, drowsiness and body temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
  • If you become trapped outside, get out of the wind and stay dry. Build a lean-to or snow cave if nothing else is available. Do not eat snow; it will make you too cold.

If in your vehicle

  • Make sure someone knows where you are going. Stay on the main roads.
  • If you must stop, remain inside the vehicle. Use a bright distress flag or your hazard lights to draw attention to your vehicle.
  • If trapped in a blizzard, clear your tail pipe and run your engine and heater for 10 minutes every hour. Open your window slightly.
  • During night hours, keep the dome light on in the car so rescue crews can see your vehicle.
  • Keep an emergency kit in your vehicle. Include a three-day supply of water and non-perishable food that can be eaten without being cooked. Include a blanket or sleeping bag for each passenger, a flashlight, cell phone, shovel, sack of sand or kitty litter, booster cables, flare, coffee can with lid, and toilet paper.

PDF tip sheets in other languages: Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Somali, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

What should I do if I see damaged or downed power lines?

Department of Health Seattle & King County:

  • Don’t get near any fallen or sagging power line!
  • Call the utility company about the line
    (Seattle area residents: 206-684-7400, other King County residents: 1-888-225-5773).

If you have a power outage, safe ways to stay warm

  • Find places where you can go to get warm, such as the home of friends and family whose homes have power.
  • Wear several layers of light weight, warm clothing rather than one layer of heavy clothing. Wear hats, mittens, and blankets indoors.
  • Close curtains and cover windows and doors with blankets. Everyone should try to stay together in one room, with the door closed, to keep in body heat.

Prevent poisoning from carbon monoxide

  • If you don’t have electricity, only use a generator outdoors and far from open windows and vents.
  • NEVER use a generator indoors, in garages or carports
  • NEVER cook or heat indoors with a charcoal or gas grill 

Help Others

Q&A RSV, flu and COVID in King County: What should I know?

In the Fall and Winter months there is often a rise in respiratory viruses. This Fall (2022) there have been many RSV and flu cases requiring emergency room visits – especially for young children. Health clinics might also see more COVID cases and hospitalizations in the winter as people gather indoors and new COVID variants spread. These diseases can make young children, older adults, and other vulnerable people very sick, and overload hospitals and clinics.

RSV is a common respiratory virus that spreads every winter. Anyone can get RSV, but in 2022 we’re seeing a lot of cases in young children. For healthy adults and older children RSV can feel like a cold, with symptoms like runny nose, less appetite, coughing, and fever. But it can be a very serious illness for babies, older adults, and others.

The Seattle and King County Department of Public Health has put together an informative slide deck in eighteen languages. The deck Includes information about RSV, flu and COVID in King County, what to look for and how to prevent illness.

These slides can be shared in waiting rooms, at community centers, and in other places where people gather. Slides are available in the following languages:
• አማርኛ (Amharic)
• العربية (Arabic)
• 简体字 (Chinese – Simplified)
繁體字 (Chinese – Traditional)
• دری (Dari)
• English
• Français (French)
• 日本語 (Japanese)
• ភាសាខ្មែរ (Khmer)
• 한국어 (Korean)
• KajinM̧ajeļ (Marshallese)
• ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (Punjabi)
• Русский (Russian)
• Af Soomaali (Somali)
• Español (Spanish)
• Wikang Tagalog/Filipino (Tagalog/Filipino)
• ትግርኛ (Tigrinya)
• Українська (Ukrainian)
• Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)

Mental Health Booklets

The Health Council of the Ethiopian Community in Seattle have created booklets discussing Mental Health. They are available in Amharic/English (Ethiopian), Oromo/English, and Tigrinya/English (Eritrean).

See sidebar to download PDF booklets.

The Brain

Brain Death: What It Means

This handout offers information for families and loved ones of patients. It explains how doctors determine that a person is dead based on their brain function.

Handout PDFs are available at UW Medicine Health Online in English, Arabic, Tigrinya, Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Amharic and Spanish languages.

For information for providers, see Determination of Brain Death/Death by Neurologic Criteria – The World Brain Death Project (article accessible with JAMA subscription).

The Brain
Photo by Francisco Bengoa (cc license).
Fruits and vegetable

Diabetes: Meal Plan Basics

These materials were developed at Harborview Medical Center (Seattle, WA) for use in a multicultural diabetes class for patients and family members. The materials were translated into a number of languages and each PDF includes both target language and English. Languages include: Amharic, Arabic, Khmer (Cambodian), Oromo, Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya and Vietnamese. The Arabic handout has an audio narration.

PDFs and audio narration are available in sidebar.

Updates to materials were funded by .

Fruits and vegetable
Photo by Penn State (cc license).

How Foods Affect Blood Sugar: A Guide for Ethiopian & Eritrean Patients with Diabetes

This presentation is intended to be used by clinicians during discussion with patients about carbohydrates and blood glucose. It is culturally tailored to reflect foods commonly consumed by Ethiopian and Eritrean Americans and includes photos of foods, meal comparisons, portion sizes, and some information about managing diabetes during periods of fasting. 

Resources include narrated video presentations (47-50 minutes) and PDF presentations with table of contents (129 slides). Each resource is available in Amharic, Oromo and Tigrinya in the sidebar.

Amharic

Introduction 0:50
Carbohydrates: Introduction 7:10
Carbohydrates: Starches 07:39
Carbohydrates: Fruit 18:26
Carbohydrates: Dairy 19:57
Carbohydrates: Sweets 20:54
Drinks 21:33
Extras 24:05
Foods That Do Not Raise Blood Sugar: 26:16
Proteins 26:46
Fats 27:59
Non-Starchy Vegetables 29:11
Meals 31:43
Fasting 39:00
Fasting: Orthodox Christian 40:27
Fasting: Muslim 42:30
Conclusion 45:29
Additional Resources 45:55

Oromo

Introduction 0:48
Carbohydrates: Introduction 6:51
Carbohydrates: Starches 07:24
Carbohydrates: Fruit 18:02
Carbohydrates: Dairy 19:42
Carbohydrates: Sweets 20:49
Drinks 21:28
Extras 23:52
Foods That Do Not Raise Blood Sugar 26:19
Proteins 26:43
Fats 28:03
Non-Starchy Vegetables 29:12
Meals 31:24
Fasting 39:21
Fasting: Orthodox Christian 40:56
Fasting: Muslim 42:49
Conclusion 45:41
Additional Resources 46:04

Tigrinya

Introduction 0:47
Carbohydrates: Introduction 6:59
Carbohydrates: Starches 07:26
Carbohydrates: Fruit 18:36
Carbohydrates: Dairy 20:32
Carbohydrates: Sweets 21:37
Drinks 22:16
Extras 24:58
Foods That Do Not Raise Blood Sugar 27:39
Proteins 28:07
Fats 29:43
Non-Starchy Vegetables 31:00
Meals 33:54
Fasting 41:58
Fasting: Orthodox Christian 43:29
Fasting: Muslim 45:51
Conclusion 49:06
Additional Resources 49:31

Background

Harborview Medical Center (HMC) physician Dr. Carey Jackson identified a need for a culturally-tailored visual reference tool to use during conversations about diet with diabetic patients. 

Methods

Mei Yook Woo created this tool to fulfill practicum requirements for the University of Washington’s School of Public Health, Nutritional Sciences, and as part of EthnoMed’s student contribution program. Dr. Carey Jackson served as clinical advisor. Rekha Ravindran provided program support. Harborview dietitians Charlotte Neilson and Karen Conger mentored the author during the project. Meetings were held with health care providers who work with Ethiopian/Eritrean patients. Cultural guidance was provided by caseworker/cultural mediator Yodit Wongelemengist.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Agelegle Ethiopia restaurant in Seattle for allowing us to photograph many of the foods featured in this slideshow at their wonderful restaurant. Special thanks to these others who supported and contributed to this work: Mohammed Abdul-Kadir (ICHS), Dawn Corl (HMC), Bogale Demse (HMC), Tsehay Haile (HMC), Phalla Kith (HMC), Gammada Sani Abraham (HMC), Tsega Woldetatios (HMC).

Funding for this education was provided by the Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority.