L.A. Prepares for the Big Quake Amid the Questions of When and How Large - Is your city prepared

 My promise in the beginning was not to use scare tactics and to try to make things bite sized for you to prepare for disasters in Where to Start. 
This week I read with interest how  Los Angeles has begun to look at the pieces in the public forum so their citizens understand it. They have been planning for a long time, but articles like this one show you the citizen the types of things they are worried about and planning for.
LA Prepares for the Big Quake Amid Questions of When and How Large  Its long (more than 30 seconds) but worth the time to read it all.

Why do I think its important citizens read this? Really two reasons:  
1.  Honestly, most of what we do in emergency management is not recognized by the public as it seldom produces perceptible results to the public in the short term.  But it does produce things that may save lives in the long term.  Pay attention to the discussions of water and transport in the article.  Pay attention as your government makes budget cuts, if the Emergency Managers are on that cut list you WILL have a harder time surviving and recovering from a catastrophic event. 

 2.   If you read this piece and pay attention to the main points they are making you can look at your planning and say okay I need to do a little more in that category, and that one looks good for now. But you are conscience of the need, and that makes it more focused.

And if you read this and think, okay I have put this off long enough- awesome. Start here and dig in, a little at a time, planning takes time.

Good Planning
Disaster_Dave




 

You've lost that preparedness feeling (sung to the tune of "You've lost that loving feeling")

Why do we constantly talk about preparedness?  I know some people may tire of it, but its necessary.  Why? 

Well we do not have it as part of our memory and or we think it can't happen to us.  Lets look at two examples; one of a group who survived not because they had a back pack by the front door (a good idea though) but because they recognized the danger as it had been passed down and another group that didn't follow their traditions. 

In 2004 the Tsunami in the Indian ocean killed over 230,000 people in multiple places, but one island had zero deaths or casualties.  The Andaman Islands inhabited by the Mokens (Sea Gypsy's). When rescuers arrived they found them safely atop a hill!  Their culture had passed down stories that when the great water receded it would flood the land.  

And in 2009 the earthquake that hit L'Aquila that killed 309 people and pretty much destroyed every home.  This is a case where the scientist were convicted of sending a message that..."interfered with the local “earthquake culture”, a set of entrenched habits and reactions such as, for example, that of spending the night outdoors after the occurrence of medium shocks."

So what does your culture or habits in our modern wired always on society tell you to survive and thrive after a disaster? I'm not sure, but surveys seem to say we aren't prepared for the hazards we face.  A 2009 survey showed 57% reported making some plans, but only 44% had a household plan where to go and and what to do (think like a Moken).

So we keep repeating the message and asking you to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.

And now you probably want to hear the song here

Disaster Dave

The headline says it all

This morning Napa and SF were awakened by an Earthquake, and the headline read

"The Bay Area just got hit with its largest earthquake in 25 years".

So why is that important? I often hear people say things like "Earthquakes happen on a longer schedule, it may not happen in my lifetime".  Excuse me, I would like to point out that twice in 25 years is a pretty short life.  So for those of us in a seismic  area, can we all just change our posture a little and understand that it could happen in our lifetime (pretty sure I have at least 25 more years).

And for the rest of America and the world, Hurricanes, Cyclones, Tornadoes, house fires, forest fires, ice storms, power outages (I know I left some out) don't really have a "geological clock " so you need to prepare too.

So where to start, if you aren't a reader of mine here are some links to posts I have written on planning and preparation.

Northwest Quake - where will you be  

Can you find all your important documents...

MITIGATION

and my most recent post   Its about an investment......In your family's well being.

 Don't do everything today, but get started. tick,tick tick.

DisasterDave

 

Its about an investment...

...In your family's well being.

According to the National Priorities Project we have spent somewhere north of $767,000,000,000 on Homeland security since 2001and sadly we really don't know what it has bought us. But this isn't about what we did or did not get, this is about how much have you spent since 2001 (or this year) on making sure your family is ready for The Apocalypse (just kidding). 
But really are you ready for the next storm season? Check here in September for the forecast for this winter.
Do you have an evacuation plan in case there is a forest fire? 
Do you have water stored? Why store water, that's silly, there is water in my tap. Did you see Toledo's water warnings ?

So look at your local grocery and watch for sales on bottled water and stock up on a couple of cases per person (and don't forget Fido he drinks water too)

Put away a few cans of Dinty Moore beef stew & bags of rice

Get trained in Wilderness First Aid    Usually available through REI.

Take some time this summer and prepare just a few steps. You will be glad you did... when something happens and you have made an investment and are prepared. 

Happy dog Days of August 
DisasterDave

Recovery is a Long Road...

Transportation Safety Board of Canada

I came across a story this weekend on the train wreck in Quebec Canada and was struck by two things.  First that it had been a year since that happened, and what a horrible disaster, a town literally  blown off the map.  And the second thing was in the story they mentioned that they were getting ready to commemorate the event but "Many townspeople aren't ready for it."

So in our short attention span world of 30 second sound bite news and expecting your coffee order in seconds, how long do you think it will take you & your community to recover from whatever disaster that could befall it? Whether it is something like a tornado, earthquake or tornado or even a train derailment in the dark of night, how will you recover? And what will you do when the one year anniversary comes and you still aren't whole? 

Some things to think about: 

• When was the last time you reviewed your insurance with your agent? 
• What is his/her name & phone number?
• Where is your policy? Is it some place safe in case your house is affected (that's what the policy is for, right, so why keep it in the house)?
• How will your family reconnect if separated?
• What if you can't reenter your neighborhood for days? Weeks? Ever?
• Does your local government have a plan to help the city recover?

So not a panic point, just take the extra time this weekend to think about these questions.  And please don't dismiss this as "it can't happen here", these communities and others are still in recovery:

Sandy recovery 

Moore Oklahoma recovery

Quebec


Disaster Dave

Its times like this that things look different

For those of us in the Seattle area it has been a long two weeks, with the slide in Oso Washington touching all of us in some way.  But once we step back from the response and take a day off and look at our beautiful area, I tend to take the beauty at face value, but under the beautiful hillside is...    Don't get me wrong your local public servants in emergency management take this personally, we spend our time trying to educate you and our elected officials to the dangers in our beautiful state.
The things that make our state and region beautiful are some of the same things that can in the least make life hard or even kill you.  A fellow emergency manager, Eric Holdeman wrote a great piece this week on why you won't listen entitled Living with Risk: but don't you love the views . You should read it and decide which one you are.
I know there hasn't been a major earthquake here in your life time, but your life time is not the measuring stick of when a quake will strike, but it could end your life.  Sorry I digress.

Lets just assume you fall into one of the categories in Eric's article and be done with it.  So if you  are determined to live on the side of a hill, or a few feet from the ocean, or in a high rise, at least do a few things to up the odds in case you are wrong.

Look for things you can do to minimize danger.
You live on or under a hillside:

• Pay attention to the weather - more rain = more chance of a slide
• Get involved in the community make sure the politicians are aware that you are aware
• Seek a professional on putting plants that will hold the ground and drink water
• do some internet research on your home area

You live on the ocean/sound:

• Have an emergency radio turned on and turned up loud
• Learn about Tsunamis and what your danger level is
• Pay attention to King Tides tables

 You live on a river:

• Have an emergency radio turned on and turned up loud
• Learn about the threat to your home
• Search for your county name flood warning and save that site

Because it can happen here
prayers for those lost in Oso and their families
disaster_dave 

Three Years since 3-11

I have written a couple of posts, and done several presentations on lessons learned from my time spent responding to Typhoon Yolonda in the Philippines; there were some good reinforced learning points for us. If you want to see a disaster (and recovery) that is more in line with what we in the Northwest will experience you need to look no further than the Earthquake and Tsunami Japan suffered just three years ago.

This morning the Seattle Times ran a good piece on where Japan is three years after the Tsunami.  Why just the Tsunami, because the quake really didn't on its own do much damage, the Tsunami on the other hand caught their planners off guard, and many perished, and many more were displaced as their homes near the water were destroyed.  Read the article in the hyperlink above, I'll wait for you here!

So what have we done here? Lots of planning, exercises and thought has gone into what we will have to deal with. And much more needs to happen, but the bigger question is what have you as individuals done to prepare?  If you have read any of my other blog posts you know I believe in the individual being prepared. 

Recovery WILL take a long time. I talk a lot about the things we take for granted in our daily life, look HERE to see how long it will take to get basic utilities back.  Seriously, 1-3 years for our major roadways.

The problem we in Emergency Management have selling this as a REAL event to the general public is, well ...apathy coupled "with it hasn't happened since 1700 and it won't happen".  But what if it does and you haven't done anything? Not only will you feel stupid, you may also cause you or your family to suffer more than they had to.

How big was the Tsunami compared to say "The Hammering Man" 

disaster_dave

CREW - a great site for resources and explanations