We always think about the “Big” One occurring in Seattle and surrounding areas and have often joked around about it. Well, a large incident did occur in the morning hours around 1054 (PST) on February 28, 2001, claiming to be the most recent recorded in Washington as the largest earthquake measuring at 6.8 on the Richter scale.
The epicenter was at Anderson Island, approximately 11 miles Northeast of Olympia. Tremors could be felt as far as away as Scio, Oregon; across the border into Canada and parts of Idaho.
The extensive property damage centered mostly around the epicenter and unreinforced concrete or masonry buildings, such as those on First Hill, SODO District and in the Pioneer Square neighborhoods in Seattle. The air-traffic control tower at SeaTac Airport was heavily damaged and has since been replaced by a more earthquake-reinforced structure. Some structures in Seattle were temporarily closed for repair.
It could have been much worse. Did I already mention that? Well, it caught several people off guard with bricks falling down the sides of buildings on to the sidewalks down below. We were completely taken by surprise that we were having an earthquake.
This by all means was no laughing matter and quite frankly woke up a lot of people, realizing they needed to be prepared. That was 11 years ago.
How prepared are you today?
Some you may be a Firefighter, a First Responder, Dispatcher or handling other people’s emergencies on a daily basis or have friends, family or relatives involved in emergency services. But what will happen when you find when you have your own “personal” emergency or you find you are stuck at the fire station or someplace where you are unable to reach your family, friend(s) or relative? What will be your plan of action that you will be taking?
You may find that you are prepared, but do you have an emergency plan for “your family” while they are at home or out on the roadway?
What will be your first line of defense to prepare them for the next “Big” one?
Step #1. “Plan for People, Pets and Property.”
– Be prepared for the worst case scenario. It will be a known fact that if the “Big” one (event) happens, water, power, cell phone, landline, utilities, etc. will be disrupted.
– Make a list of what to do when these “services” are no longer available or interrupted intermittently.
– Write a “To Do” List of what actions you will need to take if these services are unavailable. What may be special needs or immediate care may need to be addressed for your family, pets. This should include for your home, vehicle (if you are driving), work or at school.
– If you think you live in a Flood Plain or possible may face a flood incident (near a levee or river, etc.). Buy that Flood Insurance. Insurance will not cover you if the evitable happens. Better to be safe than sorry.
– Make sure to ‘unplug’ all appliances so when the power comes back on, the electricity doesn’t surge through the electrical sockets.
– Make sure you don’t bring in bar-be-que grills or charcoal inside your home as it may cause Co2 poisoning or cause fires. It will be tough for firefighters to get to your location for an emergency, non-existent if lines are down or roads are closed/blocked. It will be stressful enough with the normal call volume but add a major incident will be overwhelming for them.
– Property (Home). Have filing cabinets or large pieces of furniture or i.e. large may need to be bolted down as not to fall on you or family members when things are shaking.
Step #2. “Make a Plan”; Making a Family Emergency and Communication Plan.
– Identify a “meeting place” in case you and your family are separated from each other and in case you are away from home and are unable to make it due to transportation routes being impassable or detours in place.
– Talk to your children’s school and find out their emergency evacuation plan, procedures and supplies that may be needed.
– Establish an out-of-state contact to let them know that you and your family are safe. This can be a relative, friend or co-worker, etc. Name them as your emergency contact.
– Expect cell phone coverage to be spotty or non-existent. However, it has been stated text messaging may be more reliable. This tends to drain your batteries quickly. Make sure you have extras on hand or another power source to charge them.
– Another way to communicate is if you are an amateur radio operator (or also known as “HAM” Operator). Now, is the time to network with a HAM club. This is great way to use as an alternative to broadcast emergency messages and receiving incoming messages as well.
Step #3. “Practice The Plan”.
– Make sure everyone in the family knows where the first aid and emergency preparedness kits are located.
– Practice “The Family Emergency and Communications Plan.”
– Know when to call 9-1-1. (for my non-emergency, first responders, firefighters, etc.). Have the information in one centralized location especially great for kids.
– Know how and when to turn off “utilities” & have the tools in an accessible location.
Step #4. “Build a Kit.”
– Be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Examples of this type of situation are Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Japan. You will need to prepare for a minimum of 7-10 days.
– Identity a container for your Kit and establish a centralized location.
– Build a Kit. Recommendations are: A large plastic container with airtight lid with the following supplies – (1) Gallon of drinking water (for each per person per day) with a minimum of up to 7-10 days; a supply of 7-10 day of non-perishable food (i.e. canned food, dehydrated, etc.) per person, cash (small bills) since ATMs may be inoperable, battery powered operated radio or hand crank radio, flashlight, extra batteries, First Aid Kit, plastic garbage bags (when sanitary conditions are non-existent), etc.
– Important Documents. Make copies of important documents such as your Passport, Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Military and Service records, Social Security card, Real Estate Contracts, Insurance Policies, Bank records and Identification records. Keep these in your Emergency Preparedness box (can lock your box to protect your documents) and keep all originals/additional copies in a Security Deposit Box. These can also be downloaded on to a USB drive and kept in both locations.
– Create customized kits for your home, car, work and for your pet(s).
Step #5. “Helping Each Other.”
– Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a great motto. Those who live in a Community is the perfect tag line. It is not all about just preparing yourself and your family but helping your Community.
– Get to know Neighbors through Outreach or through Your Homeowners’/Neighborhood Community Association or Block Watch program.
– Learn ways to Communicate with your Neighbors on Becoming Prepared together. Get Training or Become Involved with Your Community.
– Become a Certified Emergency Response Team member (CERT). Find a nearby organization by clicking on the website http://www.citizencorps.gov/ and enter your zip code. It will list all of the organizations within a # of miles radius to your location. There are quite a few of them around. Many Cities, Fire Departments and Colleges have them.
Step #6. Get Informed.
– Still not enough information? Get informed. You can Download the PDF “Are You Ready?” from FEMA’s website or you can phone them at 1-800-480-2520, an in-depth guide to help prepare you. These also come in different languages as well.
– Check out the American Red Cross’s page for more resources.
If you have information you’d like to add to this topic “EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS”, please email us at lrswenson@comcast.net.
We’d love to expand on this topic further.
< SOURCES >
University of Washington
http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/
(c) 2012 The NW Fire Blog
Written By – Lisa Swenson, Staff Writer
NW Fire Blog 