Emergency Preparedness
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Original Air Date: 01/28/2009
Emergency Preparedness
More than half a million people were uprooted by Hurricane Katrina, more than twice as many people as were displaced by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Within days of Katrina the American Red Cross reported that every emergency shelter in a seven state region was full.
Living in the Puget Sound region puts us in harm's way for substantial flooding, volcanic eruption, tsunamis, and powerful earthquakes. While we can't eliminate the threats, we can boost the odds of survival.
Emergency preparedness. What's happening in the community? And more important, what's happening at your house?
Guests
Michael Patton – CEO, American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter
As the CEO of the American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter, Michael oversees the Red Cross operations for Pierce, Thurston, Mason, Lewis and Grays Harbor Counties. Along with overseeing relief efforts for emergencies within these areas, David also works with the American Red Cross in its efforts internationally.
Visit the American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter website here.
Ute Weber – Emergency Management Coordinator, City of Tacoma
As the Emergency Management Coordinator, Ute works with the Tacoma Fire Department to facilitate the CERT program. CERT, or Community Emergency Response Teams, are citizen-based teams that are trained to respond to a wide range of emergencies in accordance to FEMA regulations. The next cycle of classes begins in March.
For more information or to register, visit the CERT website here.
Steven Bailey – Director, Pierce County Department of Emergency Management
As the Director of our local Department of Emergency Management, it is Steven’s job to carry out the DEM’s mission of creating sustainable communities and enhancing public safety by empowering all who work, govern, live in and visit Pierce County to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from all types of hazards, emergencies and disasters.
Visit the Pierce County Department of Emergency Affairs website here.
Stats and Facts
Mount Rainier in Washington state is an active volcano reaching more than 2.7 miles (14,410 feet) above sea level. Although Mount Rainier has erupted less often and less explosively in recent millennia than its neighbor, Mount St. Helens, the proximity of large populations makes Mount Rainier a far greater hazard to life and property. More than 150,000 people reside on the deposits of previous lahars.
Mount Rainier is an active volcano that is currently at rest between eruptions. Its next eruption might produce volcanic ash, lava flows, or pyroclastic flows. The latter can rapidly melt snow and ice, and the resulting meltwater torrent could produce lahars that travel down valleys beyond the base of the volcano to areas now densely populated. Lahars caused by large landslides can also occur during non-eruptive times– without the seismicity and other warnings that normally precede eruptions.
A 30-mile-long fault runs through the heart of Seattle and Bellevue. In the past 3,000 years, it has violently rearranged the local landscape as many as four times — or every 750 years, on average. The last of those quakes came 1,100 years ago, and geologists estimate there's at least a 5 percent chance the fault will let loose again within the next 50 years.
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake on the Seattle Fault would be up to eight times more destructive than the magnitude 6.8 Nisqually earthquake that caused about $2 billion worth of damage in 2001. Thousands of landslides would roar down the area's steepest slopes and slop into Puget Sound, triggering local tsunamis that could swamp waterfront homes and buildings.
Pierce County has had many Presidentially-declared natural disasters and is situated in one of the most disaster-prone areas of the U.S. Here is a look at the most recent:
- December 1990: Storms, High Winds and Flooding
- January 1993: 'Inauguration Day' Storm
- August 1994: Economic Disaster ( El Nino: Fishing Industry)
- November/December 1995: Major Flooding and Winds
- February 1996: Major Flooding
- December 1996/February 1997: Ice Storm and Flooding
- March 1997: Major Flooding
- February 2001: Nisqually Earthquake
- October 2002: Storm and Flood
- November/December 2006 Flood and Windstorm
- December 2007 Flood
Recommended Items To Include In A Basic Emergency Supply Kit:
- Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
- Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
- Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- First aid kit
- Whistle to signal for help
- Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
- Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
- Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
- Local maps
- Cell phone with chargers
Additional Items To Consider Adding To An Emergency Supply Kit:
- Prescription medications and glasses
- Infant formula and diapers
- Pet food and extra water for your pet
- Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container
- Cash or traveler's checks and change
- Emergency reference material such as a first aid book or information from www.ready.gov
- Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.
- Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.
- Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper – When diluted nine parts water to one part bleach, bleach can be used as a disinfectant. Or in an emergency, you can use it to treat water by using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
- Fire Extinguisher
- Matches in a waterproof container
- Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
- Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils, paper towels
- Paper and pencil
- Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children
