“The Big One”: How communities prepare for major earthquakes

In addition to preparing your home for earthquakes, consider working with your neighborhood to organize an emergency center.

SEATTLE — The Seattle Emergency Center in Madison Valley is just one of dozens of centers organized throughout the city. Hubs are volunteer-run groups that have meeting points to share communications and responses in the wake of a potential disaster such as an earthquake.

“The neighborhood will be what brings us together,” said Frank Lawler, a neighborhood resident who co-organized the center. “The truth is that when terrible things happen in relation to natural disasters, people generally tend to come together, and they tend to show their best sides.”

Lawler said that before 2019, he didn't think much about the risk of earthquakes.

“Oh, not at all,” Lawler said.

But when a neighbor brought up the issue in conversation and brought up the idea of ​​forming an emergency center, he was quickly informed and involved. Seattle emergency centers citywide prepare for emergencies.

Neighbors plan a location where they can meet and communicate; Get information about what might happen if different types of emergencies occur; Conduct exercises to put what they have learned into practice. It's just one way community members are doing their part to prepare for threats like the Big Threat.

Participating in the center helped Lawler prepare his home and gave him a sense of comfort and ability to act in the event of an emergency.

“The neighborhood will be what brings us together,” Lawler said. “The truth is that when terrible things happen in relation to natural disasters, people generally tend to come together, and they tend to show their best sides.”

For many Olympia and Seattle area residents, the Nisqually earthquake in 2001 was a wake-up call about the local threat posed by earthquakes. The 6.8 magnitude earthquake injured 400 people, and fortunately no one was killed as a direct result of the damage. The quake highlighted some vulnerable assets around Puget Sound cities, including bridges and buildings.

Since then, more school systems have called for increased funding to improve earthquake safety. Agencies such as the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) have conducted work on roads, tunnels, and bridges to prepare for earthquake threats.

There is also more awareness of the concern that unreinforced buildings may collapse during a major earthquake. For example, Seattle is tracking known concerns and the Seattle City Council passed a resolution to create a resource program to assist property owners with retrofits.

As for what ordinary people can do, Washington's Department of Emergency Management encourages people to prepare for “disaster.” It offers a guide that includes one task residents can do each month to be ready by the end of the year.

“Despite the fact that we will have an earthquake today — and it will be a major, potentially life-changing event — you can survive if you take action to prepare now,” said Brian Terbush, director of the Division of Emergency Management's Earthquakes and Volcanoes Program. “Practicing landing, covering, holding, taking those actions to mitigate your home now, securing things, all of that will make your life a lot easier.”

According to the department's manual, a basic home disaster kit should include:

Water: 1 gallon per person per day. Food: Non-perishable items such as canned meats, fruits, vegetables, soups and juices; High-energy foods such as peanut butter, granola bars, and trail mix Important documents including insurance documents, household records, copies of photo ID, at least a 7-day supply of all necessary medications, first aid items, and tools Including battery-powered flashlights, can opener, fire extinguisher, battery-powered radio, duct tape and plastic sheeting Health and Sanitation: Liquid soap, bleach, toilet paper, feminine supplies, diapers Warm clothes, blankets and rain gear

Find out more details here.

For his part, Lawler also has items such as a solar-powered lamp, a small generator, a camping stove, maps of Seattle and King County, a reflective vest, a kill switch, a shovel, separate containers for portable toilets (one for feces and one for urine), a marker and extension cords.

For people just starting to prepare themselves, he recommends the Washington Department of Emergency Management's “Prepare in a Year” program, which breaks down tasks month by month.

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