“Disasters make life very uncomfortable. Proper planning and preparation will help you andyour family…”
A Family Emergency Preparedness Plan was jointly developed by the Office of Emergency Preparedness at Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, the Seattle-King County Chapter of The American Red Cross, and the Washington State Military Department, Emergency Management Division. This plan has been distributed through the Orcas Island School District. It advises:
“Communities throughout the Pacific Northwest are subject to a number ofpotential natural disasters such as fires, flooding, severe storms, earthquakes, dam failures, volcanic eruptions and landslides. While we all hopethat such occurrences never happen, it has been shown time and time again that being prepared for disasters is prudent. Emergency services and government agencies may not be able to respond to your needs immediately. Their buildings, equipment, personnel, communications, and mobility may be severely hampered by the event. They will be overwhelmed.Experts tell us to plan to be on our own for a minimum of 3 days.
“We cannot stop these disasters from occurring, but we can limit their impacton us and those we love. Contrary to what you may think, the chances ofbeing killed or injured in a disaster are very low. More likely you will be unable to live normally in your home. It may be damaged and let in the weather, it may be cold with no heat, you may have no power or water, or it may not even be safe for you to go back into. In short, disasters make life very uncomfortable. Proper planning and preparation will help you and your family be more comfortable in the event that your home is damaged, or you can’t get back into it. Think of it as a “quality of life” issue. The most important concept in developing a family emergency preparedness plan is communication. Every member of the family needs to be involved so that when disaster strikes, everyone will know what to do. How well you manage the aftermath of disaster depends a great deal on your level of preparedness when disaster strikes.”
The multi-page plan gives a step-by-step guide to disaster planning along with other essential information needed to build a comprehensive family emergency preparedness plan.
The plan urges that households “Be sure to involve all the members of your household when developing your preparedness plan.A plan will only work when everyone knows about it and agrees to operate within its guidelines.
“Once your family is prepared, it is time to look to your neighbors. In times of disaster your neighbors will probably be the first ones available to come to your aid. Find out before disaster strikes what resources you share and how you can work together for the good of one another. ”
The plan includes:
• Four Steps to Disaster Planning
• Disaster Supplies Kit
• Hazard Hunt
• Floor Plan
• Utilities
• Planning For Specific Disasters
• Fire
• Floods
• Earthquakes
• Winter Storms and Extreme Cold
• Power Outages
• Hazardous Material Accidents
• Nuclear Power Plants
• Water Purification
• Emergency Telephone Numbers
To download the booklet, click on Family Plan for Emergency.
Thanks to Orcas School Superintendent Barbara Kline.
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Also recommend that people take a look at county website at http://www.sanjuandem.net/prepare. They take a pretty simple approach that makes it easy to prepare.
An excellent article, we need more on this topic. Orcas Island used to have emergency supplies stored at local firehouses (blankets, cots, bandages, etc) in previous times, but I doubt this is still in practice. With our aging population and more new residents, we need more information on what to do in case of emergencies, what happens if the ferries can’t run, power is out and water not running. The recent news from Japan should have all of us concerned about our own preparedness. Thanks for a timely article!