November 16, 2007

D8CRT hosts disaster preparedness workshop

By Michael Gabler
Special to the Times

If timing is everything, a 5.6 point earthquake served as the perfect reminder for a disaster preparedness workshop hosted by the District 8 Community Round Table on Saturday, Nov. 3, at Evergreen Elementary School. About 40 community members attended the event to better prepare for a disaster situation.

Elizabeth Dietz, director of Preparedness and Response for the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, spoke to about 40 community members at a workshop sponsored by the District 8 Community Round Table.

Kimberly Shunk, director of Emergency Services for the city of San Jose, along with Elizabeth Dietz, director of Preparedness and Response for the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, presented an insightful view into the basics of being prepared for a disaster situation.

10 days of self-sufficiency
One key tip to increase your readiness for a disaster is to make sure your family is prepared to be self-sufficient for 10 days—including food, water and medical supplies.

Why 10 days? In the event of a major disaster, earthquake or other, physical access routes and communication mechanisms may be damaged or possibly severed. Firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians will probably be taxed well beyond capacity, which means that you will be on your own until some of those services can be restored.

Electricity, water and telecommunications will most likely be damaged or severely constrained. See the Web site links at the end of the article for lists of items to have in your emergency supply kits.

One of the more interesting questions asked by one of the attendees was, “In the event of an emergency, where can we find the emergency food warehouse?” The answer: there is no emergency food warehouse. That’s another important reason for each person or family to be self-sufficient for 10 days.

Family communication plan
Disaster situations don’t always occur when the entire family is together at home. Your place of employment should have an emergency supply of food, water and medical supplies. Check with your manager to make sure that’s the case.

Since a family may be divided when a disaster occurs, you need to have a plan of action for where the family should reunite. You also need a communication plan. It’s often very difficult to communicate locally, but you might be able to communicate with someone outside the disaster zone.

For this reason, you should designate a friend or family member outside the area, preferably in another state as a main contact point, not only for your local family but also for family members outside the area. Quite often, local communication lines are overstrained as family members outside the area are trying to call into the area to check on the status of their loved ones.

You should also know how to shut off water and gas lines into your home or place of work. If you smell gas after a natural disaster, you need to turn off the gas at the source into your home. Be aware that once gas is turned off, you must have PG&E turn the gas back on.

A wealth of information is available at the following Web sites:

- www.scv-redcross.org
- www.sanjoseca.gov/emergencyServices/ SanJosePrepared/
- www.pge.com/safety/prepare_natural_ disasters/emergency_preparedness/

Both the city of San Jose and the American Red Cross offer classes and workshops on emergency preparedness.
For more information of the D8CRT, please visit the organization’s Yahoo User Group at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/D8C_RoundTable

Michael Gabler is the corresponding secretary for the D8CRT.

Three steps for disaster preparedness

- Make a kit – Prepare the kit of emergency supplies.

- Make a plan – Talk with your family about what to do if a situation happens.

- Be informed – Know what can happen and how to prepare; share the information with your family, friends and neighbors.