Japan’s 9.0 earthquake on March 11 was a strong reminder to everyone in the Pacific Northwest of the geological features and propensity for a major earthquake we share.

In the first part of a series to inform West Seattleites on how to be prepared for a major disaster, West Seattle Be Prepared held a session on April 8 at the Senior Center – bringing in Kitsap/King County Red Cross officials to discuss how the Red Cross operates, disaster preparedness for the individual and families and a CPR/first aid training session.

Red Cross Emergency Response

Deb Ticknor, Red Cross Readiness Manager originally from West Seattle, took the floor first and explained how the Red Cross prepares for major disasters in our area as a crowd of 40-plus listened intently.

Ticknor said the array of emergencies the Red Cross could respond to in King and Kitsap Counties is large, from major natural disasters including earthquakes, flooding, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and lahars (massive debris flow that can flow down from a volcano) to smaller, more common disasters like snow and wind storms and residential, industrial or multi-unit fires.

She said the most common disaster response in West Seattle is single family residential fires.

In the case of a major natural disaster, Ticknor said the Red Cross’s 800 disaster trained volunteers and 400 “ready when the time comes” reserve volunteers main priority would be setting up shelters to bring people together in a safe environment and provide them with food and cots.

Although an earthquake would bring the disaster into our homes and communities, Ticknor mentioned West Seattle could be mobilized into a support role if the Howard Hanson Dam, located on the Green River 21 miles east of Auburn, ever breached. She said it would displace between 26,000 to 30,000 people living below the dam, and many of them would come to King County shelters for support.

Ticknor said the Red Cross would not be able to respond to a major disaster by themselves and they work with several other organizations to prepare.

“If every community, if you take a look at the 29 municipalities in King County and the two tribes all ask Red Cross to stand up a shelter … we are really honest with our partners to tell them, ‘We can’t do it by ourselves, we need your help,’ and so that’s why we train our partners to be able to stand up shelters,” she said.

For example, Ticknor said, the City of Seattle is trained to set up shelters in the city parks.

If shelters in King County overflow, she said there are an additional 25,000 cots in a warehouse shelter in Umatilla, OR that stands ready.

“It is very possible that we could have an earthquake of that magnitude here. It is possible … if we were to have a major event here that impacted a lot of our infrastructure you would need to be prepared to be at home or in your hub to be able take care of yourself for three days until things could be mobilized,” Ticknor said.

A community member mentioned that FEMA now recommends being prepared to be self-sufficient for two weeks instead of three days.

Ticknor responded, “Party line for the read cross is 3 days, personally – three weeks.”

Preparedness Actions

David Shannon, disaster education program manager for the Red Cross, took the floor next to explain how to prepare for a disaster … whether you aim for three days or three weeks.

“The scenario in all of our minds right now is the big disruption, earthquake style disruption, because of what we’ve seen in Japan,” Shannon said. “In thinking about the large scale disaster and how we’re going to come together as a community, something that you can do as an individual, empowering yourself and your family - that’s where it starts first before you are able to give yourself to the rest of the community for support.”

“Make a plan, build a kit and get trained,” he said.

Hazard Hunt

Step one, Shannon said is to go on a hazard hunt where you live. A hazard hunt consists of looking around the house for objects that could fall on you or fall and block exits to rooms or the house. Preventative measures can be taken such as securing large items with furniture straps, securing water heaters and even protecting items of sentimental value (such as figurines) with museum was or Velcro.

Disaster Kit

Step two is putting together a disaster kit for the home. Shannon said the kit should include a 2-week supply of water (one gallon per person per day) that should be changed out every six months to ensure it’s fresh, a two-week supply of food, flashlights, a battery-powered/hand-crank powered radio (tune the radio to 1000 AM for emergency information on where shelters are being set up, extra batteries, a first aid kit, life-saving medications, copies of personal documents, cell phones, family and emergency contact info, extra cash, emergency blankets and maps.

Shannon recommended keeping the kit together in a large Rubbermaid-type container in an area of the house that you will ideally be able to access after a major quake.

To-go Kit

Step three is putting together a backpack to-go kit that should include a three-day supply of the above mentioned list with enough to cover three days for everyone in the family. To-go kits should be stashed near the exit in your home, in your car and at your office in case an evacuation becomes necessary.

Communications Plan

Shannon also recommended forming a communications plan where everyone in the family has the contact information for a person that lives well outside of the danger zone if a quake occurred. Family members can call, text, email … even post on Facebook or Twitter that contact to communicate with each other in case your family is split up during a disaster. While it may be difficult to get a call out in the wake of a major disaster, Shannon said texts take up less resources and have a better chance of transferring when an information system is overloaded.

“Preparedness is not just something you check off and you are finished, it’s a practice,” Shannon said. He recommended using daylight savings time shifts as a reminder to check your kits and go over disaster plans with the family.

“Between juggling life and work and everything disaster preparedness is not on the top of everybody’s list when it comes down to it and part of my job at the Red Cross is to bump that up higher on the list but all you being here today is great to see and I hope information you take away from this gathering that you talk and have this conversation with a few other people you know.”

First Aid

Thursday night’s meeting ended with a brief presentation from Sarah Rothman on first aid, CPR and using AEDs (automated external defibrillators).

Rothman suggested contacting the Red Cross for more extensive training (they can be found online here)

“Our goal at our chapter is to have at least one person trained in every household in CPR and actually it’s done quite well for us because in King County we have the most people trained per capita than any other county in the US,” she said.

West Seattle Be Prepared is well represented online. To find out more about the organization and how to get involved email westseattlebeprepared@gmail.com, call (206) 856-5147 or find them online here.

The King County Red Cross Chapter can be found here.