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Disaster drill ahead: Can you volunteer in West Seattle?
October 16, 2011 5:25 pm
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 |   How to help | Preparedness | West Seattle news

Can you spare a few hours to help make sure your neighborhood is ready for disaster, much as we all hope it’ll never happen? Volunteers are needed to help with the semi-annual Neighborhood Emergency Communications Hubs drill, conducted along with local ham-radio operators, 9 am-noon on Saturday, October 29th. This time, a very timely simulation: They’ll be pretending to deal with “a severe winter storm, code-named ‘Winds of Winter’,” says Cindi Barker, who you can contact if you can help out – even “just” as a “citizen actor” (other roles include message managers/intakers, greeters, radio operators). cbarker@qwest.net if you can help, or have questions.

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Preparedness: Make sure your pets are part of your plan
September 29, 2011 9:12 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Pets | Preparedness | West Seattle news

Story and photo by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

While many of us have emergency plans in place for our families, most of us probably don’t have specific plans for our pets beyond grabbing them and running if disaster should strike. Members of the Washington State Animal Response Team (WASART), which focuses on animal safety and rescue, gave a presentation at the West Seattle Senior Center last night, sponsored by West Seattle Be Prepared, to provide information and resource sites for getting your pets as prepared for an emergency as the rest of the family.

WASART co-founder/president Gretchen McCallum, along with volunteer Ginger Dixon (R-L in photo), noted that the human/animal bond is never more important than in times of extreme stress, and WASART was created after stories of animals abandoned during Katrina were publicized. McCallum points out, “If it’s not safe for you to stay in your house, it’s not safe for your pets.”

Besides having enough food, water and medical supplies for your pet, McCallum focused on being able to identify your pet.

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West Seattle scene: About that big line outside Target…
September 29, 2011 12:16 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Preparedness | West Seattle news

The big line outside West Seattle’s Target store this morning was the result of an invitation sent out three weeks ago (here’s our version) – in honor of National Preparedness Month, Seattle Police and Target were teaming up to offer 100 families $100 each to put together their disaster kits.

All 100 slots filled up fast – and this morning, the people who got in on the offer got to go shop! Among them was the WSB’er who provided these photos. She adds: “I try to keep several days’ worth of food and water on hand for emergencies, and we have sleeping bags, but but there is no way I would have bought lantern/lamps and spare batteries without this program. Thank you, Target!” – and SPD, which explained the program in this SPD Blotter update published yesterday.

P.S. You’re not prepared till you know where your nearest Emergency Communications Hub is – find out (and access tons of other great info) via West Seattle Be Prepared. (We covered their special presentation about “pet preparedness” last night, and the story will be up soon.)

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Earthquake preparedness: Free workshop in West Seattle
September 9, 2011 3:47 pm
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 |   Preparedness | Safety | West Seattle news

Seattle Public Library branches are hosting a sheaf of “Urban Self-Reliance” workshops this fall. Some are in West Seattle. They updated the news release this afternoon and re-sent it to media, and in light of the BC quake (earlier coverage here), we couldn’t help but notice this part. Call ASAP!

“DIY Seismic Home Retrofitting” – Experienced home retrofit contractors and experts will show participants how to assess and retrofit their homes using the City of Seattle’s free pre-engineered plans. This workshop is presented in partnership with the Seattle Office of Emergency Management and Seattle Department of Planning and Development. Registration is required; call the Seattle Office of Emergency Management at 206-233-5076 to register.
(three locations elsewhere in the city, plus …)
o 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Southwest Branch, 9010 35th Ave. S.W., 206-684-7455

For all the other workshops – which cover a wide range of topics from canning to chicken-raising to spreading the word citywide about the West Seattle Tool Library! – check out the news release.

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Need an emergency-preparedness kit, but can’t afford one?
September 8, 2011 1:20 pm
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 |   Preparedness | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

(THURSDAY NIGHT NOTE: We’re told event registration has maxed out now and is closed – sorry!)
This is National Preparedness Month – another chance to make sure you are ready for anything, even the things we all hope never will happen. In case you are having trouble with the cost of putting together an emergency kit, the Seattle Police Department and Target are joining forces for an event here in West Seattle later this month – but you have to sign up for it, ASAP. Here’s the announcement:

The Seattle Police Department’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is joining with Target to make that step easier for families in Seattle. Target has generously donated $10,000 to help families build emergency kits. Each participating family will receive a $100 gift card that they can use to build their own emergency kits. Seattle Police Department will be on hand to help people identify basic items for an emergency kit, as well as help them customize their kit to meet their specific needs. Participants must sign up for the event to be eligible. The event will be held at the West Seattle Target on September 29, 2011 at 9:00 AM. They will be given a map of the store with locations where items for emergency kits can be found highlighted and the gift card to make their purchases. Families with children are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.

The number of available kits is limited so if you are interested in participating in this one of a kind event please e-mail the Seattle Office of Emergency Management at snap@seattle.gov or call us at 206-233-5076.

If you’re OK building a kit without financial assistance – but just need advice on what it should contain – find it here. And remember the incredible West Seattle-specific preparedness resources offered by West Seattle Be Prepared, particularly the neighborhood communication hubs – know yours and be ready to go there in case disaster strikes.

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Ready for anything? Free SNAP preparedness class tomorrow
June 6, 2011 10:03 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Preparedness | Safety | West Seattle news

It’s one hour and 15 minutes of potentially life-saving information: Reminders are circulating today about the city’s next SNAP (Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare) class, which is in West Seattle tomorrow night – 6:30-7:45 pm at High Point Library (35th/Raymond). Free, no registration required. You’ll find out about putting together a disaster kit and a household/family disaster plan, among other things. Be there – the city only offers these in our neighborhood a few times a year. (Another preparedness essential – familiarize yourself with West Seattle Be Prepared resources, including knowing your nearest Neighborhood Communication Hub.)

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Still not ready for a quake? Join West Seattle Be Prepared tonight
May 16, 2011 9:17 am
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 |   Preparedness | West Seattle news

Still not feeling like disaster preparedness – particularly for an earthquake – is all that urgent? “Cascadia: The Hidden Fire” might change your mind. It’ll be shown tonight at the next special training/education presentation by West Seattle Be Prepared. WSBP will be joined by Mark Howard from the Seattle Office of Emergency Management and seismology expert Chris Jonientz-Trisler, who is featured in the film, to lead discussion afterward. Jonientz-Trisler manages FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant programs to mitigate flood and earthquake impacts in the Pacific Northwest. Join WSBP 6-8 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California and Oregon in The Junction).

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West Seattle Be Prepared: New ‘hub’ joins in successful quake drill
May 9, 2011 10:30 am
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 |   How to help | Preparedness | West Seattle news

(First two photos courtesy Karrie Kohlhaas)
A hub is born! The new North Delridge Emergency Communication Hub made its debut as part of the Saturday morning earthquake drill with groups like theirs from around the city. Volunteers gathered at the site – which joins the roster of other “hubs” around West Seattle where communication efforts will be coordinated in case catastrophe takes out the regular channels – at the Delridge P-Patch, to go through role-playing scenarios:

Karrie Kohlhaas described some of those scenarios in a note to her neighborhood mailing list (quoted here with permission):

–Family trapped in basement—138 people needing shelter—gas leak at the 76 station–water has been rationed by the city–looting at the Super 24–no fire fighters able to reach us–pack of dogs forming–lost child–Longfellow Creek flooded–another 6.8 aftershock–need rope and generator–heli-drop of water bottles on the way–another hub needs nurses–do they have a generator to loan to us? How can we get it from them?

If the hubs ever have to swing into real action, that’s the sort of thing they may find themselves dealing with.

Delridge was one of two hubs participating in citywide radio communications during Saturday morning’s drill. The other was one that’s been on the list since the program began three years ago, for the Fairmount neighborhood (south of The Triangle). At that site on the Providence Mount St. Vincent grounds, Chas Redmond was among the volunteers equipped with radio and other tools (pencil and paper played a big role):

(That Fairmount photo and the next one are by Patrick Sand for WSB)
WSBP co-founder Karen Berge tells WSB that the exercise overall “went very well, and that the North Delridge hub team “hit the ground running. … Those of us at the Fairmount hub enjoyed hearing their enthusiasm, as well as their professionalism & resourcefulness.” Karen says Highland Park hub leader Dave Brown worked with the new Delridge hub volunteers and, “To us listening from the Fairmount hub, they all sounded like they knew what they were doing & had done it before.” Just so you get an idea of how this might all work – the scenarios include reports of major problems, which are all noted and tracked – this board at the Fairmount hub showed some of them:

Karen adds, “The improvements to the forms & processes that we’d made since the last drill were effective.” Here’s a diagram she included in her response to our questions about how it went:

She continues, “A key improvement is that we realized at the last drill that it is very important to have the radio operator away from other activities and noise. … This drill was more realistic in that we had considerable issues with radio interference & garbled signals – as we might during a real emergency. Still, we managed to effectively communicate – since many of us regularly participate in periodic drills as well as radio tests each Monday evening, it was easier to ‘fill in the blanks’. Our process also has some redundancy; at times that can seem tedious, but in this situation it was helpful. One key takeaway, from this morning drill in chilly spring weather, was that the ground temperature had an effect over time. By the end of the drill, all of us had very cold feet!” She has more photos from the Fairmount site on the WSBP blog-format update site.

Again, the intention of all this is to make sure that West Seattleites can help take care of each other in case of disaster – since authorities have repeatedly warned that they will be overwhelmed, and it may take days for any sort of official help to arrive. There is plenty of room for more volunteer participation in West Seattle Be Prepared – here’s a place to start. And even if you’re not ready to volunteer yet, know your nearest Communication Hub’s location, and make sure your family/neighbors know about it too. You’re also invited to the next WSBP training/education session, with a focus, again, on earthquakes – it’s coming up one week from tonight.

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Heads up: Emergency Communications Hub quake drill tomorrow
May 6, 2011 1:29 pm
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 |   Preparedness | West Seattle news

Last October, we photographed Sharonn Meeks and Cindi Barker during a West Seattle Be Prepared Emergency Communication Hubs drill, simulating what might happen in terms of neighborhood communication during a major earthquake. Tomorrow, WSBP is part of another drill, this one citywide. From 9 am until noon, volunteer groups here and in several other Seattle neighborhoods, with the help of the city Office of Emergency Management and the Auxiliary Communication Service, will be involved in role-playing scenarios and radio communications. The hubs are neighborhood gathering places where volunteers will help coordinate communication in case of catastrophe – an expanded version of the premise that neighbors helping neighbors will be far more likely in the immediate hours and days after disaster than relying on the authorities to reach everyone who needs help. WSBP says this drill will “activate” two hubs – the one for the Fairmount neighborhood, at Providence Mount St. Vincent (4831 35th SW, northeast corner by the flagpole), and the new North Delridge hub (at the P-Patch at 5078 25th SW). You are welcome to come observe, but they don’t need extra help this time around; if you’d like to get involved with neighborhood preparedness in general, here’s how to reach WSBP!

P.S. WSBP has another training session coming up – featuring a movie about our region’s quake threat; it’s on May 16th and you can get all the details here.

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Preparedness Month: What to do before/during/after quakes
April 19, 2011 8:04 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Preparedness | Safety | West Seattle news

Disaster Preparedness Month is almost two-thirds over – are you any more prepared now than you were when it started? If your answer is “no,” click “play” and at least listen to our video in the background for a while today. It’s our recording of last night’s special edition of SNAP – Seattle Neighborhoods Be Prepared – training, presented by the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network and West Seattle Be Prepared.

Trainer Debbie Goetz doesn’t just go through the rock-bottom basics; she has surprises along the way – did you know, for example, that your hot-water heater is eventually an OK source of drinking water, post-disaster? Another good reason you want to make sure it’s strapped so it doesn’t come down during a quake – preserve the supply, just in case. SNAP classes are offered around the city, including a few a year in West Seattle; you can watch this calendar for upcoming ones – including sessions focused on earthquake retrofitting (last Saturday’s WS session was a full house – about 50 people!). Next scheduled one is June 7 in High Point (details here).

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Preparedness Month: More West Seattle training Monday!
April 17, 2011 10:58 pm
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 |   Preparedness | Safety | West Seattle news

If you are one of the few who can answer that question “Yes, we are as prepared as we possibly could be” – congratulations! If not, join West Seattle Be Prepared and the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network for another special FREE training session tomorrow (Monday) night, this time at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster), 6-7:30 pm. If you were among the 50 or so who attended the first one earlier this month (here’s our coverage, including video of the entire presentation), note that this one is different – with more of a focus on earthquake safety, among other things (here’s an explanation of how the two sessions are differentiated). Disaster Preparedness Month is only half over but this week is the big spotlight for quake survival – Wednesday is the statewide drop/cover/hold drill. Meantime, the perennial preparedness advice – be sure you know your Emergency Communication Hub!

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Preparedness Month, report #11: What to do AFTER a quake
April 13, 2011 1:46 am
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 |   Preparedness | Safety | West Seattle news

Disaster Preparedness Month continues, as does our almost-nightly focus on earthquake readiness. You’ve likely heard what to do before an earthquake, to enhance your readiness … and what to do during one (stop, drop, hold) … but how about what to do afterward? The natural reaction is to be stunned. If you have a list of things that are vital to check on and attend to, though, your survivability likelihood will rise in a big way. Here’s that list – from a California source, but thorough (they’ve been through it more often than we have). Meantime – know your nearest hub (and make sure your family/neighbors know it too)!

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Preparedness Month, tenth report: Don’t go thirsty!
April 12, 2011 1:56 am
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 |   Preparedness | West Seattle news

Just two hours before we started writing this, local seismographs recorded a microquake near Mount Rainier (see the info here). During this Disaster Preparedness Month 2011, we’re focusing on quakes – and this time around, we have a simple one-minute video courtesy of 3 Days 3 Ways (which is sponsoring WSB this month). Their “preparedness challenge” (which starts here) includes 3 short videos, each demonstrating one of the “three ways” you can start getting prepared. The most important, in terms of survivability, is the one in this video clip: Store enough water for yourself and your family/household to get through three days – the minimum amount of time you can expect to fend for yourself. Radio host Dave Ross and city preparedness guru Debbie Goetz break it down fairly simply. So stock up on water ASAP. Here’s the accompanying flyer (including a reminder to rotate it every six months). Then go take the rest of the challenge! … REGULAR REMINDERS: Know your Emergency Communications Hub … and if you don’t have one nearby, volunteer to help create one! … Plus, browse around the rest of the West Seattle Be Prepared website.

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Preparedness Month, 9th report: Community Summit, and more
April 11, 2011 2:48 am
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 |   Preparedness | Safety | West Seattle news

On this one-month anniversary of the Japan earthquake: Being ready for disaster is more than your responsibility to yourself and your family – it’s also your responsibility to your neighborhood and community. As Disaster Preparedness Month continues, so does our monthlong series of reminders and reports. This time – new online resources including the West Seattle Be Prepared recap of Saturday’s Community Summit downtown – story and photos here. The focus here, how you can help your community. Read the recap here; and after the jump, more updates:Read More

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Preparedness Month update: Community Summit today
April 9, 2011 7:17 am
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 |   Preparedness | West Seattle news

As Disaster Preparedness Month continues, we’ve talked about what you personally can do to be ready, and — if needed — to help. (Here’s our coverage of Thursday night’s West Seattle Be Prepared session, including video of the entire 1 1/2-hour presentation.) This morning, the focus goes wider, as the city hosts a Community Preparedness Summit at the Office of Emergency Management downtown, with WSBP and several other groups from around Seattle participating. As previewed by WSBP leaders, the summit will focus on a four-level “preparedness pyramid” – from you and your family, to city services. All are welcome if you want to find out where you fit in and how you can help. It’s from 9-noon at 105 Fifth Avenue South (corner of Washington; here’s a map).

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Preparedness Month, 7th report: Watch, or read about, WS training
April 8, 2011 5:04 am
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 |   Preparedness | Safety | West Seattle news

In case you just couldn’t make it to the Senior Center of West Seattle last night for the first training session sponsored by the all-volunteer West Seattle Be Prepared – above, you will find WSB video of the session, in its entirety. The leaders were David Shannon and Sarah Rothman from the local branch of the American Red Cross. If you don’t have time for an hour-and-a-half video, here’s our report on the highlights (added 8:59 am):

By Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

“Our volunteers are our most precious asset and resource, and without them, we can’t do it,” declared Deb Ticknor, Red Cross Readiness Manager, leading off the first session in a new West Seattle series with an overview of how the Red Cross responds to local disasters.

“If something happens here in Washington, say we have a major wildfire and a landslide at the same time, a lot of families would be impacted, and our local chapters would respond. We would bring in people from around our state who are Red Cross-trained, so when a disaster hits we’re ready to stand up and provide services that our community needs.”

However – you need to be prepared, too, and that was the point of the session – don’t expect somebody else will rescue you (not immediately, anyway).Read More

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Preparedness Month, spotlight #6: Training session tonight!
April 7, 2011 5:04 am
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 |   Preparedness | West Seattle news

Did you know there was a 3.4 earthquake near Mount Rainier on Wednesday? Us either, till West Seattle Be Prepared‘s Karen Berge mentioned it in e-mail. Microquakes are common there, but this was a bit bigger. Not necessarily a harbinger of anything more, but just another reminder: Be ready! So, the most constructive thing we can tell you here in our sixth Disaster Preparedness Month spotlight is: Be at WSBP’s first free training session TONIGHT, 6 pm, Senior Center of West Seattle in The Junction!

A flyer is worth a thousand words … see you there. (If you haven’t been to the Senior Center before, the entrance is on SW Oregon, east of West Seattle Coins – go immediately upstairs.)

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Preparedness Month, 5th report: ‘Drop, Cover, Hold,’ and then…
April 6, 2011 2:31 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Preparedness | Safety | West Seattle news

If an earthquake hit now, what would you do? If you replied “Run for a doorway” – sorry, wrong. The advice these days is “Drop, Cover, Hold.” As our nightly Disaster Preparedness Month spotlights continue, with a focus on quake preparedness/survival – there’s a little more to “Drop, Cover, Hold” than those three steps. We’ve found a few videos that have extra information that can increase the chances “Drop, Cover, Hold” – or as some put it, “Drop, Cover, Hold On” – will save you. They’re right after the jump:Read More

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Preparedness Month, 4th report: How readiness can save you
April 4, 2011 11:56 pm
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 |   Preparedness | West Seattle news

As Disaster Preparedness Month continues in our state, with WSB committed again this year to nightly spotlights, with a special focus on earthquakes – it might be of value to make sure you’re not skeptical about the whole topic. The experts say too many people dismiss the concept of preparedness, when in reality, earthquakes are survivable. Want to hear firsthand from an expert in our state? ****Read this.**** (Thanks to Cindi Barker from West Seattle Be Prepared for the link; she and WSBP’s Karen Berge and Deb Greer are immensely helpful again this year in providing information we’re drawing upon for these nightly spotlights.)

So then, if they’re survivable, what do you do as soon as the shaking starts? Run for the door?

Here is THE LIST of what to do – if you’re indoors, if you’re outdoors, if you are in a moving vehicle, and even, if somehow you still get trapped in debris. This version of the list is from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Read that, know it, share it. (And once you have all that down – read the other summaries linked from that page, like what to do AFTER a quake.)

NIGHTLY REMINDERS: Know your nearest Neighborhood Emergency Communication Hub – go here to find it (and if there’s not one nearby, help make one happen!) … Make plans to be at the preparedness-training session that West Seattle Be Prepared is presenting this Thursday, 6-7:30 pm at the Senior Center in The Junction … And check out the “3 To Get Ready” campaign, which is sponsoring WSB during Disaster Preparedness Month again this year. This time around, they’re offering a contest as incentive for you to take their “Preparedness Challenge” – check it out here … Our archive of preparedness coverage on WSB, newest to oldest, is here.

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Preparedness Month, 3rd report: It’s the little things …
April 3, 2011 11:56 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Preparedness | Safety | West Seattle news

Once again this April – Disaster Preparedness Month in our state – we’re spotlighting preparedness every night on WSB, with a special focus on earthquakes. As noted here last night, one of the in-person training sessions you can check out in West Seattle this month is an earthquake-retrofitting workshop on Saturday, April 16, 11 am-2 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library. But realize that readiness is about the little things, too. One of the preparedness experts who responded to our call for resource suggestions shared a link to a quiz about how to make your living room safer – through earthquake-proofing for the everyday items it just might contain, such as a wide-screen video monitor, a bookcase, glass/ceramic art pieces, mirrors on the wall. It’s a simple quiz with graphics and multiple-choice questions; we’ll confess that we only got half the answers right, so we learned a lot. It’s from a California agency, but don’t let that stop you – the quiz starts here. Even if you only take away one or two things you can easily do in your home to earthquake-proof some of its smaller contents, that’s progress. Till tomorrow – we’ll close with another important reminder: Get to know West Seattle Be Prepared – especially your nearest Neighborhood Emergency Communication Hub.

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Preparedness Month, 2nd report: 3 chances for in-person training!
April 3, 2011 4:00 am
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 |   Preparedness | Safety | West Seattle news

April is Disaster Preparedness Month in our state, and for the second year, WSB is committed to a nightly focus on preparedness, with a particular emphasis on being ready in case of earthquakes, given our area’s history and risk, as well as the heightened awareness and concerns resulting from last month’s quake/tsunami disaster in Japan.

Our first report gave a quick refresher on the Neighborhood Emergency Communication Hubs that are part of an amazing volunteer-led effort that has given West Seattle the preparedness edge so far – West Seattle Be Prepared. But the relatively small group of volunteers who have come forward to join in the planning and preparation this far won’t be able to do much in case of disaster without backup and help from hundreds, even thousands of others in the community. That’s why your participation in training is vital as part of Preparedness Month – and the good thing is, you don’t have to seek it out on your own. Here are 3 West Seattle opportunities coming up in the next two and a half weeks, all free – you just have to show up!

THIS THURSDAY (APRIL 7TH): West Seattle Be Prepared launches a new training/education series. 6-7:30 pm, be at the Senior Center of West Seattle in The Junction (California/Oregon). An hour and a half is a small investment considering the potentially lifesaving information you get in return – here are full details from WSBP.

APRIL 16TH: Find out about retrofitting your home for earthquake safety, with a free workshop at the West Seattle (Admiral) Library Branch – full details here. (Though the class is free, registration is requested – 206-233-5076.)

APRIL 18TH: WSBP and the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network team up for a preparedness-training session, 6-7:30 pm at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster).

Those are all from the West Seattle Be Prepared events calendar, where you will also find a reminder of April 20th – the day for a statewide “drop, cover, and hold” earthquake drill at 9:45 am. More here tomorrow night, and we’re still interested in your suggestions for what you most want to know about earthquake readiness (we’ll be working on the questions raised in last night’s comments!).

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Preparedness Month, first report: West Seattle Be Prepared
April 2, 2011 1:36 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Preparedness | West Seattle news


View West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs in a larger map

Once again this year, WSB is taking time every night in April – proclaimed Disaster Preparedness Month in our state – for at least a tidbit of special coverage (sometimes more) to help you get closer to the goal of being ready for anything. This time, we are going to focus specifically on earthquake preparedness, still so top-of-mind following the recent Japan megaquake/tsunami disaster, preceded by the New Zealand quake. But first out of the gate, the most important thing we can do is make sure you are tapped into West Seattle Be Prepared, a volunteer-led effort with online and offline components. The biggest one is the designation and mapping of “Neighborhood Emergency Communication Hubs” around the peninsula. As explained on this page of the West Seattle Be Prepared website, the hubs are “emergency community gathering sites in case a major disaster occurs that makes it impossible to get information and help in the usual ways.” Check the map (above, and here, with a downloadable/printable version here). Know your nearest hub. If you don’t see one near your neighborhood – that’s only because volunteers haven’t come forward yet to designate and plan one (maybe you can help?). Hub or no hub, bookmark and browse West Seattle Be Prepared; also check out its new blog-format site, with more-topical information, like a newly launched events calendar; join the WSBP group on Facebook; and “follow” @wsbeprepared on Twitter. Saturday night, we’ll start getting down to quake-preparedness specifics. If there’s anything specific about earthquake preparedness or earthquake risks you’ve long wondered about, leave a comment or e-mail editor@westseattleblog.com, and we’ll be sure to find experts to address it during our month of coverage.

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North Delridge council focuses on neighborhood preparedness
March 15, 2011 4:00 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Delridge | Preparedness | West Seattle news

For all the time you may have spent in the past few days watching those jaw-dropping videos from the Japan earthquake/tsunami/nuclear zones, spend some time watching/listening to this one. Monday night’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting was almost entirely devoted to disaster/emergency preparedness, and we put the 43-minute heart of the discussion on video for those who couldn’t be there. The topic actually had been planned before the Japan quake. Information was presented by Debbie Goetz from the city, which presents SNAP preparedness classes (next two in West Seattle are June 7th at 6:30, High Point Library, and November 3rd at 6:30, Southwest Library), and Cindi Barker from the all-volunteer West Seattle Be Prepared. The presentation led to a discussion about the need for North Delridge to have its own Emergency Communication Hub as part of WSBP (as Cindi reiterated, these are places you would go for information in case of catastrophe). North Delridge will keep the conversation going (NDNC meets the 2nd Monday of each month, 6:30 pm, Delridge Library); if you are in another neighborhood – check to see where YOUR nearest hub is:


View West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs in a larger map

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