With an earthquake drill this morning, and what you might consider a “storm drill” last weekend, preparedness may well be on your mind. Today, we have news about West Seattle’s Emergency Communication Hubs:

The newest Hub, in The Junction, will be set up for an “opening” event this Sunday, noon-3 pm, so you can visit and get familiar with the concept. It’s in the Hope Lutheran Church parking lot, off SW Oregon just east of 42nd SW [map]. Even if that’s not the one closest to you, if you don’t know about the Hubs, now’s as good a time as ever. From the explanation on westseattlebeprepared.org (an awesome overall preparedness resource):

The Emergency Communication Hubs are locations around West Seattle which have been designated by neighborhood leaders and volunteers as community gathering sites if a major disaster makes it impossible to get information and help in the usual ways. These are locations that are easy to find and familiar to most people in each of these neighborhoods.

We’ve chosen outdoor locations because many buildings may be unsafe following an earthquake or similar type of disaster. After buildings have been checked for damage and deemed safe/usable, they will very likely be used as shelters. The Emergency Communication Hubs will be the initial gathering locations, since they can be predetermined for each neighborhood.

If you don’t see one close to you on the map – it’s because nobody has stepped up to get one going! Here’s information on how to get started.

P.S. The new Junction Hub had a preview event back in June, during a quake-scenario drill for which hubs were “activated” around the city.