"the best preparation would be creating that personal family plan and getting sometraining."
"contrary to what we see in the movies, people do not run from Godzilla"]

Civil Defense

By Sheila D'Amico

Gordon Laverty's Leona Heights column in last month's Metro, in which he talked about his neighborhood's disaster planning, provided a timely reminder about the need to prepare for emergencies. We are at war, and earthquakes remain a threat.

I asked Kim Shunk, Assistant Manager for the Office of Emergency Services (OES), what public buildings Metro readers would go to if we needed emergency shelter. Shunk said that no specific buildings were designated, simply because we couldn't know in advance which public buildings would be safe. Also, different types of disasters would have their own hazards, and the route to a specifically predesignated shelter might be blocked. "Neighborhoods will have to be self-sufficient," she said.

"Prepare for three days. The reality is it may be longer. Have a radio with batteries, and know you can tune to 530 AM or KCBS 740 AM. Have a camping toilet, food, emergency supplies, and a family communication plan that includes telephone numbers and lets children know whether to stay at school or go home. Program emergency telephone numbers, but remember that cellphone 911 calls go to Dispatch in Vallejo, not to local emergency. But the best preparation would be to get some training."

C.O.R.E. (City of Oakland Responds to Emergencies) is holding a Core 3 "disaster skills workshop" on Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at 250 Victory Court. That's near Laney College, but on the Estuary side of I-880. To register, call 238-3938. In the Metro area, District Four Councilmember Jean Quan has scheduled C.O.R.E. workshops, too, one also on April 26 in the Laurel at a location to be announced, a second one on May 3 at Montera School, and the third to be held on a date in October.

Douglas Wong, a Quan aide and liaison to C.O.R.E., said the office wanted to make the workshops locally available to provide neighborhood access to training. You can call Quan's office at 238-7042 for information.

American Red Cross representative Amy Gaver, Director of Community Preparedness Services for the six-county area that includes Alameda County, said that a complete shelter database is available to the experts. In a disaster, police and fire departments will give a preliminary estimate of the safety of public buildings to OES, shelters will be designated, and that information communicated on the emergency broadcast networks. Although not specifically designated in advance for all the reasons mentioned above, Gaver said schools, particularly high schools, are potential shelters.

She reiterated what the other experts had to say. "The need for personal planning is critical. As a former lifeguard, I often say it's a lot easier to teach someone how to tread water before they get into it."

The Red Cross has a Web site that provides information on what should be in your kits: water, medical needs, telephone numbers including an out-of-state contact, pet needs, and suggested items such as walkie-talkies, hard candies, and comfort items for children. Click on "Together we prepare" at www.redcross-bayarea.org.

"If you are prepared," says Gaver, "and you practice, you and you family will know what to do, and you will be able to help others."

In pre-Loma Prieta earthquake days, I was on the Earthquake Preparedness Team of a major San Francisco corporation that was on the leading edge of emergency preparedness. I remember the Team leader saying that "contrary to what we see in the movies, people do not run from Godzilla." What he meant was that after you are assured you are safe, after the initial shock, you will go toward the disaster. You will go because of curiosity, and you will stay to help. We see this all the time, most dramatically on 9/11 and, before that, right here in Oakland in October 1989, when ordinary persons at the risk of their own lives went to the aid or the comfort of their neighbors trapped in the freeway collapse. We'll do this again, of course. We'll rely on our neighbor, and our neighbor will rely on us.