John's Vashon Preparedness Blog

All of John Cornelison's blogs are listed on this page chronologically. Use the Calendar or Search functions in the right column to search through time, via keyword, or look at the parent blog page to view all authors' posts.

John's Recent Blogs

Author: Created: 6/15/2010 5:35 PM RssIcon
Disaster news and links of interest for Vashonites
By John Cornelison on 10/3/2017 9:17 AM
PrepareForFoulHelp your family, neighborhood and community be more prepared!

This Saturday VashonBePrepared sponsors the Prepare Fair,  from 10am till 2pm at the main fire station.

As part of the annual VIFR Open House, your family is invited for:

free hot dogs cooked by firefighters, a bouncy house for the wee ones, a chance to sit in a real fire engine, Airlift NW helicopter, prize drawings every half-hour,...
By John Cornelison on 9/11/2017 7:57 AM
image

Severe weather or an earthquake WILL create these Vashon conditions: The power out for days or longer Homes damaged, some roads closed Phones not working well or at all Vashon Island Fire & Rescue overwhelmed Ferries stop serving Vashon – docks may be damaged or the boats needed elsewhere Gas, supplies and groceries not arriving from the mainland Families separated – some folks stranded off-island; many folks can’t get to work Learn the ropes to be resilient – not to mention well-fed! Four hours packed with resources, advice & island...
By John Cornelison on 6/18/2017 12:17 PM
clip_image002Vashon Maury Island Radio Club and VashonBePrepared invites the public to visit Vashon’s amateur radio volunteers at this Saturday’s 2017 Field Day event!

Vashon Hams gather at our new Field Day location atop the Swallow’s Nest Bluff on June 24th & 25th to compete in the largest single amateur radio and emergency preparedness exercise.

Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio. Families and the...
By John Cornelison on 6/7/2017 9:44 AM
The Cascadia Subduction Zone off the coast of North America spans from northern California to southern British Columbia.SEATTLE – A year following one of the nation’s largest domestic drills, lessons-learned continue to guide strategies that improve the Pacific Northwest’s ability to survive and recover from a catastrophic Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake and tsunami.

On June 7, 2016, more than 20,000 emergency managers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington kicked off Cascadia Rising 2016, a four-day, large scale exercise to test response and recovery capabilities in the wake of a 9.0 magnitude CSZ earthquake and tsunami. The exercise involved local, state, tribal and federal partners,...
By John Cornelison on 3/16/2017 7:50 AM
Although this is still evolving, the initial blueprint of the federal budget has the following language:

DHS starts on page 23 of the 62 page document.  FEMA preparedness grant language is on page 24.

Eliminates or reduces State and local grant funding by $667 million for programs administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that are either unauthorized by the Congress, such as FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program, or that must provide more measurable results and ensure the Federal Government is not supplanting other stakeholders’ responsibilities, such as the Homeland Security Grant Program. For that reason, the Budget also proposes establishing a 25 percent non-Federal cost match for FEMA preparedness grant awards that currently require no cost match. This is the same cost-sharing approach as FEMA’s disaster recovery grants. The activities and acquisitions funded through these grant programs are primarily State and local functions. •

Link to the Trump budget blueprint...
By John Cornelison on 2/24/2017 11:37 AM
Your Bookmarks Will Need To Change Too!

The National Weather Service’s primary web site www.weather.gov plans to implement an upgrade. The improvement will involve the point ‘n click site specific forecasts and zone forecasts.

Once these changes occur on March 7, all your current forecast.weather.gov bookmarks will change. Links to a specific forecast page will display an error message that includes a URL to the new web site location. That is your opportunity to update your bookmarks to provide access to NWS forecasts quickly after the upgrade.

The primary focus of the upgrade is to make the forecast pages more reliable during weather events, but there are some benefits of new forecast pages as well that include:

· Addition of 7-day hourly forecast information to the point forecast page

· A new mobile-friendly landing and graphical/tabular forecast page

· Low-bandwidth optimization for all pages, on a partial roll-out at launch

...
By John Cornelison on 2/21/2017 8:46 AM

Date: May 5th, 6th, 7th.

Hours: 5th - 6PM to 9PM, 6th - 9AM to 5PM, 7th - 10AM to 3PM. Testing will start at 3PM.**

**Testing for any level amateur license will be available and open to anyone. Cost $15.

Cost: $35 + student to purchase The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual 3rd. Edition. Cost varies between Kindle version and paperback. $19 - $26

Place: Vashon Island Fire & Rescue, Main Station 55 - SW Bank Rd.

Training class will prepare the participant to take the technician's level amateur radio test being given Sunday, May 7th.

Contact Sharon Danielson AE7SD for additional information. kharazi (at) aol.com

By John Cornelison on 1/25/2017 7:06 AM
Emergency Preparedness & Response: A Half Day Basic Class on February 4 ... OR ...A 45-hour Course Packed With Skills Participation in CERT is highly rewarding for both you and your neighbors. If community support when problems arise is important to you, CERT will likely be an extraordinarily positive experience.  CERT originated in Los Angeles in 1994 to support the city fire department, and has been enhanced and extended to hundreds of communities by FEMA to help citizens safely help each other in various emergencies.   The rewards are: Increased safety at your home & businessIncreased personal preparedness for windstorms, earthquakes and power outages New life-saving and first aid skillsIncreased self-confidence New friendsParticipation in the Vashon communityStylish green hard-hat and hi-vis vest (for team) Requirements to be on the active team: Vashon resident - full-time or part-time Very basic physical fitnessBasic CERT course (3 parts; see back of this flyer) Several additional Vashon-specific...
By John Cornelison on 1/4/2017 8:35 AM
1-4-2017 at 8.25.05 AMA number of devastating earthquakes and powerful storms made 2016 the costliest twelve months for natural catastrophe losses in the last four years. Losses totaled US$ 175bn, a good two-thirds more than in the previous year, and very nearly as high as the figure for 2012 (US$ 180bn). The share of uninsured losses – the so-called protection or insurance gap – remained substantial at around 70%....
By John Cornelison on 11/18/2016 8:54 AM
CERT.512x324A few good (but currently inactive) CERTies needed for January 20 and 27 Refresher

The Refresher is an 8-hour review of medical and SAR (Search and Rescue), plus lots of updates for people who took the basic course awhile ago and would like to join the active team.  The course is held in two 4-hour sessions on Friday evenings.

If you’re currently active with CERT and would like to help with medical or an...
By John Cornelison on 11/4/2016 4:06 PM
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee today issued a directive to state agencies to bolster Washington state efforts to prepare for a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

The directive establishes a new Resilient Washington subcabinet charged with providing a coordinated approach to preparing for and responding to a major earthquake or tsunami. The subcabinet’s efforts will address everything from educating the public about personal preparedness to planning for major disruptions to utility and fuel services and destruction of major roads, bridges and airports. The subcabinet will also develop recommendations and plans for ensuring availability of medical and human service operations.

“We know the question isn’t ‘if’ a large-scale earthquake will happen in our state, but how well we will be prepared,” Inslee said. “While there’s no way to fully anticipate all the impacts a large-scale earthquake will have on our infrastructure,...
By John Cornelison on 10/23/2016 2:52 PM
The Seattle Times took a look at the Cascadia Rising final draft report: we failed.

Not so much Vashon, but the state.

The article is at:

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/washington-states-plan-for-megaquake-grossly-inadequate-review-finds/

The draft report is at:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3152696-CR16-State-AAR-Final-Draft-Oct-21-2016.html

Executive Summary Overarching Conclusions A large magnitude Cascadia Subduction Zone fault earthquake and tsunami is perhaps one of the most complex disaster scenarios we face as emergency management and public safety officials in the Pacific Northwest. Due to this complexity, life-saving and life-sustaining response operations will hinge on the effective coordination...
By John Cornelison on 10/21/2016 11:23 AM
2016 Patient PosterThe Seattle/King County Clinic is a giant four-day FREE clinic.

Healthcare professionals from around the region volunteer to provide quality dental, vision, and medical care.  Patients receive free healthcare services including dental fillings and extractions, complete eye exams, free prescription eyeglasses, mammograms, Pap smears, flu vaccine, foot care, and much more.

When:

Thursday, October 27 through Sunday, October 30

Where:

Tickets will be distributed at the Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center, 200 Thomas St (2nd North & Thomas St).  The Clinic will be held at Key Arena at Seattle Center, 401 1st Ave N Seattle, WA 98109

Patient outreach:...
By John Cornelison on 10/20/2016 3:41 PM
VashonBePrepared held its annual meeting yesterday at the Vashon Emergency Operations Center.

A simple affair this year, many of our partner organizations reviewed the last year’s activities and plans for the year and the coming year. See our list of accomplishments which soon should reflect some of these activities.

A key item ahead is to hopefully upgrade the VIFR Training Center, and merge our EOC into this larger location.

VashonBePrepared’s board then voted in a new set of bylaws, which cleaned up some antiquated language, but primarily enlarged the number of our partner organizations – many of whom have been participating informally for years:

New VashonBePrepared Partners Vashon Island School District (VISD) Medical Reserve Corp (MRC) Voice of Vashon (VoV) Vashon Chamber of Commerce ACS (replaces Vashon Maury Island Radio Club) ...
By John Cornelison on 10/14/2016 8:25 AM

	Woman cleaning inside of home after a storm.Most homes on Vashon are well built against the seasonal rains and water we face. Still, if a drain clogs, or the incoming rain is heavier than the system can take you may still wind up with a flooded basement or other area of your home.

FEMA has a number of guidelines borne of experience for how homeowners can handle floods. Although focused on floods from Hurricane Mathew out east, many of the same guidelines apply to floods that may occur on Vashon.

Check out FEMA’s flood clean-up guidelines here.

By John Cornelison on 10/14/2016 8:13 AM


As a glance outside will show, we’re currently experiencing a strong storm. Actually there are two storms, one a day away from the other.

Check local weather reports (e.g., NOAA or Weather Underground) for the latest reports as the predictions are changing fairly quickly.

In addition to the checklist on our website, here are some other points that may be helpful in your winter storm season preparations:

Water - If possible,...
By John Cornelison on 9/27/2016 11:50 AM

Seattle Colleges has generously offered to host an Incident Command System 100/200/700 Combination Course at no charge.

The course will be held Thu, October 13, 2016 from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM at South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave SW, Seattle, WA.

If you are interested in participating in any of the VashonBePrepared groups, this is an excellent way to get up to speed on the terminology and concepts used on Vashon – and throughout the United States.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/incident-command-system-100200700-combo-course-tickets-27103829283

By John Cornelison on 9/27/2016 11:37 AM
Proclamation_Seattle_2016_Emergency_Preparedness_MonthIn an effort to prepare Seattle communities for ‘The Big One’ and other disasters Seattle may face, Mayor Murray has proclaimed October 2016 as Emergency Preparedness Month.

Please join the Office...
By John Cornelison on 6/11/2016 6:53 AM
CascadiaFeatureThanks to All Who Participated What a team! How is it possible that so many people can work together for four days and achieve so much?

The answer: It's what Vashon is all about, isn't it? Neighbors helping neighbors.

Many thanks to everyone who came to "play" in Vashon's Cascadia Rising earthquake exercise.

We had many new faces and our mailing list (http://goo.gl/qk7zTf)...
By John Cornelison on 5/21/2016 10:27 AM
Download a PDF version of this brochure (with better layout!) by clicking here.

Vashon Island Fire & Rescue Welcomes National Guard VIFR Chief Hank Lipe A Note from Fire Chief Hank Lipe Nobody could ever truly be ready for an earthquake as bad as the Cascadia scenario. It will overwhelm even the best efforts of our small fire district and the many organizations and volunteers in the VashonBePrepared coalition.

But Islanders are resilient and I know we will all work together as neighbors to take care of each other as best we can until mainland help arrives. Still, a community’s response to a large scale disaster is only as good as its planning and training. That’s...
By John Cornelison on 5/4/2016 5:09 PM
AlertKC-color King County is investing in a new regional public emergency alert and notification system which features a public alert service - ALERT King County - to keep residents informed about significant events or emergency situations.

ALERT King County replaces RPIN (Regional Public Information & Notification) and uses the capable CodeRED software to drive the system.

The new software offers enhanced features that allow officials to more precisely target...
By John Cornelison on 9/8/2015 3:42 PM
Alert SeattleStay informed when you are roaming the urban lands: Consider subscribing to AlertSeattle – the City’s new, real-time emergency alert and notification system.

When emergencies happen, be the first to know. AlertSeattle is your link to real-time, official notifications from the City of Seattle.

AlertSeattle is a free service that allows you to sign up online to receive customized alerts via text message, email, voice message, and on social media (Facebook and Twitter). This service is provided by the City of Seattle at no cost; however, message and data rates may apply.

In addition to emergency alerts, you can also choose to receive customizable community notifications. These will include notifications about severe weather,...
By John Cornelison on 6/2/2015 7:49 AM
imageLast Thursday, FEMA and its partners released the 2015 National Preparedness Report (NPR). The NPR is an annual status report summarizing the Nation's progress toward reaching the 2011 National Preparedness Goal of a secure and resilient nation. This report marks the fourth iteration of the NPR. The 2015 NPR places particular emphasis on highlighting preparedness progress in implementing the National Planning Frameworks. The Frameworks describe how the whole...
By John Cornelison on 4/29/2015 3:10 PM

http://www.arrl.org/images/view/Regulatory_/Color_Band_Chart_Image_1.jpgA Technician Test Prep class is schedule for May 15th 6PM to 9PM, 16th 10AM to 5PM, 17th 10AM - 3PM.

Cost of the class is $30 to cover instructors expense's, the cost of the test and an official ham license.

Additionally, students need to purchase a new textbook since the question pool has changed as of July 14th. Here is a link to the ARRL Store but this book is available at other outlets:

http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual-3rd-Edition/

To register for class, contact:

Sharon Danielson via email: kharazi (at) aol.com

By John Cornelison on 3/20/2015 5:10 PM
On March 25, 2014, we published this nadir view of debris and a barrier lake created by a major landslide near Oso, Washington; the image was acquired by the Landsat 8 satellite on March 23. - earthobservatory.nasa.govA year after Oso, Arts WA is hosting a way for poets to memorialize that tragic event. Here’s one great entry:

One March morning the landscape shrugged—

fields dammed the river, hillsides fattened and rolled

—a hungry black bear feasting on every fallen thing.

When there is no one to blame but the rainfall,

no trial, no jury, no jail—our cry for justice is empty.

We have only the hope of no one suffering,

that bodies succumbed the way an infant...
By John Cornelison on 12/5/2014 10:09 AM
Two joint studies are out this week and indicate that the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2013’s predictions of a global sea rise of a bit over 3 feet by the end of the century could be way off.

Apparently warm ocean water is already undermining a vast stretch of West Antarctica ice that could release enough water to raise sea levels by up to 11 feet in the next 100-200 years. 13 million people live within 10 vertical feet of the ocean and Miami, New Orleans, and New York City would be the cities most affected.

Read yesterday’s Washington Post’s article...
By John Cornelison on 12/4/2014 6:41 PM
12-4-2014 at 4.20.00 PMPersonal weather stations (PWS) supplement public weather stations, such as those at airports. Given the right equipment, citizens with a PWS can share their weather data with a number of services who will aggregate the data and help collectively provide better weather forecasts for the region.

Owners also get more...
By John Cornelison on 12/1/2014 9:32 AM
According to the LA Times, the entire west coast should get access to the first generation of early earthquake warnings as early as next year. Dependent on congress’ upcoming vote, the budget would be some $16 million annually.

The new system would be the first generation, after a bare-bones prototype system has proven the concept over the last year or so in a limited set of locations. California would go from 200 to 400 sensors while 275 sensors are apparently all that are currently planned for Oregon and Washington.

Specialized systems have been in place for years. For instance the Alaskan Way Viaduct automatically is closed...

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Recent Comments

Re: What to do if you have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 or are worried that you may have COVID-19
No on ventilators. They require a paramedic to insert the tubes and at that point should be off island in a proper care facility. Low flow oxygen is easily available, but those needing it only for COVID should also be in a proper care facility.
Re: What to do if you have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 or are worried that you may have COVID-19
The large national company, Lab Corp, announced that they can do testing as of last Friday. I believe they are used by both clinics on the island. Local clinicians just do a nasal swab as I understand it and then send those in for testing. The test kits reside at the laboratory.

In addition other test facilities exist, but are unlikely to be used directly by island providers. Contact their websites and offices before you go in with any respiratory issues. Their information is likely to change frequently until more is known about the virus.

I don't know about ventilators, but will ask. Thanks for your comment!
Re: What to do if you have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 or are worried that you may have COVID-19
Will Vashon be getting testing kits soon in the hands of all doctors and first responders on island? Can the Gates Foundation help in this regard? Can we get the Neighborcare Clinic better prepared in this regard?

How many ventilators are on island? This is where critical shortages seem imminent.

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