John's Vashon Preparedness Blog

Thanks 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)...

After some 7 years in a conference room in VIFR’s main Station 55, the Vashon Emergency Operations Center (EOC) may be relocated next year to the VIFR Association Building across the street. Slightly larger, the room would be shared with King County...

 

Nearly a hundred islanders took part in the regional Evergreen Quake on June 5th & 6th at the Vashon Emergency Operations Center.

It was fairly historic for a number of reasons:

- Initial test of Operation Lifeline (King County’s redirecting their passenger ferry or hiring a barge – to support emergency needs on Vashon) - The Planning Section has adopted the standard ICS Planning Clock - and had the 1st real run-though of this during a major exercise - The Public Information Team...

Prepare. Plan. Stay Informed.

 

The first ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System will occur on Nov 9 at 2 pm ET and last for about 3 minutes, according to Damon Penn, of National...

The residents of Vashon and all the volunteers and organizations under the VashonBePrepared banner were honored Friday, September 30th by King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott - the final day of National Preparedness Month. As described by the actual 2011 King County Executive Award for Community Preparedness, and by the official King County press release, the award was to the entire community and emphasized the many contributors to Vashon’s preparedness. The Carnation-Duvall Citizen Corps Council was likewise lauded with a similar award.

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Sept. 30, 2011

Two King County organizations honored...

I heard that “our” very own Don Price recently served as the head of ESF-6 for FEMA’s recovery efforts in Mississippi! He and other locals who have been serving afield will present their debrief on Tuesday, June 21st, from 1 – 3 PM. The location is the King County Office of Emergency Management Room 114 – Main Coordination Center.

There have been ground breaking developments in Children’s issues, FNSS, ADA, ESF 6 multi-agency coordination and more. Lessons learned, best practices and how to apply them to our local operations will all be discussed.

Speakers:

Don Price, Emergency Management Program Manager, King County...

The goal of this free forum is to bring together government, non-profit, faith-based and other partners who would have a role in Mass Care (shelter, feeding, distribution of emergency...

Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN) is a new public safety system, announced May 10th, to send free text alerts to cell phones. Geographically-targeted Presidential, emergency and AMBER alerts will use unique vibrations and tones to send alerts of imminent threats to safety. PLAN complements the existing Emergency Alert System (prior to 1998 known as the Emergency Broadcast System) and will be implemented by the FCC and FEMA. While the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) Is apparently voluntary, the Warning, Alert and Response Network (WARN) Act requires those wireless carriers to activate PLAN technology by April 2012.  AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon have pledged earlier support.

The...

VashonBePrepared is delighted to partner with the Vashon Island School District (VISD). We added them about a month ago to our list of key partners (see list with their logos on our home page), in recognition of their vital role in the island’s disaster preparedness and response roles.

In reality, the VISD have long been an informal partner, through their participation...

The King County Mass Care Workgroup is hosting the annual Mass Care Regional Forum on June 8 and you are invited! The goal of this free forum is to bring together government, non-profit, faith-based and other partners who would have a role in Mass Care (shelter, feeding, distribution of emergency supplies, etc.) for disasters in King County. Information will be provided and exchanged on planning efforts, emerging issues, resources, and channels for receiving and offering assistance during a disaster.

This year’s Forum features keynote speaker Joy Portella from Mercy Corps sharing her experience in going to Japan after the earthquake and tsunami. Presentations will include an overview of the development of a King County Disaster Behavioral Health Plan, how to apply the new Guidance on Functional Needs Support Services (FNSS) in shelters, and emerging issues and current activities in King County Emergency Management. Additionally, questions, concerns and ideas submitted by attendees will be addressed...

King County OEM’s Pascal Schuback had a neat 138 character tweet today that took me well over an hour to digest:

Know the difference 2B ready RT @USGS: How much bigger is a 8.7 2A 5.8? Click "Try It Yourself" Calculator at top of http://go.usa.gov/baq

As they note on their site, http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/how_much_bigger.php:

The magnitude scale is really comparing amplitudes of waves on a seismogram, not the STRENGTH (energy) of the quakes. So, a magnitude 8.7 is 794 times bigger than a 5.8 quake as measured on seismograms, but the 8.7 quake is about 23,000 times STRONGER than the 5.8! Since it is really the energy or strength that knocks down buildings, this is really the more important comparison. This means that it would take about 23,000 quakes of magnitude 5.8 to equal the energy released by one magnitude 8.7 event.

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At today’s Region 6 Homeland Security Council’s EMACS meeting, approximately $16K of unused funds from the FFY2009(or 2008?) Homeland Security Grant Program previously designated for Disaster Emergency Response Trailers (DERT) in King County, was re-allocated for Vashon! The trailer will primarily be used to store ADA compliant cots, blankets and pillows for use in community shelters to be set up for off-island visitors and workers unable to get home, or for residents with damaged houses.

Don Price (King...

April is Disaster Preparedness Month. VashonBePrepared, in conjunction with the King County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) urges citizens to take simple steps to prepare for earthquakes, floods, man-made disasters and other emergencies.

“We can’t stop disasters from happening, but we can prepare to survive them,” says OEM Director Hillman Mitchell. “Now is a perfect time to think about what you would do if a large disaster were to strike our region."

Disaster planning consists of three simple steps: 1. Make a Plan Every family should have a plan for how they will communicate during an emergency and where they will meet if separated.

Establish an out-of-area contact. This should be someone out-of-state that each family member can contact to communicate their well-being.

Texting will often work, even if phone calls can’t go through.

If cell towers are down, landline calls may work.

Long-distance calls...

Release Date and Time:03-25-2011 08:19:00 AM

"Triangle of Life" theory is dismissed by quake experts. The technique is not applicable for earthquake experiences in the U.S. The safest response is to "Drop, Cover, and Hold" until the ground stops shaking.

With images of Japan’s devastating earthquake fresh on our minds, so is another round of Internet misinformation about what should be your first move during an earthquake. The King County Office of Emergency Management wants you to know that "Drop, Cover, and Hold" is the best method to protect yourself during an earthquake in the United States, especially in our own quake-prone region.

“Unfortunately, emails have circulated recently, touting the ‘Triangle of Life’ technique, which incorrectly claims that people can use ‘voids’ or ‘empty spaces’ as a way to survive earthquakes,” said Hillman Mitchell, Director of the King County Office of Emergency Management. “Simply put, the technique is not applicable for earthquake experiences in the United...

EMACS is both the King County Emergency Management Advisory Committee and the Homeland Security Region 6 Homeland Security Council. The latest org chart lists the key players. This is also available long range on the wiki at: http://vashoneoc.org/Reference/KingCounty.aspx

We now have limited access to the evolving King County SharePoint web site that they will be using for situational awareness. Details on this will be maintained in the wiki, but let John know if you are interested in finding out more as it expands.