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For Individual Families
Because people usually panic during an emergency, families should make up a family emergency preparedness plan now, along with a file which should include the following. (1) The City of Rancho Palos Verdes' insert in the Spring 2003 Newsletter outlining how to create a family emergency preparedness plan. This is also included on their web site, listed under Other Resources. (2) A disaster supplies kit, (also in the same newsletter). It should also include an extra set of car keys and credit cards, cash and/or traveler checks. Your list should also be tailored to your family’s own needs, including special items and medicines for children, the elderly, and pets. (3) A list of resources that pertain to your particular neighborhood, as outlined below. (4) Photos and documents of all valuables for insurance claims. (5) A copy of important family documents. (6) A list of primary responsibilities such as shutting off utilities and confining pets. (7) Making sure you have a working battery powered radio and knowing where the news radio stations are located on the AM dial - KFWB at 980 and KNX at 1070. This is where officials will notify you what to do. (8) To save valuable time for responders after any disaster, every family should make up a brightly colored sign with writing on both sides, to be prominently placed after a disaster. One side should say "OK", and the other side should say "Help". (9) A list of what you would take if you had to quickly evacuate because of fire.
 Discuss with your family a plan for several contingencies. For an EARTHQUAKE, walk through the house and assess what needs to be bolted down or reinforced. If your house is deemed unsafe for occupancy, are you equipped to "camp out" for 72 hours? Have plans for every household member who may be at school, at work, out doing errands, or on the road. Have a person outside the area who all family members can call if they cannot call home. Make sure your schools and work places also have disaster plans.
Recognizing that many people will be in vehicles during an emergency, or sitting at a desk, they should also have an emergency supply kit. This should include: Water, food, prescription medicines, a heavy duty flashlight or other portable light source, radio, blanket, flares, fire extinguisher, first aid (anti-bacterial ointments, large cloth square for sling or tourniquet, aspirin, burn cream and rolls of gauze, large gauze pads), personal care and hygiene items, sturdy walking shoes, reading material, a whistle for attracting attention, and for your vehicle, a storage bucket for all this, which can be used for you-know-what-else. Always keep your gas tank above half full, and never carry cans of gas in your trunk.
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For Your Block
Working together as a team with your neighbors before, during, and after a disaster, is a key ingredient in sharing resources, and in saving time and lives. We encourage every block to get their neighbors together, with each family submitting a HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION SURVEY form. The form can be accessed on this web site by going to the section titled, Organizing Your Block. The meeting should include the following.
Select a EP (Emergency Preparedness) COORDINATOR for your block. Unless the Block Captain wishes to take on this additional responsibility, the EP COORDINATOR should be a different member of the block. This person’s job will entail 2 responsibilities. (1) Compile a composite list of the block’s resources, (equipment, skills, special needs residents, dual language skills, emergency response personnel, etc.) taken from the HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION SURVEY, and distribute to participating households. And (2) network with an AREA EP COORDINATOR on the progress and/or problems of the block’s Emergency Preparedness plan.
An important ingredient in every block should be Peninsula Emergency Response Team Members, (PERT) and amateur radio operators. PERT supplements the efforts of law enforcement by having training in fire suppression, search and rescue, first aid and CPR, triage, etc. A PERT member on every block would be a huge boon to saving lives during a disaster. Additionally, amateur radio operators will provide the link from the Lomita Station and Fire Departments to our neighborhoods. The Disaster Communications Service (DCS) includes 114 members whose operators will be stationed at fire stations, libraries, city hall, school sites, Peninsula shopping centers, and Hesse Park. In addition there are several hundred independent amateur radio operators who can provide valuable local damage assessments through their Block Captains/EP Coordinators to relay requests for needed aid. This network requires that both PERT members and amateur radio operators identify themselves to their Block Captain/EP Coordinators.
This gathering of the neighbors should be done yearly to update resources and bring new residents into the emergency preparedness system.
For Your Area
Every area should have a minimum of 1 person, (or 2 in large areas such as Vista Grande) acting as an AREA EP COORDINATOR. This person has the same responsibility as our regular Area Coordinators, except for emergency preparedness only. That is, (1) act as a liaison between the block EP Coordinators and Neighborhood Watch and/or the Sheriff’s Dept., (2) act as a repository for collated data on each block, such as disabled residents, emergency and amateur radio personnel, etc. in case the Block Coordinator is out of town.
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