WHY PREPARE FOR A DISASTER?
In our lives, whether at home, traveling, or on the road, we strive to minimize, or at least control, risk. Yet, preparing for a disaster is the furthest thing from our minds. We don’t know which kind of disaster may occur, and besides, disasters happen to other areas or people, not us. Right? But since 9-11, emergency preparedness has become paramount. And, although terrorism is the stimulus, in reality we’re far more vulnerable to an earthquake or a major fire on the Peninsula.
Why should a small community like ours have an emergency preparedness plan? First, although the Peninsula itself would be an unlikely terrorist target, we are situated between major terrorist targets, including the airport and the harbor, as well as 5 oil refineries, and other commercial and industrial facilities. Second, as much as our residents travel, whether overseas, to an amusement park, or driving downtown, there is no question that our awareness should be held at a high level even when we’re not at home. Remember, citizens doing their everyday business are far more likely to see suspicious things than police officers! Third, having a preparedness plan forces us to become educated about potential disasters. Just as the more educated we became about crime, the more we started reporting and working together to prevent crime. Fourth, when we think about the absolute chaos that would ensue after any disaster, and realize that much of it could be alleviated by having a plan, it simply doesn’t make sense not to prepare.
Let’s postulate what you would do, if at this very minute, a man-made or natural disaster occurred - an earthquake, an explosion, a chemical release, an alert broadcast on the radio, or a helicopter circling overhead telling you to evacuate because of a fire. What would you do? If the phone lines were intact, probably 99% of residents would call the Sheriff’s Dept., Fire Dept., 9-1-1, their spouse, their children’s school or their parents. This is actually the most foolish thing you could do because, as occurred in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the calls overloaded the system so fast that really desperate people couldn’t get through. In one Malibu fire, the Fire Chief couldn’t even contact his units because so many people were using cell phones that the circuits were loaded. If you jumped into your car and tried to drive to your child’s school, gridlock would occur so fast that even emergency vehicles couldn’t get through. If you were asked to evacuate, what route would you take, and what would you take with you?
Many people will think that preparing is of no use, that we can depend on our first responders to bail us all out. But remember, our fire and law enforcement agencies, are just that. They are responders to something that has already happened. Just as in fighting crime, where we have learned there is much we can do on our own to prevent crimes in the first place, we must also learn that by networking and working as a team we can do many things for ourselves in a disaster. Who knows better than us who lives where, who needs what, who is gone, who is disabled, and the layout of our houses. In fact after the Northridge earthquake, an article in the L.A. Times highlighted how much better Neighborhood Watch groups reacted than other blocks. They worked and communicated through one person. They had plans. They knew what to do. They were the real first responders and knew who needed help first. And they lessened the load tremendously for fire and law enforcement personnel when they arrived because the neighborhood had already assessed the situation. So, when you really think about who are the first responders, it is us. Very possibly, no one is going to be there to help us for many hours. We must rely on our neighbors and ourselves.
The Emergency Preparedness section of this website is dedicated to guiding residents how to prepare using the one most important asset that Neighborhood Watch has - a tightly organized, effective, down-in-the-trenches communication system. We can use it easily for communicating, networking, and educating before a potential disaster. And we can use it effectively during a disaster, because the network is intact, whether using electronic methods, word of mouth, or amateur radio operators within our neighborhoods. We are not reprinting information here that is available through other sources such as the City and Sheriff’s Dept.
At a recent security seminar, every speaker - from the FBI, to a past Israeli intelligence officer, to the Head of Volunteers for the Sheriff’s Dept., to the Office of Emergency Services, to the California Attorney General’s office to a Lieutenant of Airport /Mass Transit Security - had one theme. Our country must become one giant Neighborhood Watch. It is a critical element of our safety - not through vigilantism, but simply through a willingness to educate ourselves and watch and report suspicious activity to our law enforcement. President Bush has announced that Neighborhood Watch organizations would be taking on a new significance. Sheriff Baca has stressed the importance of communicating about terrorism though Neighborhood Watch groups. And the National Sheriff’s Association says that Neighborhood Watch groups should incorporate terrorism prevention into their mission. With this knowledge, the public can play a potentially crucial role in the detection and prevention of terrorist acts.
Terrorism is alien to Americans. We can’t even imagine terrorist attacks happening in our own country and cities. Nor are we prepared to believe that, like it or not, terrorism is going to change our lives. But this is not our father’s war. As one high ranking official remarked, "Make no mistake, the enemies we face are resourceful, merciless, and fanatically committed to inflicting massive damage on our homeland, which they regard as the bastion of evil".
The Israeli advisor admitted that, "When you grow up in Israel, you have a different type of mentality. You can’t go to many places." Is this freedom, which we now have, worth fighting for? You make the call.
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Gail Y. Lorenzen Volunteer Coordinator
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