Major Disaster's are coming: Get ready
Pastor Dale Morgan
Major Disaster's are coming: Get ready*
By Eric Holdeman
Special to The Times
Summer has finally arrived here in the Northwest. The flooding and
windstorms from this past winter are just a memory. But, it is
appropriate that we remember that earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
windstorms, winter storms, floods, drought, landslides, tsunamis,
avalanches, hazardous-material spills, pandemic flu and terrorist
attacks in all their nefarious forms will happen sometime in our
lifetime. Many of these events will happen right here in the Pacific
Northwest and certainly in the Central Puget Sound area — maybe tomorrow.
Unfortunately, it is a reality that disaster preparedness isn't on most
people's minds — until something actually happens. But each time we
experience disaster — an earthquake, flood, or, most recently, the
windstorms — a window of opportunity is opened that we all learn from.
It's during these times the public's attention is focused on how to be
better prepared.
As the former director of King County Office of Emergency Management, I
worked with all sectors of our community to better prepare for disasters
of all types. This included working with the 168 governments in King
County, along with our neighboring counties, state agencies, federal
partners, and the business and nonprofit sectors.
The question is what are we in this region doing individually and
collectively to mitigate these events and also prepare ourselves, our
families, businesses, governments, schools and what I call our broader
community network?
Many people believe that "someone" in the form of law enforcement or
firefighters will come to their rescue when something bad happens. That
works for the everyday emergencies. But when disasters strike,
first-responder resources are very limited, and the public needs to be
self-sufficient for a minimum of three days. Regionally, we have
fostered the public-education campaign, "Three Days, Three Ways, Are You
Ready?"
The truth is that for the type of catastrophic disasters we are likely
to have here in this region of the world, citizens need to be thinking
about seven days of personal preparedness. As the December 2006
windstorm showed us, however, many people aren't ready to be on their
own for even three hours, let alone three days.
Even small investments in disaster mitigation and preparedness will pay
huge dividends when disaster strikes again. One of the best examples for
the King County government was the passage of legislation to seismically
retrofit the courthouse and buildings in the Harborview Hospital
complex. These measures were passed before the Nisqually earthquake;
they weren't a knee-jerk response to an event.
More proactive efforts by all governments will add immeasurably to the
disaster resiliency of our region. Invest in mitigation — such as
repairing the levees here in King County — and the dividends will be
tremendous over time.
We can't control Mother Nature, but we can become better prepared and
more resilient for what she is sure to bring to bear.
Eric Holdeman, former director of the King County Office of Emergency
Management, is a principal with ICF International Consulting, which
provides services in homeland security, energy, transportation and other
markets.