| "The Bay Area has the highest concentration of | | | | Overpass. In that catastrophic event, the |
| earthquake faults in the world." | | | | responsibility for commanding the massive |
| -Bill Lettis, earth sciences consultant. | | | | response and rescue operations fell upon Battalion |
| What happened in New Orleans and the Gulf | | | | Chief Manny Navarro. He was surprised to see, |
| Coast of the United States was not only the | | | | firsthand, that the greatest number of rescues |
| worst natural disaster in the history of this | | | | were not made by the million-dollar earth-moving |
| country, but also the loudest wake-up call ever | | | | equipment, not the fire engines or the ambulances |
| experienced by our comfortable over-confident | | | | or the sonar devices. The greatest number of |
| society. We never dreamed something of such | | | | rescues were made by the people who lived near |
| horror and magnitude could ever happen here - | | | | the freeway, in the neighborhood. |
| even though all the TV meteorologists told us it | | | | Why? Because in the first crucial moments, they |
| might, then days before the storm hit land, told | | | | were already there. They rushed to help, climbing |
| us it would. | | | | up on dangerously unstable broken structures to |
| "The bad news: The chances of the Big One | | | | pull people out and hand them down to others |
| happening in the next 30 years are about 90%, | | | | waiting to receive them below, and carry them to |
| and the odds are that it will be in our own back | | | | a safe area. With no equipment and no training, |
| yard." | | | | they responded as human beings and did |
| -reporter Chris Treadway, Montclarion January | | | | whatever they could. In his own words, Chief |
| 1999. | | | | Navarro was professionally and personally |
| Along the West Coast from Canada to Mexico, | | | | "stunned." Later he said (and I paraphrase, but this |
| we still think the Big Quake won't really happen, | | | | is essentially accurate) "I realized we're spending |
| even though we've been told repeatedly by | | | | the most money for the fewest results. It was |
| every geologist and every emergency response | | | | obvious - We should be training the people in the |
| and emergency management agency that it will. | | | | neighborhood." And that became a priority of the |
| The odds of Katrina happening were extremely | | | | Oakland Fire Department, and would ultimately |
| small - less than a 1% probability. The odds of the | | | | result in legislative mandate at the state level.. |
| Big Quake have been reported conservatively at | | | | Now, in theory at least, every citizen in California |
| about 70% probability, and by the specialists in | | | | can receive Disaster Preparedness and Disaster |
| the trenches, 90%. | | | | Response Training. However there are some |
| In the next 30 years, by the way, doesn't mean | | | | shortfalls. Over the years, municipal OES (Offices |
| after 30 more years (hello) it means any time | | | | of Emergency Services, which usually direct the |
| now, within this 30 year span. It could be today, | | | | citizen training, overseen by Fire or Police |
| or tonight while you sleep. How prepared are we? | | | | Department administration) have had repeated |
| There is no question of IF it will happen; the only | | | | staffing and funding cuts. They've been cut, |
| question is WHEN, and Katrina surely is telling us | | | | trimmed, and cut some more. (You know the drill.) |
| we'd best not wait till the last minute to do what | | | | And sometimes, scheduled citizen's courses can |
| we can to prepare. That will be way too late.. | | | | be canceled, delayed, or otherwise trumped by |
| Here are a few things we DO know: | | | | other (higher priority?) activities of the agencies |
| 1. The areas of destruction probably will be vast, | | | | that oversee them. |
| and potentially spread over a much larger area | | | | Perhaps that's what happened to the Disaster |
| than Katrina. | | | | First Aid all-day training course and Hands-On |
| 2. Those areas will look a lot like New Orleans did, | | | | Workshops. |
| except possibly there will be less flooding and | | | | The CORE volunteers and instructors are serious |
| more bleeding. | | | | and dedicated. This program is important, and |
| 3. There will be thousands more physical and | | | | spirited in the way things used to be when people |
| trauma injuries, as structures collapse on people, | | | | were really neighbors to each other. That |
| and buildings and cars trap or crush people, and | | | | perspective is no longer old-fashioned - and we |
| torn power lines cause electrocutions and fires. | | | | had better wake up to the reality - it has become |
| 4. The Big Quake is likely to be worse than | | | | a survival necessity. |
| Katrina. I won't say more; you already know this. | | | | When a massive disaster happens and thousands |
| 5. All city, county, and state Disaster Planning and | | | | of people are injured, NO city has thousands of |
| Response agencies have been telling us since | | | | ambulances, or thousands of empty hospital beds. |
| 1989, very clearly and specifically, that every | | | | And even worse, virtually ALL of the hospitals in |
| citizen should expect and be prepared to manage | | | | the East Bay are sitting within one mile or less |
| on our own without outside help for at least 24 | | | | from an active earthquake fault line. Even if there |
| hours to three days immediately following a | | | | are roads open, and even if you could get to a |
| major disaster of any kind. | | | | hospital, it might be destroyed, or shut down and |
| 6. An abundance of information and detailed | | | | evacuated. If nobody can help us for 24 hours or |
| instructions have been published and widely | | | | more, as they realistically predict, how can we |
| distributed for free, everywhere on the West | | | | survive? We will have to help ourselves and each |
| Coast. Have you read some of it? | | | | other. Do you know how? Can you spare a few |
| 7. The State of California (and I believe Oregon | | | | hours a week to learn? |
| and Washington as well) has mandated every | | | | Free or very inexpensive classes have been |
| county and city to provide disaster preparedness | | | | available in West Coast cities for 15 years, and |
| and civilian disaster response training for their | | | | other courses are available through many |
| citizens. Do you know where to get it? | | | | employers and corporations. Have some folks in |
| The majority of these training programs are | | | | your neighborhood or at your job taken them? |
| based on a similar framework called CERT | | | | Does anybody know what to do? Does anybody |
| (Citizens Emergency Response Training) or NERT | | | | care? |
| (neighborhood Emergency Response Training) and | | | | A final thought: Let a start be made. |
| the training is provided through either Police or Fire | | | | It's not like it's something really hard and difficult |
| Departments. Oakland California has its own | | | | to do. Almost anyone can do it. You can do it too, |
| program called CORE (Citizens of Oakland | | | | for yourself, for your family. Your kid's school can |
| Respond to Emergency) which contains most of | | | | do it. If you have any kind of neighborhood group, |
| the elements of CERT. | | | | softball team, bridge club, poker night, bowling |
| Common weak points in most citizen training | | | | team, park or community center, you've already |
| programs have been: | | | | got the groundwork laid to start a neighbrhood |
| 1. They often have inadequate staffing and | | | | CERT group right there. |
| funding (most are free to the citizens) and | | | | Many of the countless people who died in the |
| 2. Most of them use some type of (often | | | | Katrina Hurricane and flood were not initially hurt |
| sketchy) version of "Standard" First Aid. (See the | | | | by the storm's destruction. Hundreds died because |
| article "Why Isn't Standard First Aid Good | | | | they did not have drinking water. The human |
| Enough") | | | | body can go about 3 days without water and |
| "One thing we know about the Bay Area is that | | | | then, pretty much, it dries up and dies. Everyone |
| there is no escape - we all live near a fault-line." | | | | knew the storm was coming. Anyone could have |
| -Bill Lettis, earth sciences consultant. | | | | stored some clean water while they still had it, in |
| The evolution of Oakland's CORE program began | | | | plastic bottles or whatever. But they didn't. |
| in 1989 with the Loma Prieta Earthquake and the | | | | What are you going to do when 911 can't come? |
| collapse of a mile of freeway at the Cypress | | | | |