Preparedness is Everyone’s job ! During the first few hours or days following a disaster, essential emergency services may not be available. Being 2 WEEKS READY at home is the most important thing you can do to help your family and the community
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Below are some quick references to start planning and building your supplies
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Washington Emergency Management Division recommends every family to be prepared to be on their own for a minimum of two weeks. (Click any item for more information)
Parents with children and/or participate in PTA - check this out
Northshore Council PTSA 6.10 Here is an overview presentation on how to prepare for a Disaster, Emergency, Power outage or Bad weather (contact Robin for more info) PREPAREDNESS |
Create a Plan
PrepareSupplies kit is simply a collection of basic items your household may need in the event of an emergency. Try to assemble your kit well in advance of an emergency. You may have to evacuate at a moment's notice and take essentials with you.
Practice
The Big Shaker: Feelin' the Quake
Raising earthquake awareness with 'Big Shaker' at Westlake Park The Seattle Office of Emergency Management and the Seattle Parks Department held a preparedness event at Westlake Park on October 11th. The event featured the 'Big Shaker' a 22 foot long earthquake simulator capable of simulating an 8.0 earthquake. Check out the action as covered by the Seattle Channel. Keep ConnectedKeeping everyone connected when disaster strikes is a key component at the Snohomish County Emergency Coordination Center.
How would you make sure everyone is safe? To avoid trouble with land lines, establish a pre-arranged contact out of state. If someone is trying to call home in the disaster zone, the call may not go through. Your chances are better outside the zone. “Everybody calls grandma, tells them where they are, how they’re doing, and what they’re going to do,” said Honaker. “That way you have one point of contact who can help coordinate things.” Amateur radio operators (usually called HAM radios) are often the glue that hold communications together in an emergency. There are about 16,000 in Washington state. HAM radios can reach anywhere in the world without the issues linked to phone and cell service. In fact, emergency officials across the state depend on volunteers to keep them connected when disaster strikes. Learn More About Getting Licensed
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Bothell, WA - RISKSWashington has the second highest risk in the U.S. of a large and damaging earthquake because of its geologic setting. 3 major earthquake threats are Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ), Seattle Fault and South Whidbey Island Fault
EarthquakeSouth Whidbey Island Fault
The South Whidbey Island Fault is dangerous. It’s significantly larger than the Seattle Fault, and South Whidbey could hand us a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. A 7.5-magnitude earthquake is capable of causing major destruction over a large area. It could also set off quakes on connected faults. Many of the other earthquake faults in the region could be connected to the South Whidbey in a system similar to the San Andreas fault in California. Because the South Whidbey fault is shallow, running beneath Mukilteo and southeast to Woodinville, south Snohomish County could be at increased risk, Snohomish County emergency services director John Pennington said. “The reality is when this earthquake hits, there will be some heavy losses,” he said. Snohomish County is better prepared now for such a quake than it was several years ago, Pennington said. What to Expect Bothell, WA has a very high earthquake risk, with a total of 983 earthquakes since 1931. The USGS database shows that there is a 81.93% chance of a major earthquake within 50 Km (31 miles) of Bothell, in the next 50 years. The largest earthquake within 30 miles of Bothell, WA was a 5.8 Magnitude in 1996. (Click on picture)
Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) The Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) is a 600-mile fault that runs from northern California up to British Columbia. It is an overlapping joint between tectonic plates, part of the Earth’s crust that floats on layers of molten rock.
It made history, causing the largest earthquake in the continental United States on January 26, 1700 (reference The Orphan Tsunami of 1700 and Full-Rip 9.0), It caused a tsunami so big that it rampaged across the Pacific and damaged coastal villages in Japan. Scientists say a quake of that size is due roughly every 300 to 500 years.
Seattle FaultThe Seattle Fault is a zone of multiple shallow east-west thrust faults that cross the Puget Sound Lowland and through Seattle (in the U.S. state of Washington) in the vicinity of Interstate Highway 90.
It’s considered capable of a magnitude 7. That may not sound like much more than the magnitude 6.8 quake of 2001 based on the numbers, but that the Nisqually quake occurred some 30 miles underground. Then consider that the Seattle Fault is a complex of faults with various branches that run at or just below the surface.
“The risk is complicated, but there are millions of people who live in the Seattle area,” said Forson. “What we know about this fault is that it’s ruptured may times in the past…it will happen again. We just don’t know when.” Across the northern portion of Bainbridge Island, light radar or lidar images taken from airplanes clearly show (below) what geologists say is the Seattle Fault running right on the surface. Another piece can be seen under the elevated lanes of northbound Interstate 5 in South Seattle not far from the Rainier brewery.
With the current preparedness levels of Washington (read the Cascadia Rising Report 2016), we can anticipate being without services and assistance for at least 2 weeks, if not longer, when the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake occurs. While this will be difficult to overcome, our citizens, businesses, schools, government, and communities as a whole can take steps to get prepared. Take action now by actively planning and preparing yourself and your community to be ready for two weeks for disasters. READ MORE....
What to Expect (click on picture for article):Disaster or Emergency Specific Information
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