Let's 'Start a Conversation' for National Preparedness Month to Stay Ready

September is National Preparedness Month, and the theme this year is "Start a Conversation"

To help spark a conversation, the Department of Homeland Security has created preparedness toolkits in English, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese. Toolkits include graphics, publications and messaging you can share with family, friends and neighbors.

Being prepared for natural hazards is a journey, and not one you need to make alone. Below is some guidance to help you along the way.

Individual preparedness

Individual preparedness takes many forms. Community members can engage in training and education, to be better prepared to make decisions in response to disasters, prepare to evacuate or to shelter in place depending on the need, and can prepare to receive alert and warning in the event of a disaster in the City of Santa Rosa or the County. Below are some examples of ways individuals can increase their preparedness.

• Training & Education
  1. First Aid, CPR & AED education and certification
  2. Defensible Space education
  3. Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training
  4. Wildfire Ready resources from Santa Rosa Fire Department
• Evacuation
  1. Evacuation Checklist
  2. Know Your Zone - Evacuation Zones Look Up Tool
  3. Prepare a Go-Bag to take with you during an evacuation
  4. Create a Family Disaster Plan, including pets and loved ones who don't live with you
  5. Learn unusual ways out of your neighborhood for use during mass evacuations
• Shelter In Place
  1. Prepare to shelter-in-place for assorted hazards
  2. Gather essential disaster supplies ahead of time such as canned food, a hand-operated can opener, battery-powered or crank radios, a first aid kit, flashlights, batteries, duct tape, plastic garbage bags, and water, as during certain disasters tap water may not be safe or accessible
  3. Be mindful of the particular sheltering needs of more vulnerable persons such as children, seniors, and people with access and functional needs when preparing
• Alert & Warning
  1. Sign up for CivicReady, the City of Santa Rosa's public notifications system
  2. Sign up for SoCoAlert, Sonoma County's safety notification system
  3. Invest in a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) all hazards radio

Community Preparedness

Individual preparedness lays the foundation for community preparedness to build upon. Imagine a geodesic dome play structure on a playground, made strong by the many interlocking triangles that make up its body. These connections keep the dome upright and reinforced, able to withstand the weight and activities of playful persons, as well as the elements of the natural world. Like this structure, community members create resilient communities the more interwoven their preparedness activities become. Below are some examples of ways communities can increase their preparedness.

Continuity of Business Operations

Santa Rosa businesses can also increase their preparedness by having a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), a way to continue operations during and after disruptions caused by disasters. The BCP should address natural hazard risks, power outages, civil unrest, cyber-attacks, supply chain issues, and more.

The Importance of Preparedness

California has three major hazards - earthquakes, fires, and flooding.

In 1989 the San Andreas Fault triggered damages to the Bay Area during the World Series. In 1994, down in Los Angeles, an earthquake centered beneath the San Fernando Valley revealed a previously undiscovered fault and caused an estimated $50 billion in property damages. These powerful earthquakes and others before and after them set into motion changes in the State, including the California Legislature's creation of the California Earthquake Authority (CEA).

Because of the behavior of faults and plate tectonics, high magnitude earthquakes manifest themselves irregularly. While many technologies and organizations are in play to monitor them, it behooves individuals to rise to the challenge of being prepared for a time when activity of a high degree occurs again and our communities, many of which are situated atop fault lines large and small, are once again impacted.

One of the jewels of our County is the Russian River, also known as Ashokawna and Río Ruso. It is a popular destination in most seasons thanks to Sonoma County's temperate climate, but with plentiful rainfall it presents a flooding hazard for those living nearby. While Russian River flooding rarely impacts Santa Rosa, its tendency to flood is something Santa Rosa residents should be mindful of when planning journey's westward during the rainy season. The County updates socoemergency.org/emergency/flooding and socoemergency.org/emergencia/inundacion/ with flooding information.

While residents were ringing in the new year of 2006, a winter storm caused the Russian and Napa rivers to surge, and the Laguna de Santa Rosa joined in the revelry and some residents in Santa Rosa found their houses swamped. In February of 2019 Sonoma County was impacted by almost 21 inches of rainfall in 48 hours. Guerneville became a temporary island, and some Santa Rosa residents were instructed to seek higher ground as the water continued to rise. Recently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been updating Flood Maps across the nation, to better visualize flooding hazard data. For more information, visit FEMA Flood Risk Mapping Project | Santa Rosa, CA (srcity.org). Santa Rosa Residents can help responders during flood events by being prepared for flooding ahead of time and being mindful of increases in rainfall and planning accordingly.

One would be hard pressed to find someone in Sonoma County who has not been affected by wildfire. In October of 2017, Northern California was rocked by the Tubbs Fire, at the time considered the most destructive fire in California history. Kincade, Glass, and LNU Lightning Complex fires followed, testing response and recovery capabilities of the County and the State. The Glass Fire consumed 334 homes in Sonoma County, and the recovery is still underway. For more information about the ongoing Glass Fire Recovery effort, visit Glass Fire Recovery | Santa Rosa, CA (srcity.org).

Wildfire preparedness is tantamount, especially as we approach our drier part of the year.

National Preparedness

In 2011, President Barack Obama issued Presidential Policy Directive PPD-8 on the subject of National Preparedness. The aim of PPD-8 was to strengthen the security and resilience of the United States through systematic preparation for the threats that pose the greatest risk to the security of the Nation, including acts of terrorism, cyber-attacks, pandemics, and catastrophic disasters caused by natural hazards. The National Preparedness Goal is divided into five mission areas: prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery.

When individuals, communities, and businesses are prepared, it aids in the achievement of the elements of the National Preparedness Goal. We thank you for doing your part!

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