2011

Science & Analysis of Japanese Quake Paints a Grim Message for the Northwest

Oregon and Washington are likely to have a very serious earthquake in future decades, according to a disturbing article in the Oregonian.

Federal Grant Period is Upon Us

FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs provide funding for eligible mitigation activities that reduce disaster losses and protect life and property from future disaster damages. Currently, FEMA administers the following HMA grant programs:

FEMA’s Fugate Refocuses on Disaffected, not Able-Bodied

The key Washington insider’s news organization has a new positive interview with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. It sounds like he wants to involve the community, and actually go beyond the lowest level first responders – and even beyond “able-bodied adults who have the financial means to meet basic needs“ – and instead focus on those the disasters typically impacts most: those less fortunate, pets and others they’ve had to previously specially address with annexes to the main plans. The new plans are supposedly much more oriented to those least resilient.

Northwest Area Contingency Plan (NWACP) Update to Guide Local Oil Spill Response

An oil spill off Vashon was one of the first incidents where a team of Vashon CERTs and Public Information volunteers deployed, back on October 14, 2004. As an island with precious habitat and adjoining shipping channels, Vashon residents need to think not only of land based but water based incidents too.

September is National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month (NPM)! This awareness month is sponsored by the Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps. NPM is held each September and is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities

NW Citizen Corps Expo 2011-- August 20th

Registration is open during July ONLY for the upcoming NW Citizen Corps Expo, to be held from 7:30 AM to 5 PM on August 20th at the Washington State Fire Training Academy (east of North Bend on I-90).

Summer 2011 CERT Newsletter Published

In this issue of the 12 page CERT National Newsletter, Volume 3, Issue 4, you will read about the creative and diverse ways CERT members serve their communities when they aren’t activated for emergency situations.

King County Healthcare Coalition Recognized by the Seattle Times

The King County Healthcare Coalition is a network of healthcare organizations and providers working together to strengthen emergency preparedness and response. A voluntary organization administered by Public Health – Seattle & King County, the Coalition is open to all organizations and individuals that provide or support health care services in King County.

VMIRC’s Delightful 2011 Field Day-- “Best Yet!”

36 amateur radio operators and elected officials attended Vashon-Maury Island Radio Club’s 2011 Field Day Saturday and Sunday.

VIFR to get Introduction to ARES

John Galus will give an Introduction to Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) to VIFR firefighters and EMTs at VIFR Fire Station 55 at 7 PM(?) on July 5th.

Paul Nichols’ Time Lapse Quake Maps

If you’ve not come across them, Paul Nichols has created several time lapse earthquake maps. Working at the University of Canterbury's Digital Media Group, he takes USGS or GeoNet data and plots it using the Google Maps API to create a fascinating animation.

All the pre-prepared Public Service Announcements one could ask for!

The CDC has a slew of professional, tested and vetted PSAs that could come in handy on Vashon after a disaster.

Washington State Law-- RCW, Title 38, Chapter 38.52 Emergency Management

Many answers to questions you may (or may not!) have had are to be found in the following section of law:

Seattle Times Posts useful Landslide Info

The Seattle Times posted a special section on June 10th with useful tips for those with (or concerned about) a landslide. My neighbor who had a very expensive landslide late last year just pointed this useful information out to me. Read the full report at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2015278322_realslidersbar12.html

Where to get more information on landslides

Chris Winters

United States is the most severe weather-prone country on Earth

“The United States is the most severe weather-prone country on Earth according to the National Weather Service. Hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and other natural disasters can strike without warning and force you to evacuate your home or cause disruptions in mail service.”

Securing the D Block for Public Safety–without major fees to telecommunication companies

There is critical legislation regarding public safety organizations’ ability to communicate – without paying telecommunication companies huge fees (subsidies?!). A reprint on one side of this issue follows. (Note that VashonBePrepared has not taken a stance on this or any other legislative to date. We may in the future – our 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status only prevents us from spending a “substantial” portion of our budget for influencing legislation.)

National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) up for renewal via Senate Bill 646 & H.R. 1379-- Voice your Position!

There are many federal entities that sponsor research, but a very few like the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) which provides a critical link between important research findings and practical application. For us in Washington—the second highest earthquake risk state in the country—putting good research to use is of the utmost importance. I asked EMD’s Earthquake Program Manager John Schelling say more about this great program, below.
—Jim Mullen, director, Washington State Emergency Management

FEMA Releases “Earthquake-Resistant Design Concepts-- An Introduction to the NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures”, FEMA P-749

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is pleased to announce that Earthquake-Resistant Design Concepts: An Introduction to the NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures, FEMA P-749, is now available, at no cost, from the Publications Warehouse and online from the FEMA Library.

Don Price Headed Mississippi ESF-6 Efforts

I heard that “our” very own Don Price recently served as the head of ESF-6 for FEMA’s recovery efforts in Mississippi! He and other locals who have been serving afield will present their debrief on Tuesday, June 21^st, from 1 – 3 PM. The location is the King County Office of Emergency Management Room 114 – Main Coordination Center.

Cash is Best–Redux

Preparedness Video Clips

SEAW Engineers to Present Observations from Japanese Earthquake Reconnaissance

Seattle, Washington, June 1, 2011 – On Friday, March 11, 2011 at 2:46 PM (local time), the northeast coast of Japan was struck by a magnitude 9.0 (M9.0) subduction earthquake as the boundary between the Pacific and the North American plates ruptured along an offshore section. The rupture extended about 200 miles along the Japan coast, resulting in approximately 100 feet of vertical slip and causing a series of devastating tsunamis. A similar event along the Cascadia Subduction Zone could extend from Vancouver Island to Northern California, affecting western Washington and Oregon communities.

CERT in Action!

Learn about the activities of CERTs across the country in the CERT in Action! stories just posted at the national CERT website:

5th Annual National HAZUS Conference set for Seattle, August 10-12

Mark your calendars!  The Annual Hazus Conference will be held in Seattle, Washington, August 10 – 12, 2011, at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building. 

Natural Disasters Displace 42 Million in 2010

About 42 million people were forced to flee their homes because of natural disasters around the world in 2010, more than double the number during the previous year, experts said Monday.

Are You Ready?-- An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness

VIFR’s Produces a New Video

 

Vashon Island Fire & Rescue Recruit Video

Vashon's Jojo has produced a great new video aimed at helping recuit volunteers to help the community with the vital work of fighting fires & helping provide medical help. Congratulations!

Planet Earth Doesn't Know How To Make It Any Clearer It Wants Everyone To Leave

Flights of fancy (and a bit of vulgarity) continue over in the editorial offices of the Onion as they present their take on recent disasters: a personified Earth is tired of humans’ presence.

Ready Business PSAs Urge Small Businesses To Prepare for Emergencies

Up to forty percent of businesses affected by a natural or man-made major disaster never reopen

King County Mass Care Regional Forum Agenda Announced

The goal of this free forum is to bring together government, non-profit, faith-based and other partners who would have a role in Mass Care (shelter, feeding, distribution of emergency supplies, etc.) for disasters in King County. The Forum is hosted by the King County Mass Care Workgroup.

Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array Quantifies Earthquakes

Scientists now can track the minuscule motions of shifting plates as they happen, thanks to an expanded network of GPS sensors that covers the region like a blanket and beams back data almost instantly.

Greenhouse Emissions Hit Record Level & Germany Ends Nukes

Carbon emissions from energy use reached a record level last year, up 5% from the previous record in 2008, the International Energy Agency said.

Vashon Maury Island Radio Club celebrates “Amateur Radio Week” with Field Day

Vashon Maury Island Radio Club will celebrate Washington’s Amateur Radio Week on Vashon with our own Field Day. (We’ll actually be over achievers by holding a two day event, on June 24 & 25!)

Tribal Sovereignty Disaster Legislation Introduced

Federal support is growing for tribes to have increased resources and lines of communication with the federal government when natural and other disasters strike.

Cash is Best

A second disaster threatens to overtake Joplin MO by way of a tidal wave of unsolicited goods (things like clothing, miscellaneous household items, mixed or perishable foodstuffs, diapers...) and volunteers who just show up to help.  Critical resources are being redirected from the important work of response and relief to managing what has become a crush of unneeded donated items.  Social networking sites are promoting collection drives while radio stations, small and large businesses, business and fraternal organizations and churches around the country fill semis with items that threaten to crowd warehouses and overwhelm distribution channels in the impacted area. 

Enhanced Alerting on the Way

Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN) is a new public safety system, announced May 10th, to send free text alerts to cell phones. Geographically-targeted Presidential, emergency and AMBER alerts will use unique vibrations and tones to send alerts of imminent threats to safety. PLAN complements the existing Emergency Alert System (prior to 1998 known as the Emergency Broadcast System) and will be implemented by the FCC and FEMA. While the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) Is apparently voluntary, the Warning, Alert and Response Network (WARN) Act requires those wireless carriers to activate PLAN technology by April 2012.  AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon have pledged earlier support.

“If You See Something, Say Something” Campaign-- The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative

“900 security cameras feed into a central command center”

DHS Announces Grant Guidance for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Preparedness Grants

(May 19) Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced the release of FY 2011 grant guidance and application kits for 12 DHS grant programs totaling $2.1 billion to assist states, urban areas, tribal and territorial governments, non-profit agencies, and the private sector in strengthening our nation's ability to prevent, protect, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies. In FY 2011, DHS grants were reduced by $780 million from the FY 2010 enacted level, nearly a quarter of FY 2010 DHS grant funding.  Read the full announcement here.

Global warming to bring MORE low clouds during the spring to Puget Sound

“According to the regional climate simulations being done by my group and others at the UW, global warming will bring MORE low clouds during the spring around here.” – Cliff Mass in his June Gloom and KUOW Weekday blog. While he thinks most people will like the hotter summers also forecast - I’m not so sure I like that!

Grant Disaster

It was a different type of Judgment Day and it came early on Thursday when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the 2011 Homeland Security Grants and the numbers were not pretty.  Most funding was down significantly and for others the funds were nonexistent.  The only true winners in the process were the big cities like New York that retained their full funding amounts--based on risk. See the Wall Street Journal article Some Cities Lose Funding to Prevent Terrorism

Dayton Hamvention 2011

There’re a few hot new releases from this weekend’s Hamvention over in my old home state. And I’m not referring to the sewage issue there!

What Motivates People to Prepare, or Not Prepare, for Natural Disasters?

An article published May 11, 2011 in Knowledge@Wharton, an online resource from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School, looks at the question "what motivates individuals to listen to warnings and act" using the virtual world as a laboratory.  Robert Meyer, a Wharton marketing professor who is co-director of the Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, developed an "interactive simulation to study such factors as news media reports, storm warnings and the level of concern expressed by friends and neighbors" motivate people to act before an impending disaster.

American Red Cross Launches National Ready Rating™ Program

The American Red Cross (ARC) launched a newly designed website, ReadyRating.org, to help businesses, schools and other organizations better prepare for emergencies. The announcement was made at an event involving business, education and government leaders at Red Cross national headquarters in Washington DC.  Ready Rating™ is a free, self-paced, web-based membership program that helps a business or school measure how ready they are to deal with emergencies, and gives customized feedback on how they can improve their efforts.  Schools and businesses may face a number of emergencies that could disrupt their operations, ranging from natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods to outbreaks of illness such as the flu. The Ready Rating Program can help them feel more confident about the safety of their employees or students.  See the ARC press release for more information.

Business Continuity-- Free Technical Disaster Recovery Videos

A few handy videos are available on this topic courtesy of TechSoup. While oriented to nonprofits, many of the lessons also apply to small businesses:

Snohomish County’s Largest Disaster Drill Wednesday

Hundreds of people and a score of emergency agencies will participate in Snohomish County’s largest disaster drill ever. "Shake, Rattle and Roll 2011" will be held Wednesday at Arlington's municipal airport. The scenario is a 7.5 magnitude earthquake along the South Whidbey Fault, which runs through Snohomish County.

King County Mass Care Workgroup hosts June 8 Mass Care Regional Forum

The King County Mass Care Workgroup is hosting the annual Mass Care Regional Forum on June 8 and you are invited! The goal of this free forum is to bring together government, non-profit, faith-based and other partners who would have a role in Mass Care (shelter, feeding, distribution of emergency supplies, etc.) for disasters in King County. Information will be provided and exchanged on planning efforts, emerging issues, resources, and channels for receiving and offering assistance during a disaster.

NetQuakes

The USGS is trying to achieve a denser and more uniform spacing of seismographs in select urban areas to provide better measurements of ground motion during earthquakes. These measurements improve our ability to make rapid post-earthquake assessments of expected damage and contribute to the continuing development of engineering standards for construction.

Free Red Cross Mass Care & Disaster Action Team Training on Vashon

The Seattle Red Cross will conduct a free two-day Volunteer training on Saturday June 4, and Saturday June 11, 2011, from 9:00am-6:00pm. (Both days are obligatory.) The training will be held at Vashon Island Fire & Rescue, 10020 Southwest Bank Road.

Public Invited to Learn about Disaster Training Opportunities

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 11 AM PST

ARRL’s Western Washington Section Website Refreshed

Glenn Thomas WB6W has refreshed the website of the Western Washington Section of the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL). Check it out at: http://wwa.arrl.org

Regional Mass Care Forum Scheduled for Wednesday, June 8th

Everyone interested in King County Mass Care issues should plan on attending an all morning forum to be held June 8th at the King County Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) in Renton. Organizers include Jill Watson (Seattle), Dave Nichols (PHSKC), Sarah Miller (Auburn), Mike Ryan (Zone 1), Howard Ferrucci (American Red Cross), Rachel Myers (Renton) and Jan Beck (Bellevue).

VMIRC Meets this Tuesday at 7 PM in the EOC

The Vashon Maury Island Radio Club’s May meeting will be this coming Tuesday, May 3rd. 7:00PM at Vashon Fire Station 55 in the EOC room. Our first Show & Tell "Topic - Randy Bardwell, K7RDB presents his home-brew, high tech "uber go-box" and also VMIRC Business Meeting.

Disaster Grant Programs Hit Hard in 2011 Federal Budget

Several major source of funds for Vashon – as distributed from FEMA to the State and then to the King County OEM have taken a major hit. Future funding is going to be tighter:

Compilation of FEMA Earthquake Publications

The Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are pleased to share the following compilations of FEMA earthquake publications, at no cost:

WSEMA 2011 Conference “Preparedness-- It’s Not a Mystery” begins 27 Sep in Port Angeles

Washington State Emergency Management Association (WSEMA) will hold their annual conference at the Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles, Washington on September 27-29, 2011. The theme for the 2011 conference is “Preparedness: It’s Not a Mystery”.

HazMat Spill at Port of Tacoma

Today there is a 300 yard isolation zone set up around the Hyundai Oakland container ship in the Port of Tacoma after a ~4:30 AM leak from a 55 gallon container of chlorobenzotrifluoride solvent. See KIRO TV’s report for details.

AT&T’s "Fly Away" Remote Mobility Zone–a VERY Mobile Cell Tower

AT&T has started selling portable cellular antennas so customers can provide their own wireless coverage in disaster-struck or remote areas. Typically cell phone companies deploy mobile trucks with larger mobile cell towers, but this gives responders control over their own deployments – albeit with fairly limited service:

How Severe was that Quake Anyway?!

King County OEM’s Pascal Schuback had a neat 138 character tweet today that took me well over an hour to digest:

2011 Federal Disaster Funding-- Mitigation 1/50th as Important as Recovery

As Eric Holdeman recently pointed out, federal disaster funding is all wrong in 2011:

FEMA to Update National Incident Management System Training Plan

The Five-Year NIMS Training Plan, originally released February 2008 is being revised. The comment period for the new National Incident Management System Training Plan ended February 22, several hundred comments have been adjudicated, and just last week the document was transmitted up to FEMA Deputy Administrator Manning, according to the Emergency Management Institute. Final release is likely just weeks away - without new obstacles. Access the The NIMS Training Plan (Draft) at www.regulations.gov, Docket # FEMA-2009-0012.

Overflow crowd gets blunt message at VashonBePrepared 2011 Annual Meeting

Tom Miner, head of the Northwest's  sole FEMA Urban Search & Rescue Incident Support Team, riveted an overflow audience with a clear message that after a major regional disaster, federal help is very unlikely to arrive on Vashon for well over 3 days and likely 10 – or more – days. With massive needs, emergency managers must assign their limited resources to the locations where they can do the most good for the most people. The government will clearly strive to save the most lives: to cities, to large buildings and schools where there are large numbers of people – not to rural homes. Having been at most major disasters in recent decades, he was blunt that the government does not have the resources to quickly rescue small localities like Vashon.

Disasters generate 15 years worth of solid waste in just days

Disasters can typically generate up to fifteen years worth of a community's solid waste over a few days, with the potential to overwhelm day-to-day solid waste operations and to lead to years of disruption; FEMA estimates that debris removal accounted for 27 percent of their total disaster response costs for those U.S. disasters between 2002 and 2007; prolonged problems with the management of solid waste can lead to public and environmental health issues;  slow management of solid waste can also impede economic recovery by inhibiting rebuilding activities.

Pimp Your Go Box

Randy’s got the hottest (communications, not survival) go-box on Vashon – at least that I’m aware of. I don’t see any straps on it to carry it around, but otherwise it looks pretty impressive. Check it out at NineByFive.com

Five nuke plants in quake zones

Five active U.S. nuclear reactors -- the Diablo Canyon Power Plant and San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California; the South Texas Project near the Gulf Coast; the Waterford Steam Electric Station in Louisiana; and the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant in North Carolina -- are situated in seismic activity-prone zones.

National Volunteer Week-- 10-16 April 2011

National Volunteer Week is observed 10-16 April, and according to  FEMA Regional Administrator Ken Murphy, it’s all about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their communities.

VashonBePrepared presented with VIF&R 2010 Commissioners Award

At their 2010 Awards Ceremony yesterday at Camp Burton, the Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s 2010 Commissioners Award was bestowed upon VashonBePrepared. Fire Commissioners Rex Stratton, Gayle Summers, Ron Turner, David Hoffmann and Neal Phillip presented the award to General Joseph Ulatoski, Catherine and Michael Cochrane, Richard Wallace and myself on VashonBePrepared’s behalf. The award was clearly in recognition of all the volunteers and organizations that make our coalition thrive.

Civil Defense Workers First Aid Drill–Vashon Island 1942

Courtesy of the Museum of History and Industry, and the Seattle Emergency Operations Center where a large reprint is prominently displayed, is this neat old photo.

Support Japan

After lunch today I caught this poignant reminder of the recent Japanize triple disaster – and the world-wide support for the Japanese.

Seattle’s Community Preparedness Summit

Curious how Seattle handles citizen preparedness education and communication flows, I’m at the most recent Community Preparedness Summit, hosted by Seattle OEM’s Mark Howard and Barb Graff this morning. In addition to making lots of contacts from VashonBePrepared’s sister organizations on this side of the ocean, I was especially interested to learn more about how Seattle encourages and teaches their citizens to prepare for whatever events lie ahead.

Sister Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness Groups in Seattle

A host of sister neighborhood preparedness groups in Seattle exist, all working under the City of Seattle OEM:
    West Seattle Be Prepared (that apparently partially chose their name based on VashonBePrepared!)
    Magnolia | Queen Anne | Interbay
    Capital Hill Preparedness people
    
    See Seattle Community Network for additional resources and organizations

Seattle to start up CERT classes this summer

Cathy Wenderoth works for the Seattle Police Department as the Seattle OEM’s Volunteer Coordinator. She is now organizing Seattle’s first CERT classes.

Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP)

Here’s another funding source we’ve yet to consider on Vashon, but that is likely available.

Obama signs rare Presidential Policy Directive (PPD-8) calling for National Preparedness Goal & System

On March 30th, President Obama signed a Presidential Direction on the subject of “National Preparedness”, reflecting upon H1N1, Deepwater Horizon Christchurch and Sendai events - and lessons learned since the previous December 2003, Bush-era policy. 

Hawaii Tsunami Waves Declared a Major Disaster

FEMA just announced this.

National Exercise Program Goes Regional & Gets New Base Plan

http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/22726 describes a major multi-state, national exercise simulating the 1811 New Madrid earthquake – actually a series of seismic events (up to seven on the Richter Scale) from December 1811 into 1812. According to FEMA, NLE 2011 will be the first NLE to simulate a natural hazard and also uses a state-based planning process rather than federal.

Subcommittee Reviews Status of U.S. Earthquake Preparedness

Yesterday a lightly attended hearing was held by the Committee on Science, Space and Technology’s Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation looking at renewing funding for earthquake preparedness. Two northwesterners testified: Mr. Jim Mullen, Director, Washington State Emergency Management Division; President, National Emergency Management Association & Dr. Vicki McConnell, Oregon State Geologist and Director, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.

It’s Disaster Preparedness Month in Washington

If you haven’t seen this yet, there’s a fun preparedness campaign going on in April. Even if folks aren’t part of the first 200 people to sign up and get a free crank flashlight/radio or emergency kit, everyone will be entered for the Grand Prize! Note that the campaign is for people in King and Snohomish County. Please spread the word!

Vashon Awarded $16K for Disaster Emergency Response Trailer

At today’s Region 6 Homeland Security Council’s EMACS meeting, approximately $16K of unused funds from the FFY2009(or 2008?) Homeland Security Grant Program previously designated for Disaster Emergency Response Trailers (DERT) in King County, was re-allocated for Vashon! The trailer will primarily be used to store ADA compliant cots, blankets and pillows for use in community shelters to be set up for off-island visitors and workers unable to get home, or for residents with damaged houses.

New Guidance for Seattle Citizens to Survive Tsunamis and Earthquakes

www.seattle.gov/emergency has a new set of nice publications for citizens with very basic advice to citizens for surviving and earthquake or tsunami.

Seattle OEM 2010 Accomplishments

A great list of 2010 accomplishments by Barb Graff, Director of Emergency Management, and her staff at the Seattle Office of Emergency Management can be downloaded at: www.seattle.gov/emergency/docs/accomplishments_2010_seattle_oem.pdf

Free Ham Radio Technician License Exam Preparatory Class-- May 20, 2011 to May 22, 2011

Amateur Radio operators are people from all walks of life--no matter what age, gender or physical ability. Did you know that most of the astronauts are Amateur Radio Operators? You're never too young or old. And, getting started in Amateur Radio has never been easier! Now, you no longer have to learn Morse Code to get your first Ham Radio License, the Technician Class, as in years past! Just pass a 35 question multiple choice exam given by volunteer Ham Radio Operators and you will be "on the air" in no time!

Preparing for disasters is as easy as 1-2-3

April is Disaster Preparedness Month. VashonBePrepared, in conjunction with the King County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) urges citizens to take simple steps to prepare for earthquakes, floods, man-made disasters and other emergencies.

VashonBePrepared Meeting to Discuss Little Known Vashon Earthquake Hazard

In just the last two years, federal earthquake scientists have completed analysis of the Tacoma Fault. As it turns out, the Tacoma Fault actually runs directly across the center of Vashon, the community that could be most affected if it ruptures. The latest computer analysis indicates that shaking from the fault could be as severe as the recent earthquakes in Christchurch and Sendai. That makes it doubly or even triply important for all of us to be prepared to sustain ourselves for as long as 10 days at home until help can arrive.

Antenna Remount at VIFR Station 55

Thanks to Phil W7PDZ, Tim W7TRH, Jim WA7KYI & VIFR’s Bob Larsen for dismounting and initiating repairs on the aged mount for the 3-30 MHz HF antenna at the EOC at VIFR Station 55 yesterday.  The antenna fit over an aluminum cylinder that was welded to the mast. That cylinder fatigued over time and snapped & is being replaced with something heavier. Jim kindly agreed to oversee the repairs and I understand Bob Powell has been recruited to help out too.

Crowd Sourcing and Crisis Mapping

  You’ve no doubt heard about volunteers across the globe helping assist with Haitian, Libyan, and other crises by crowd sourcing: geolocating and tagging new reports and data from a wide variety of news sources like phones, web forms, tweets, email and more. By filtering for keywords and locating these reports on a map, a wide variety of emergency managers, researchers, and citizens can rapidly get a better feeling for late breaking information – well before a reporter or others have had time to synthesize the data into a summary or overview.

Your first move when the earth shakes-- “Drop, Cover, and Hold”

Release Date and Time:03-25-2011 08:19:00 AM

"Triangle of Life" theory is dismissed by quake experts. The technique is not applicable for earthquake experiences in the U.S. The safest response is to "Drop, Cover, and Hold" until the ground stops shaking.

Now is NOT the time to Cut Back on Disaster Preparedness Funding

Jim Mullen, director of the Washington State Emergency Management Division and president of the National Emergency Management Association, wrote an excellent op-ed in yesterday’s Seattle Times, citing the value in maintaining funding for disaster preparedness – which is currently under threat. Read it online at:

KCSO-- new online reporting system

Residents and business owners in unincorporated King County have a new way to report non-emergency crimes and traffic complaints.

Japanese Internet Stays Up – even When Electricity Doesn’t

Today's 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan has had surprisingly limited impacts on the structure and routing dynamics of the regional Internet. Of roughly 6,000 Japanese network prefixes in the global routing table, only about 100 were temporarily withdrawn from service — and that number has actually decreased in the hours since the event. Other carriers around the region have reported congestion and drops in traffic due to follow-on effects of the quake, but most websites are up and operational, and the Internet is available to support critical communications.

Vashon Receives Huge 350 kW Emergency Generator from Franciscan Health System

Diesel-powered unit will serve community shelter during power outages 

Franciscan Health System has donated a large emergency-power generator to the community of Vashon Island so residents can have a safe, warm, lighted building in which to seek shelter when Mother Nature knocks out electricity to homes and businesses in the area.

Visual Results of Japanese Tsunami

www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm has incredible photos of the Japanese earthquake’s aftereffects – as contrasted with an initial view of the same scene.

Most people not insured for earthquakes and floods

You may think your insurance policy covers your home, apartment or business for earthquakes and floods. The Northwest Insurance Council thinks you should take a closer look, because many people are not insured for such national disasters.

Japan-- 5th Largest Earthquake

Gauges at the University of Washington lit up for hours after the initial Japanese earthquake, which now has been determined to be the fifth largest earthquake in the world since 1900.

Quake most expensive yet

Losses from the quake, tsunami and fires will total at least $100 billion, including $20 billion in damage to residences and $40 billion in damage to infrastructure such as roads, rail and port facilities, catastrophe modeling firm Eqecat estimated.

Quake shifts Japan 13’ East

“This week's earthquake caused the main island of Japan to shift as much as 13 feet to the east, seismologists say. That may sound like a shocker, but it's just one of the natural changes that come along with an 8.9-magnitude temblor — like the 1.6-microsecond speed-up of Earth's daily rotation and the 4-inch shift in Earth's axis.”

Brett Kranjcevich Delivers Generators to Vashon

I happened to be out taking pics of the new 350 kW generator from Franciscan Health System on 3 Mar - when who should show up but Brett, hauling the other new 110(?) kW generator from King County OEM! Here’s a photo of him firing it up for the first time. Having both generators will *really* help local preparedness efforts as multiple shelters may be needed or other community facilities may also need a boost during extended outages.

HR 607 Targets Amateur Radio - and Public TV & Radio

The ARRL is mobilizing the amateur community to oppose HR 607, a bill that would offer up the entire amateur 70 cm allocation for other purposes as part of a spectrum swap:
www.arrl.org/hr-607
www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h607/show
 

Response to the New Terrorist Threat Codes

The efficacy of the terrorist threat level scheme is dubious: how to convey something so complex simply? John Cleese has a smart interpretation of these:

Nisqually Earthquake + 10 Years

Taking advantage of the Nisqually Earthquake’s ten year anniversary were several retrospectives on note from key Washington disaster officials:

NZ earthquake illustrates risks for U.S. west coast

The recent 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, killed many more people and caused far more damage than the September 2010 7.1 magnitude earthquake which struck the same area; the reason: even though this earthquake was weaker than last year's event, it was much shallower; was situated directly under Christchurch; hit during the lunch hour when more people were exposed to damage; and shook sediments that were prone to "liquefaction," which can magnify the damage done by the ground shaking; scientists say the same description nicely fits many major cities and towns in Washington, Oregon, California, and British Columbia.

Planning Ahead-- Evergreen Quake Exercise Dates & Participation Confirmed for 2012!

Yes, 2012! More is to come, and you can consult Chief Lipe or Exercise Czar Rick Wallace for all the details, but for now please just add the following dates to next year’s calendar:

FFY11 - 12 UASI Suggested Project Development and Grant Activity

Although this is dated (from July 26, 2010), it is unlikely these dates will change as they have generally been used for some years. It also helps us realize how to take part most effectively in planning (and funding!) efforts for the county. It comes from Jennifer Schaal, UASI Program Manager, Washington State Emergency Management Division.

Pacific NW Explores virtual USA for Situational Awareness and Continuity of Operations

The Pacific Northwest is exploring solutions that can provide officials an overview of a regional event.

CERT Class Wraps up VIFR Commissioner Stratton

At the 2/8 refresher, Rick & Deb Brown of VIFR kindly came with their daughter and helped local Vashon CERT members practice first aid and bandaging techniques on each other – including participant Rex Stratton. Here are a few photos (click on them to open larger pictures):

Chile Recovers From 2010 M8.8 Earthquake

Bellevue’s MRP Engineering has a new engineering bulletin entitled Chile Recovers From 2010 M8.8 Earthquake that looks at progress made since their M8.8 earthquake February 27th, 2010. It concludes with these implications:

WMIRC Assembles J-Poles

VIFR.org Enters a New Age!

Congrats to VIFR and especially Chris Coley and Chief Lipe and others who put a lot of work replacing the functionality of www.VIFR.org with a new portal based website from Firehouse Solutions. Check VIFR’s new web site which has a history, photos of all the island’s equipment, lots of background on the fire district, and more information for volunteers and the public. There is a private side to the web site also that security offers much additional functionality to staff and volunteers.

Social Media 4 Emergency Management

A new web site started yesterday and is already making many waves by attempting to be the ultimate portal for discussing Social Media’s impact for Emergency Management. Looks like an interesting source of best practices and ideas as we start crafting our own Vashon specific Social Media strategy/plan…

10th Annual WeatherFest

23-27 January

Washington State Convention Center

12:00–4:00 p.m

Free of Charge and Open to All!

Teachers, students, families!  Mark your calendar for the American Meteorological Society’s 10th Annual WeatherFest, a cool, super-size science fair to teach you all about the weather, climate and related fields.

California's 'Big One' could be a flood

California has more risk of catastrophic storms than any other region in the country – even the Southern hurricane states, according to a new study released Thursday.

Gregoire Declares Emergency for December 8-18 Storms

The declaration (noted at www.seattlepi.com/local/433304_emergency12.html) would presumably make affected homeowners and businesses eligible for low cost loans and other assistance.

FY 2011 Grants

www.safecomprogram.gov/NR/rdonlyres/132003E7-6C43-4E15-97D6-A2A4E5A2704F/0/GrantProgramsforSAFECOMWebsite.pdf has a huge list of grant programs – many of which we are eligible to apply for. Indeed if you see a critical need (and can properly justify it!) for funds for a key program, I suspect we can likely find funds for it…

2011 enABLED in Emergencies Conference• March 2-3, 2011 • Tacoma, WA

enableUS & The Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network Present:

The 2011 enABLED in Emergencies Conference

March 2-3, 2011 • Tacoma, WA
________________________________________
"If you are waiting for a situation to develop, you are going to lose your ability to change the outcome."
Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator

Nerd's Delight-- Latest Long Range Weather Forecast

Portland was the forum for the latest long range weather forecast, earlier this week. Many gruesome details are at:

Report-- We’re Not Ready For Bioterrorism

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Report--We-re-Not-Ready-For-Bioterrorism/2010-12-28/Article.aspx?oid=1294626&fid= has the following of some interest:

If a major disease incident or bioterrorism attack were to occur today, the United States would not be read for it. That’s according to a new report supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In fact, the report says “there’s an emergency for emergency health preparedness in the United States.” It calls attention to significant local, state and federal budget cuts and the impact they have had on public health departments’ ability to maintain staff capabilities, and their ability to respond to crises.
Key findings include:
* 21 states were not able to rapidly identify disease-causing E.coli O157:H7 and submit the lab results in 90 percent of cases within four days during 2007-2008.
* 33 states and D.C. cut funding for public health from Fiscal Year 2008-2009 to FY 2009-2010.
* Seven states can not currently share data electronically with health care providers.
* 10 states do not have an electronic syndrome surveillance system that can report and exchange information.
* Six states reported that pre-identified staff were not able to acknowledge notification of emergency exercises or incidents within the target time of 60 minutes at least twice during 2007-2008.
* Six states did not activate their emergency operations center a minimum of two times in 2007-2008.
* Two states did not develop at least two After-Action Report/Improvement Plans (AAR/IPs) after exercises or real incidents in 2007-2008.
View the complete report.
Source: Dairy Herd Management, Meatingplace