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Taking matters into our own hands means more people survive any disaster.
After the October 2017 fires, people realized how little they were prepared for anything. Even a simple Go Bag wasn’t easy to grab so people fled home with nothing. They were dependent upon emergency services and support for everything from clothing to food and shelter. When they returned home they owned nothing. When insurance companies asked for proof of what they needed replaced, they had no proof. No photographs, no receipts, no documents of any kind.
These have been painful lessons to those who went through the disaster. What Emergency Preparedness groups hope to accomplish is to mitigate this suffering in any way possible.
The following article was written by Skip Jirrels, hired by the City of Sebastopol to help West County residents set up MYN groups. The Cities of Santa Rosa and Petaluma are using the COPE system and are reaching out to residents to set up systems with their assistance.
If you are in unincorporated areas, take matters into your own hands by using the materials provided by MYN and COPE to guide you through the process of self-sufficent emergency preparedness.
COPE & MYN Resources:
SoCoEmergency: https://socoemergency.org/home/prepare/community- preparedness/
Santa Rosa Fire department: https://srcity.org/467/Get-to-Know-Your- Neighbors
Petaluma: http://www.cityofpetaluma.net/firedept/pdf/ COPEbookletPetaluma.pdf
Healdsburg - Fitch MNountain Association: http://fitchmtn.org/ cope.html
Sebastopol: http://sebastopolcert.org/map-your-neighborhood
Interactive Emergency Maps:
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https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/FES/Emergency-Management/Interactive-Maps/
These maps were developed to serve two purposes:
1. To direct residents and visitors within Sonoma County to essential
services in the event of a natural or man-made disaster,
2. To enhance coordination and information sharing between federal, state,
and local agencies, their departments, and special districts operating
within Sonoma County.
Please note: These maps are dynamic and will update automatically depending on the nature of the emergency and the guidance provided by your governmental leaders.
Smaller is Better
Most people agree that the smaller the group the better. It becomes cumbersome to help people too far from your home base, so knowing the elderly woman in a wheelchair at the end of the block, or the brand new infant next door, or the single mother with three children who doesn’t have enough arms to protect her brood...small neighborhood groups can be more efficient and therefore more effective than large groups.
Over the next few months we will continue this series on information you can use to prepare for any enmergency. Any input from readers is welcome.
As summer progresses into high fire season, we want to be ready. But keep in mind...we have had intense fire, high flood waters, and an earthquale is inevitable at some point. Be ready for any and all emergencies.
What skills do you have?? Sebastopol’s Map Your Neighborhood Program
By Skip Jirrels
One definition of an emergency is when we (you or I or someone we are
near) are overwhelmed by a situation. The situation is beyond our immediate ability to respond to or correct in the moment(s) it is happening. In many such situations we simply don’t know what to do. In the 2017 book, “The Ostrich Paradox: Why We Underprepare For Disasters” Meyer and Kunreuther state,