An attentive audience packed the Terraces’ Redwood Hall on last month, to hear Patricia Evans of Resilient Los Altos explain strategies for surviving a major disaster, such as a major earthquake (experts predict a 70% chance of one occurring in the Bay Area in the next 30 years) or a devastating firestorm. Evans focused on how Block Action Teams formed through her organization can save lives in the event of a disaster.
Evans opened her talk with some sobering statistics: 75% of those who died during the recent Paradise and Eaton fires in California were over 70; the median age of the victims was 77. Many of the victims lived alone, had mobility issues and relied on others for transportation.
She also pointed out that Los Altos has limited resources – only two fire stations with two engines and six firefighters regularly on duty and only six police officers. The resources are further limited in that most of these “first responders” do not live in Los Altos and might be prevented by family responsibilities or hazards from reporting for duty. Asking for mutual aid from neighboring cities takes time and assumes those cities are not facing the same limitations. And FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has proved unreliable and slow to act. In a major disaster, the Los Altos Emergency Preparedness Plan expects that residents should be self-sufficient for at least a week.
Resilient Los Altos is a fairly new volunteer organization promoting preparedness on three levels:
The first level is the creation of Block Action Teams (BATs), which ideally would operate in each neighborhood, fostering connection between neighbors and the creation of reporting networks. Resilient Los Altos has created Block Party Kits as a first step. Neighbors who know each other’s names and have interacted are much more likely to look out for each other in case of disaster. Block Action Teams also distribute cards which residents can put in a window in case of disaster, saying “I’m OK” or “I need help.” In case of disaster, the BAT would check on neighbors, assess damage to homes and infrastructure and relay this information to the city.
The second level is Coordinated Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) who are trained to offer aid in life-threatening situations and prioritize action on injuries and infrastructure.
The third level are HAMs – ham radio operators who can provide communication if cell towers and phone lines are not working.
The first goal of Resilient Los Altos is that neighbors should know and feel connected to each other. “The first responder is you,” said Evans. The second goal is that every resident should have acted upon a Personal Preparedness Checklist available from Resilient Los Altos. Among other things, the checklist asks residents to sign up for alerts (alertssc.org, nixle.com), create a family communication plan, put together a grab-and-go bag with critical medical supplies and personal information in case of evacuation and also put together a stay box with food and water adequate to supply the household for at least several days.
The city has given several grants to Resilient Los Altos to develop a software application which will enable the collection of reports of injuries and hazards from CERTs and HAMs, and will display the information on an electronic map; however, this application is at least a year away from implementation. Resilient Los Altos is also training volunteers to help foster community awareness and neighborhood support. Unfortunately, only 25% of Los Altos neighborhoods have begun to organize with BATs.
In a Q&A after Evans’ presentation, it was clear that Terraces residents were concerned about emergency preparedness in their living compound, particularly in the evenings when a skeleton staff is on duty. Several residents had taken CERT training; there are also several HAM radio operators among the residents. Evans had brought a large stack of Emergency Preparedness Checklists with her; after her talk not one was left.
For more information, see resilientlosaltos.org.
