Emergency Preparedness

“What can I do?”

Whether you can commit to five minutes, one hour, four hours, or a comprehensive plan, there’s plenty you can do to prepare for a disaster. Look over the City of Seattle’s handout at left. See where you are in terms of your personal emergency preparedness. Assess your readiness and determine your next steps.

Emergency preparedness is important but many people don’t give it a lot of attention. “Some water, some food … we’ll be fine, won’t we?” Not necessarily. Without a disaster to spur us on, sometimes there’s little motivation. But those who plan well have found that it’s easy and fun to learn and interact with others.

Fauntleroy has its own Community Emergency Hub. The Fauntleroy community has a practice drill at least once a year. It’s a chance to dust off equipment and skills, and bring new people into the fold.

A variety of exercises have been designed to familiarize Fauntleroy residents with what could occur in the event of a major disaster. It’s recommended that every resident take part in these exercises before we have a major event so that we are all better prepared to deal with those situations in a fun atmosphere with little or no stress.

There is a wealth of knowledge for you to tap into, all you have to do is show up. It’s a lot more fun than trying to figure it out after a disaster has taken place.

Stay tuned to this website and to the Fauntleroy Community Association (FCA) Facebook page and e-mail blasts for announcements. If you have questions in the meantime, contact the FCA Emergency Management representative, Gordon Wiehler, at gmwinv@comcast.net.

Resources:

Name	URL
Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare (SNAP)	http://www.seattle.gov/emergency/programs/snap/
Seattle Office of Emergency Management	http://www.seattle.gov/emergency/
West Seattle Be Prepared	http://westseattlebeprepared.org/
West Seattle Be Prepared Blog	http://westseattlebeprepared.wordpress.com/tag/west-seattle-emergency-preparedness/

For additional local preparedness tips, read the West Seattle Blog’s “Pack Your Bag” series.