Leaders urge emergency preparedness after Japan disaster
March 15, 2011
The unfolding disaster in Japan — unleashed after a magnitude-9 earthquake struck the island nation — has emergency planners in Issaquah reminding residents to prepare for earthquakes and other calamities.
“This tragedy overseas reminds us that our region is also at high risk from natural disasters,” King County Executive Dow Constantine said in a statement. “The time to prepare is before emergency strikes.”
The earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Japan in the afternoon March 11 (late March 10 in Washington and on the West Coast). The death toll could exceed 10,000 people.
The local group spearheading personal emergency preparedness is the Issaquah Citizen Corps Council, a nonprofit organization formed to prepare residents to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies.
“The real basic message is: Be prepared,” council President Alan Bramwell said.
Press Editorial
March 15, 2011
Earthquake in Japan is call to action here
The international effort to help the people of Japan deal with massive catastrophes is gaining ground. We have no doubt that Issaquah families will do what they can, with prayers, finances and volunteer efforts.
But there is something else every family here can do. Prepare.
The shock of the earthquake in Japan is way too close to what could happen here. If you had been ignoring the warnings to get ready for an emergency, now is the time to pay attention.
Yes, there is food and water to be stored, along with basic medical supplies, but there is more to be done.
Volunteers needed for Medical Reserve Corps
March 8, 2011
Medical and nonmedical volunteers with the Public Health Reserve Corps set up shop for a mock alternative care facility, a place where certified volunteers can triage patients during a natural disaster, medical emergency or attack. Contributed
How should Issaquah respond to an earthquake? A terrorist attack? A newly discovered and contagious flu?
Volunteers with the Issaquah Medical Reserve Corps will know how to set up an emergency triage station, vaccination clinic and respond to and treat the public. The same goes for the Public Health Reserve Corps, run by Public Health – Seattle & King County, only instead of staying in Issaquah, these volunteers help across the county in the case of an emergency.
“We do encourage people to cross register with Public Health Reserve Corps, so in case of a disaster where Issaquah is fine, we can go to other areas and help out,” said Brenda Bramwell, a volunteer for both the Issaquah and the Public Health Reserve Corps.
The Medical Reserve Corps movement began in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
In the turmoil following the attacks, regular citizens wanted to help, especially those who were medically trained. At the time, there was no standard way for them to organize, and no way for victims to know if the do-gooders had proper credentials.
In President George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address, he asked Americans to volunteer in support of their country. Shortly after, the government formed the Office of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps, with chapters for the organization forming at state and local levels.
CERT disaster-response training starts soon
March 1, 2011
Issaquah residents can prepare for disasters at Community Emergency Response Team training in March.
CERT training is designed to prepare you to help residents during and after a catastrophe.
In the aftermath of a major earthquake or another disaster, emergency responders cannot help everyone immediately, so citizens rely on CERT-trained citizens to protect and save neighbors.
The program typically includes eight weeks of classes from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Cost is $35. The session starts March 23. Participants can register at the Issaquah Citizen Corps Council website, www.issaquahcitizencorps.com.
CERT courses include disaster first aid training, disaster preparedness, basic firefighting, light search and rescue and damage assessment, plus lessons in how to turn off utilities and psychology behind a disaster. CERT members also educate residents about Map Your Neighborhood, a program to coordinate disaster recovery on a block-by-block basis.
Issaquah health fair offers free screenings
February 22, 2011
The ninth annual Issaquah/Sammamish Health & Safety Fair, with a wide array of free health screenings, will be from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at Pickering Farm. Admission is free.
The fair will feature more than 50 health care professionals representing about 35 businesses. My I.D. Club, a service of the King County Police Union, will offer free fingerprinting of children. The Issaquah and Sammamish Citizen Corps councils will have information about emergency preparedness for families and businesses. Eastside Fire & Rescue staff will also be on hand.
Specialists from Issaquah will be available to discuss topics, such as care for Alzheimer’s patients and braces for children. Ask questions about women’s health concerns or weight lifting.
Looking for a new doctor, dentist, chiropractor, personal trainer or acupuncturist? No appointment necessary to meet with these professionals at the Health & Safety Fair.
The health fair is presented by Overlake Medical Clinics — Issaquah and co-sponsored by the city of Issaquah Parks & Recreation Department.
Pickering Farm is north of Interstate 90 between exits 15 and 17, across from Costco.
Community Emergency Response Team training starts soon
February 12, 2011
NEW — 10 a.m. Feb. 12, 2011
Issaquah residents can prepare for disasters at Community Emergency Response Team training in March.
CERT training is designed to prepare you to help residents during and after a catastrophe.
In the aftermath of a major earthquake or another disaster, emergency responders cannot help everyone immediately, so citizens rely on CERT training to protect and save neighbors.
The program typically includes eight weeks of classes from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Cost is $35. The session starts March 23. Participants can register through the Issaquah Citizen Corps Council.
Can you hear me now?
February 8, 2011
Ham Radio Support Group member Ross Morris operates a ham radio in the mobile communication station. By Allison Int-Hout
An earthquake that brings people to their knees, a window-shattering explosion or flood waters surging through the city’s streets — before the trembling subsides or the water settles, life without telephone, Internet and electricity begins.
These disastrous events, which would lead most people to panic, are precisely the type of situations to which certain Issaquah community members are trained to respond.
Radioing out of a trailer doubling as a communications station in the Issaquah Police Department parking lot Jan. 29, the Issaquah Ham Radio Support Group played out a possible emergency scenario, testing their equipment during a Washington State Emergency Operations Center 5th Saturday Exercise.
“King County does a quarterly exercise where all the ham radio groups test to make sure they can talk across the state,” said Mike Crossley, the Issaquah Radio Amateur civil emergency service officer.
During the EOC exercise, the Issaquah Ham Radio Support Group communicated with other EOC locations throughout the state, including Camp Murray in Tacoma.
City offers free pizza and emergency preparedness
November 23, 2010
The recent snowfall has renewed the focus on personal emergency preparedness.
City emergency planners encourage residents to prepare for disasters. In order to unite neighbors, hosts of Map Your Neighborhood trainings can receive free pizza for the gatherings. The city and the Issaquah Citizen Corps Council offer the program to help Issaquah neighborhoods prepare for disasters.
Neighbors — usually 15 to 25 households per area — hold a community gathering and learn the steps to take in the aftermath of a disaster.
Learn more about the program at the city website and the Issaquah Citizen Corps Council website.
Issaquah braces for rain-soaked winter, creek floods
November 2, 2010
City completed projects to reduce risk since last flood
Mike Crossley (yellow vest) works in the HAM radio communication station during a Community Emergency Response Team flood drill. By Autumn Monahan
January rain turned placid Issaquah Creek into a debris-filled torrent in early 2009 — and emergency planners hope fresh memories of the flood prompt residents to prepare for the rain-soaked winter on the horizon.
Long before fall rain blanketed the area, Issaquah and King County emergency planners had prepared to respond to Issaquah Creek flooding.
Meteorologists predict La Niña conditions — colder-than-normal temperatures and greater-than-normal rain- and snowfall — in the months ahead. The combination has emergency planners concerned about rain-gorged Issaquah Creek and the potential for disaster.
“If you look at Issaquah Creek now, you think, ‘Oh, that’s a nice, pretty little creek.’ It can turn into a roaring monster pretty quick,” Bret Heath, city Public Works Operations and emergency management director, said last week.
The city has completed a series of flood-control projects in the 21 months since the most recent flood, including a high-profile floodplain restoration effort at Squak Valley Park North.
Planning for worst-case scenario is business as usual for emergency director
November 2, 2010
King County faces risks from earthquakes, floods, terrorism, volcanic eruptions and more than a dozen other threats.
For Hillman Mitchell, director of the King County Office of Emergency Management, planning for a worst-case scenario is business as usual. The longtime emergency planner and Sammamish resident settled into the role Aug. 3 after a stint as the emergency management coordinator in Tukwila.
Mitchell served in the South King County city as the region braced for a destructive Green River flood exacerbated by the storm-damaged Howard Hanson Dam. Though the flood did not occur, the effort — and a candid assessment of potential damage across the region — earned Mitchell respect from leaders in other cities.
“Obviously, the Green River planning activity really brought together a lot of those collaborative and cooperative opportunities to look at how we respond, not just from a city’s perspective, but as we respond to disasters that don’t respect political boundaries,” he said.
