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September 27, 2007

Safe at home/safe at work: Strategies for personal preparedness

Photo courtesy of UW Emergency Management
This table of products for emergency preparedness was at the 2006 QuakeFest event sponsored by UW Emergency Management. The red kits at the top are the same as those sold at the HUB.

Poster courtesy of Public Health Seattle and King County. For more information, visit online at http://www.metrokc.gov/health/.

Getting ready for the next disaster is a bit like tying your shoelaces: If you don’t, you’ll probably trip. And a fall could be serious.

UW Emergency Management has a number of preparedness and response plans grouped at its Emergency Management Web site: http://www.washington.edu/emergency. They include plans for physical disasters such as earthquakes as well as other types such as pandemic flu.

The unit’s staff members were on duty last December 14 when a serious wind storm — the worst this decade — left large parts of the Puget Sound region without power, some for as many as 11 days. More than 3 million people in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia lost electrical power, and 15 people died.

Steve Charvat, director of UW Emergency Management, strongly advises people to prepare for disasters both at work and home.

Here are some basic preparation ideas:


  • Know terms used in weather forecasts. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration maintains a comprehensive Web site that includes a glossary: http://www.noaa.gov./wx.html.
  • The National Weather Service maintains a Web site listing state-by-state weather watches, warnings and advisories. Here’s the one for Washington state: http://www.weather.gov/alerts/wa.html.
  • Address potential hazards. Bolt bookcases to the wall, secure picture frames with closed screw-eyes instead of traditional picture hangers and secure your water heater to structural parts of the building, such as wall studs within a load-bearing wall.
  • Create a disaster plan. Identify a safe place in each room of your house or workplace, practice leaving the building quickly and decide where your group will meet outside. (In case of earthquake, however, don’t run outside. Drop to the floor, under a table or against an interior wall. Cover your head and neck.)
  • Create disaster supply kits. Purchase a battery-powered NOAA weather radio and extra batteries. Such radios are available at many stores starting at about $20.
  • Stock flashlights and extra batteries for home, work and car. Skip candles; they’re considered fire hazards. A Coleman lantern might come in handy for either the kitchen table or the bathroom. Collect a pair of old sneakers plus rain gear, at least one blanket, three to seven days’ worth of non-perishable food and a pair of rainboots.
  • In your car, put a small shovel, sand or cat litter, flares, a windshield scraper/brush, and booster cables.
  • Put some extra cash plus insurance cards, medical records, bank account numbers and Social Security numbers in a waterproof, easily carried container.
  • Consider purchasing a small generator, but never use it or a barbecue grill indoors, as they produce carbon monoxide, which is poisonous. If you have a fireplace, make sure the chimney is clean and firewood dry. Maintain proper ventilation to avoid build-up of toxic fumes.
  • Make sure gutters on your roof and street are clear of debris. If the storm sewer outside your house clogs, don’t wait for city sanitation. Clear the drain with a rake or similar tool; otherwise, you could face flooding.
  • At work, store an emergency support unit. Available at the HUB ticket office, each red nylon, zippered bag contains a dozen basics including water, energy bars, a first-aid kit and an emergency blanket ($21 for students, $23 for faculty and staff).
  • Know your department or unit’s disaster response plan, including where you’ll meet if you have to leave your building.

For a health disaster, specifically pandemic flu, the University has drafted a four-level, 45-page plan. If a case of human avian flu is confirmed in the U.S., Mexico or Canada, the UW’s response would include:


  • Basic hygiene measures such as vaccinations and covering one’s mouth while coughing.
  • Possible suspension of classes or at least public activities such as sporting events.
  • Possibly sending students home if it appears public health authorities will restrict travel.
  • Monitoring of employees or students returning from an area affected by pandemic flu.
  • Additional infection controls at University medical centers and gathering places such as cafeterias and residence halls.

To read the UW plan for communicable disease management, go to: http://www.washington.edu/emergency/pandemic/.

Additional information about emergency planning can be found at the UW Emergency Management Web site: http://www.washington.edu/emergency/prepare.