San Diego Evaluates Readiness
The San Diego Union-Tribune has a great story on San Diego's preparedness for a major disaster. Here are the parts that caught my eye:
"You'd better look out for yourself because you have to assume nobody else will." That warning comes from someone who should know, Mike Workman, spokesman for the county government....
Officials say civilians should be ready to survive without the services of law enforcement and other response agencies for 72 hours.
...
We can talk about it and can warn and predict, but the bottom line is people have to be accountable for themselves."
This sounds reminiscent of a post I wrote a few days ago.
However, it isn't all doom and gloom. Read this quote from the Union-Tribune article:
Many residents here already are aware that they may have to rely on themselves and not on government agencies in the wake of a crisis. But it doesn't have to be "every person for him or herself."Evoking images of World War II block wardens, hundreds have signed up to join local citizen response teams and have undergone training to respond to disasters at the neighborhood level. Classes that started last week in the city of San Diego were full, and the county has trained more than 2,000 volunteers in the past two years.
I think they are referring to a program called Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). This is a good program. Our local CERT team has been training over the past couple of weeks and they should be good to go if we ever need them. Check out the CERT website.
Comments
The CERT program is a great way for individuals to participate in the benefit of their communities. This training prepares them to be better prepared to help themselves and thier neighbors.
Posted by: Chris at September 26, 2005 09:43 AM
