By Ruth Longoria

Although its damage was relegated to a few Southern states, Hurricane Katrina’s Aug. 29 catastrophic attack served as a wake-up call for many Americans who wonder if they are prepared for a natural or terrorist-induced disaster. That concern may have been amplified this morning (Wednesday, Sept. 14) as the Emergency Alert System set off an earthquake drill on radio and television stations statewide in connection with National Preparedness Month.

Along with the 2002 designation of Sept. 11 as the official Patriot Day — in honor of the thousands who lost their lives Sept. 11, 2001, during the terrorists attacks on the New York City World Trade Center — comes the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s September 2005 proclamation of National Preparedness Month.

“Hurricane Katrina is a reminder of how important it is to be prepared,” said Dee Totten, emergency manager for the City of Mercer Island.

“We don’t have hurricanes here, but we do have earthquakes. And an earthquake isn’t like a hurricane that has some kind of warning,” she said. “An earthquake is a sudden impact and you only have one or two seconds to notice what’s going on. We want to do everything we can to help people be prepared, because for those who aren’t prepared, we’ll have to do the response.”

Being prepared on the Island is more complicated than in some other parts of the state, because it’s just that: an island, Totten said.

“We’re asking people to be prepared for three to seven days. Three days statewide and seven days on the Island,” she said. “This is an island. People could be stuck here. If you see what’s happening in Louisiana, you realize the transportation problems involved — in the initial crunch, either people won’t be able to get back to their homes or they won’t be able to get off the Island.”

One of the biggest problems in the aftermath of a disaster is having enough water. Totten suggests storing enough drinking water — one gallon per person per day — and five gallons per day per person for water needs other than drinking. Stored water should be rotated and bottles dated, so that unused water is poured out (possibly to water plants), bottles are washed out and fresh water replaced.

Residents shouldn’t be comfortable with just having emergency supplies at home. “You need to be prepared in your office, at your home or in your car,” she said.

Families also should have a plan for whom to contact if they get separated from each other, as is likely if a disaster occurs midday. Totten suggests having an out-of-area contact as long distance phone lines may be available, even if local lines are not.

“The contact person should be east of Spokane, and not up or down the West Coast. California can get earthquakes, too, even if it isn’t on the same fault lines,” Totten said.

Planning for an emergency should include drills that allow participants to get used to carrying out the motions that could save a life. Many older adults remember learning as children to “drop, cover and hold” in the event of an earthquake. The natural inclination when the ground starts to shake is to run away, which could be dangerous if stairways crumble, windows shatter or ceilings give way.

“If you’ve got a desk, get under it,” Totten said. “The more you practice the drill, the more it becomes natural to you, and gives you comfort when a disaster happens, because you know what to do, you’ve practiced it many times.”

That’s why Totten coordinates practice emergency communications drills at different points during the year with participants such as the Mercer Island Radio Operators (MIRO). The amateur ham radio operators serve as contacts between neighborhood command posts, much as they would in a real emergency. Bill Ellis, chairman of MIRO, said the group’s function in an actual emergency, such as an earthquake, could be essential to communications.

“In a situation where cell phones and land lines are down, you need radios,” Ellis said.

In order to communicate from some areas of the Island where there are weak signals, the operators send their messages to what are called repeaters, who are able to broadcast the messages using higher power and stronger signals. Repeaters are strategically located on the Island and have backup power, such as batteries and possibly generators, so they are able to communicate for a longer time. However, most would only be able to operate for a few days at best without replenishing their backup, he said.

“Power is always the big problem,” he said. “That’s what happened in Louisiana. There’s only so much people can do.”

Ellis is frustrated by national news commentators who have belittled the efforts of FEMA and other emergency responders to the recent tragedy.

“The bottom line is, you do what you can in something like (the hurricane relief efforts). Things don’t happen that quickly and FEMA is doing what they can, as quickly as they can. It just annoys me for people to think anyone is doing less than they could.”

Although there are only 47 members in MIRO, a dozen or so of which are active in practice drills, there are about 125 amateur radio operators on the Island, Ellis said.

“My feeling is that if you had an actual emergency, many of those who just do this as a hobby would probably try to help out.”

Although Ellis was out of town during the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, Island MIRO responded to the emergency and deployed, ready to send messages as necessary.

“They didn’t have much to do here, because the main impact was south of here,” Ellis said. “But if there was an emergency here — it might take awhile, and wouldn’t happen 10 minutes after the emergency. But as soon as we took care of ourselves and our own families, we’d be ready to deploy when needed.”

Sidebar: Emergency prep classes, events

The city will hold preparatory events and activities in observance of National Preparedness Month, including:

? Public Safety Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 24, at the north fire station. The event offers activities for children and adults.

? Everyone Prepared, Pass It On: A one-hour class for residents to learn what to do in an emergency, at 7 p.m., Sept. 29, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 9611 S.E. 36th St.

For more information, contact Dee Totten at 236-3576.