Emergency preparedness

Typical flood spots were drenched and new ones opened up. There will be lessons learned about preparedness and response at the government level, but those lessons can also be applied to each and every one of us. 

Redwood City Mayor Jeff Gee painted a fairly good picture, this week, when he said that we are clearly not ready for major emergencies. “We have to not only get ready, but, as a community, get ready. As we move forward, my encouragement not only to the Redwood City community but ... we as a region need to get ready.”

The flooding on New Year’s Eve was the perfect storm of events, a high tide and 4-5 inches of rain at once. Systems were overwhelmed. While government at every level will be exploring what happened that day — and if there could have been better measures in place — it is important to note that government, at times, cannot protect us from natural disaster. In those situations, we all have to be better prepared ourselves. 

So what does that mean? It means we not only have emergency supplies on hand that will last up to a week, but we should also create local networks of neighbors to ensure we can communicate clearly and work together in an emergency. 

As evidenced by the recent events, city, county and utility workers can’t be everywhere at once and sometimes need to triage when and where they can. There are plenty of sources online of what material is needed in an emergency, and anyone can do their own research. Obviously, having sandbags on hand and the knowledge of how to place them is key for some. It’s also important for neighbors to know if there are others nearby who may need a hand. It’s key to assess your environment and get a sense of potential weaknesses while also making plans (and backup plans) for you, your family and your neighbors in case of an emergency.

We live in an age when many expect government to do things for us. But there also comes a time when self-reliance and neighborhood support comes into play. It’s been a while since we have faced a true natural disaster here, and we seem to be a bit out of practice. If there is another natural disaster, we will have to rely on ourselves and each other more than we do now.

For those who are facing significant flood damage right now, this may seem like little salve. Government is here to provide basic infrastructure and it seems there were some issues with that in the recent series of storms. There may be claims to be processed for certain situations if there was a failure. 

And there will definitely be lessons learned that will be applied in future situations. As I wrote recently, it’s been a while since we had weeks of rain, especially of this magnitude. We may be in for more. 

For some, the Loma Prieta earthquake is still a vivid memory. For others, it’s distant. For still others, it’s lore. It’s important to remember we are always vulnerable to forces of nature in many different ways and to plan accordingly. After all, there may be emergency situations in which services will be difficult or impossible to access for days, or even weeks.

In any circumstance, it is imperative that each and every one of us learn from these recent storms and become better prepared and more resilient. Our elected leaders are charged with ensuring that takes place at the government level, but we must also make sure that takes place at a personal level.

Jon Mays is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on Twitter @jonmays.