Planning for the "Big One" in southern California

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Posted by: Nancy Ward, FEMA Regional Administrator Region IX

We received great and positive feedback on Tuesday’s kickoff of the Southern California Catastrophic Earthquake Response Plan (CATPLAN) from press and participants.  The plan specifies that federal and state agencies will work closely together in preparing for a potential large scale earthquake in Southern California.  Unfortunately, a major earthquake in Southern California is overdue and is a “when”, not an “if”, event.

And while the new CATPLAN is a step in the right direction, it’s vital that the entire community works together to plan for such an event.   Each year, FEMA participates in the “The Great California Shakeout”, a state-wide earthquake preparedness drill.  There were over 7.9 million participants in this year’s event, a great sign that California residents are taking earthquake preparedness seriously.

I'd be interested in hearing what you are doing to plan for a large-scale disaster. In California, the “Shakeout” is a great initiative to engage the entire community in preparedness.  Share what your state, city, town, or family is doing to show others you’re prepared.

- Nancy

Other Links
California Emergency Management Blog - post on the CATPLAN signing
Ready.gov - information on preparing for earthquakes
Last Updated: 
06/15/2012 - 22:19
Posted on Fri, 12/17/2010 - 13:02
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Rebecca Harned,... (not verified):

Nancy,<br /><br />This is a very important issue in FEMA Region X. NAPSG just completed the first inter-disciplinary (Fire, Law enforcement, Emergency management, EMS, public health, etc.) Public Safety GIS Workshop in SoCal on December 1. The focus of the workshop - Information Sharing across jurisdictions and across domains. It was a great success. But most importantly, the workshop was lead by local public safety agencies from Southern California who came together because they realize how fundamental effective geosptially-enabled information sharing is for the region. <br />CalEMA is a part of our SoCal regional leadership team. Engaging with Diane Vaughan and Kris Higgs at CalEMA regarding the plan and how you can most effectively tie-in GIS capabilities is critical. I also suggest you engage a group of local responders from all disciplines to ensure that the information sharing plans and projects underway support the CATPLAN - i.e. make sure that they consider this in developing the Minimal Essential Data Sets for the state, locals commit to managing updated and accurate relevant data sets for their jurisdiction, and that mobile/tactical response GIS capabilities at the local level support the CATPLAN.<br /><br />Thank you again for sharing this post - its a critical issue and we would like to be sure we highlight it at the 2011 NAPSG SoCal Public Safety GIS Workshop.<br />Rebecca Harned<br />NAPSG Foundation<br />www.napsgfoundation.org
Anonymous (not verified):

Here in Central Illinois, Ogden to be exact, have prepared as we usually do for tornadoes, etc.. don't have a family as they have all moved away, just me and my wife.. being of retirement age we have a emergency kit set up with at least two weeks of needed prescription medication, any other that might be needed (Tylenol, allergy, etc), some canned items that won't spoil easily, batteries with flashlights, candles.. also battery powered radios.. bottled water, etc...everything gets rotated every so often to make sure they are fresh and usable..also have given the family information that may help responders and other officials to recognize any possible needs, location, etc if my wife and I were unable to for some unknown reason... just some of the things my wife and I do to be prepared, not only for potential quakes but spring, summer and winter storms also... <br /><br />Larry Woller<br />Observer, NWS ILX<br />PO Box 362<br />Ogden, Illinois 61859

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