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Emergency Preparedness
Starts at Home
By Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Fall City, and Rep. Jay
Rodne, R-North Bend
We were recently reminded
that when the infrastructure that supports our quality-of-life suddenly
goes dark, much of what we take for granted becomes a challenge. The
December 2006 storms caused power outages for over one million families
across Puget Sound. For a week we were brought to a standstill in just
about every way. This example, in addition to lessons we learned from
Hurricane Katrina, are why we all need to prepare for emergencies.
The pristine natural beauty of our state comes with its wild side that
requires we respect the catastrophic power of Mother Nature. Our state
is highly susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis,
hurricane force winds, and floods. The impact of global warming is
forecasted to make weather-related natural disasters more extreme. Puget
Sound is geologically overdue for a 9.0 (or greater) earthquake and
Mount Rainier is at the top of the national list for possible volcanic
eruptions.
There is nothing we can do to prevent Mother Nature from coming to call,
but we can prepare.
All emergency preparedness starts at home. The larger the magnitude of
the natural disaster, the more likely your community will be on its own
while recovery efforts get underway.
The best starting point is a family plan for what to do in different
emergency situations. This includes a predetermined meeting place and a
designated family contact outside of Puget Sound. Families should also
have an emergency supply kits including a battery radio, basic medical
supplies, camping cookware, and cash at a minimum. A week’s supply of
nonperishable food and access to water is a good investment.
The King County Office of Emergency Management is a great resource (http://www.metrokc.gov/prepare/)
for getting started.
Likewise, the Legislature is doing its part this year. We recognize
emergency preparedness is a fundamental public safety function. That is
why we are sponsoring several emergency preparedness-related bills in
Olympia based on your suggestions from the December power outages.
House Bill
1841 would require that all large motor fuel retailers, grocery
stores and municipal water systems have backup power generators. The
state would provide a 100 percent state sales tax credit to compensate
businesses for these mandatory investments.
House Bill
1557 would provide a business and occupation tax credit for the
purchase of alternative power generation devices to operate gasoline
service station pumps.
House Bill
1904 would require that all middle and high school facilities to
be “hardened” to handle emergency surge capacity for heat, food, water,
and shelter. This emergency surge capacity and rehabilitation of school
facilities after an emergency would be funded by the state.
House Bill
2225 would require the state to maintain an E911 emergency radio
network to provide a single source of “after-event” news updates,
similar to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA)
marine weather radio broadcast system.
Finally, House Bill
1839 would require government employee union work rules and
bureaucratic administrative processes be suspended during such an
on-going emergency.
With a $2 billion state budget surplus this legislative session, we hope
the majority party in Olympia will make the commitment to proposals such
as these.
Ultimately, getting through a natural disaster emergency is about
simplicity, common sense and being prepared. The most important thing is
take the potential risks seriously and we strongly encourage you to
prepare accordingly.
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