What did cities on Eastside learn from the storm?

As Eastside city leaders struggled to pull through the worst storm in decades, they took away valuable lessons to use in future emergencies.

Two of the biggest: Cities need to do a better job communicating with their residents when power is out, and residents must be better prepared to get by on their own.

In some cities, officials are considering buying more powerful generators to keep city hall operating, exploring the need for more emergency shelters and looking at improving communication among their own staff.

In Duvall, city officials want to create an emergency gasoline supply for police and fire vehicles and will try to convince local gas stations to build emergency tanks for the public. With power down, residents — and police officers — had to drive to Monroe for gas and wait in line for 45 minutes, Duvall Mayor Will Ibershof said.

A bigger shelter than the one provided at Duvall Church may also be needed, he said. After the storm hit, many families had to deal with young children home from school with little to keep them occupied, and "some moms were going nuts," Ibershof said.

Newcastle may use reader boards along Newcastle Way or Coal Creek Parkway to update residents. The boards would be powered with generators and flash messages about shelter locations, said City Manager John Starbard.

Issaquah officials are considering bullhorns or loudspeakers to broadcast emergency updates. Residents should be informed every hour or two to be effective, and when the city gave reports over the radio during the storm, not everyone got the message, Mayor Ava Frisinger said.

Some Eastside cities, such as Bellevue, are among the most ethnically diverse in the state, and city leaders say they have to do better in reaching residents in their own languages, from Spanish and Vietnamese to Russian and Chinese.

Bellevue is working to offer languages other than Spanish on its Web site and must figure out ways to reach residents in a "more proactive way," particularly during an emergency, city spokesman Tim Waters said.

Other concerns and proposals:

• Mercer Island, which is more isolated than other cities, called for its residents to stockpile enough nonperishable food and supplies to last seven to 10 days. Only 91 residents had joined a city program to mobilize neighborhoods in the case of an emergency — and the city had trouble reaching people during the storm.

But other city leaders say residents should be prepared to get by on their own for several days.

"Government can only do so much," Ibershof said.

• In Sammamish, officials said they want to distribute more informational pamphlets at grocery stores, coffee shops and service stations. "In times of disaster, low-tech seems to work best," said Pete Butkus, assistant city manager.

"When do you say it's too dangerous?" he said. "You have to find a balance."

• For more than four days, Carnation City Hall was largely in the dark until power came back to most of the city, City Manager Candice Bock said. A small generator powered one phone line and a photocopier, and city officials jotted down facts by hand when residents came by for help.

The city will probably invest in a generator powerful enough for the whole City Hall so that it will be better connected during an emergency, with working computers, heat and lights, Bock said.

• Woodinville initially opened an emergency shelter at City Hall because the community center — where the shelter would normally be — was without power for several days after the storm, said city spokeswoman Marie Stake. The city may consider buying a generator to power the Carol Edwards Center, but it's a pricey option, Stake said.

"We can always do more," she said. "It's a matter of having the staff to manage it, the money to buy it, and the place to store it."

• Kirkland and Redmond officials said they need to improve emergency communication among city employees. In Redmond, for example, firefighters and police officers didn't provide the city's public-outreach employees with updates because they were too busy responding to emergency calls, deputy fire chief Andy Hail said.

City leaders should have met before the storm to decide how the city was going to assure residents the city was responding to the public's needs, he said.

• Redmond's Hail said major events like the windstorm can put city officers at risk, and local cities should establish a policy to determine when to stop responding to non-life-threatening incidents. Three Redmond firefighters were hit by falling trees and debris while trying to respond to calls during the windstorm, Hail said. The firefighters were not seriously injured.

Some cities have Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training available to residents. These free or low-cost classes provide information on how to prepare for emergencies, including basic first aid and search-and-rescue skills and being ready to assist neighbors, co-workers and family following a disaster.

In Issaquah, the teams were critical to informing residents about the latest news, Frisinger said. The groups knocked on doors to check on people, transported residents to the Bellevue shelters and informed neighbors about the outage status.

The city of Redmond has CERT classes starting Wednesday. The classes take place at the Redmond Fire Department, 8450 161st Ave. N.E., Redmond 98052. For information, call 425-556-2200.

Ashley Bach: 206-464-2567 or abach@seattletimes.com