Disaster's coming: Get ready

Summer has finally arrived here in the Northwest. The flooding and windstorms from this past winter are just a memory. But, it is appropriate that we remember that earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, windstorms, winter storms, floods, drought, landslides, tsunamis, avalanches, hazardous-material spills, pandemic flu and terrorist attacks in all their nefarious forms will happen sometime in our lifetime. Many of these events will happen right here in the Pacific Northwest and certainly in the Central Puget Sound area — maybe tomorrow.

Unfortunately, it is a reality that disaster preparedness isn't on most people's minds — until something actually happens. But each time we experience disaster — an earthquake, flood, or, most recently, the windstorms — a window of opportunity is opened that we all learn from. It's during these times the public's attention is focused on how to be better prepared.

As the former director of King County Office of Emergency Management, I worked with all sectors of our community to better prepare for disasters of all types. This included working with the 168 governments in King County, along with our neighboring counties, state agencies, federal partners, and the business and nonprofit sectors.

The question is what are we in this region doing individually and collectively to mitigate these events and also prepare ourselves, our families, businesses, governments, schools and what I call our broader community network?

Many people believe that "someone" in the form of law enforcement or firefighters will come to their rescue when something bad happens. That works for the everyday emergencies. But when disasters strike, first-responder resources are very limited, and the public needs to be self-sufficient for a minimum of three days. Regionally, we have fostered the public-education campaign, "Three Days, Three Ways, Are You Ready?"

The truth is that for the type of catastrophic disasters we are likely to have here in this region of the world, citizens need to be thinking about seven days of personal preparedness. As the December 2006 windstorm showed us, however, many people aren't ready to be on their own for even three hours, let alone three days.

Even small investments in disaster mitigation and preparedness will pay huge dividends when disaster strikes again. One of the best examples for the King County government was the passage of legislation to seismically retrofit the courthouse and buildings in the Harborview Hospital complex. These measures were passed before the Nisqually earthquake; they weren't a knee-jerk response to an event.

More proactive efforts by all governments will add immeasurably to the disaster resiliency of our region. Invest in mitigation — such as repairing the levees here in King County — and the dividends will be tremendous over time.

We can't control Mother Nature, but we can become better prepared and more resilient for what she is sure to bring to bear.