Taking stock of disaster plans Taking stock of disaster plans (September 23, 2005)

It is hard to imagine a Katrina-magnitude hurricane hitting Mountain View anytime soon, but communities on both sides of San Francisco Bay are reassessing their earthquake disaster plans, knowing that the Big One may hit anytime, without warning.

Officials from El Camino Hospital and the city have told the Voice they are making sure that current plans are complete and ready should they be needed. Rather than count on outside sources for help in a major disaster, the hospital is studying ways it can fend for itself, according to CEO Lee Domanico.

In New Orleans, communications were lost almost immediately when the storm hit, leaving flooded and damaged hospitals to go it alone for days. Many had to continue caring for established patients and also take in hundreds of new cases resulting from the hurricane, a job made almost impossibly difficult without power and other utilities that a hospital depends on.

Earthquakes, much more likely here due to our proximity to the San Andreas Fault, are an entirely different type of disaster, although power, water and other utility services could just as easily disappear as on the Gulf Coast. And while weather forecasters warned New Orleans of the seriousness of the coming storm many hours ahead of time, earthquake predictions come in spans of 20 or 30 years or more. So Californians in the earthquake belt must be prepared at all times, not just in the hours before disaster strikes.

El Camino Hospital officials say they will be much better prepared when construction of their new, quake-resistant buildings is complete, probably by late 2008 or 2009. The new facilities will have the capacity to generate more power and store more water than the present buildings.

Meanwhile, city officials say a hefty file of instructions to follow in an emergency is reviewed often, to make sure everyone understands it. The city council will conduct a routine update of the plan at a meeting in October. Fire spokesman Lynn Brown said he believes California and the city are at a higher state of readiness than other states, due to the earthquake threat.

Residents who want to do their utmost to prepare for an earthquake or other disaster are advised to sign up for free classes offered by the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT. Those completing the course can become first-responders in an emergency and will be able to lead teams in their own neighborhood. Several neighborhoods already have formed teams, and the city hopes more will take advantage of the opportunity, although the October classes are filled.

By updating disaster plans and encouraging residents to be responsible for their own neighborhoods, Mountain View is taking steps now to avoid a New Orleans-style meltdown in the future. It is more than worth the effort.

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