Adapted from the City of Seattle's Office of Emergency Management website

The Seattle area is likely to experience a moderate to major disaster in the near future. While it is difficult to predict when disasters will happen, the consequences of disasters are predictable. Efforts to prepare yourself, your family, your workplace and your neighborhood will go a long way in improving the response and recovery of our community.

When disaster such as a major earthquake strikes, the City will not have enough resources to help everyone who needs help. This is why disaster preparedness is considered a partnership between the City of Seattle and its citizens and neighborhoods. Preparing in advance and organizing to take care of each other will help the City utilize its resources to help the most people as soon as possible.

Disaster preparedness has two stages: Personal household and home preparedness are the foundation of a preparedness plan. The next step is the neighborhood preparedness plan.

PERSONAL HOUSEHOLD PREPAREDNESS

Start planning now to take care of yourself and your family for at least three days. Know that after a major catastrophe, it may take more than three days to open a shelter in your area, restore basic city services such as electricity, natural gas and water, or re-open streets and bridges. Every household needs to have a Family Disaster Plan, build a Supply Kit, and set up an Out-of-Area Contact.

Creating a Family Disaster Plan and Family Disaster Supplies Kit

More Family Preparedness Materials

Home Preparation and Retrofit (including a home retrofit class)

Car Kit

For Kids and Parents

For Pets

OVERWHELMED? CHECK OUT THESE THREE RESOURCES TO HELP YOU GET STARTED:
1. Preparedness Promise

2. Small Steps to Better Preparedness (choose five!)

3. Helpful Instructional Disaster Preparedness Training Video from the City of Seattle

NEIGHBORHOOD PREPAREDNESS

Preparing for and responding to disaster begins with preparing yourself and your family, but there are limits to what an individual or family can do. When a large disaster strikes and City first responders are overwhelmed, the first people you will turn to for help will be your neighbors. Building good relationships with your neighbors is the best way to extend your personal safety net.

The City of Seattle has created the Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare (SNAP) program to enable people to get prepared both at the personal and at the neighborhood levels. An online toolkit is available to help us prepare for the time when the City is unable to respond to our critical needs. SNAP is a simple and flexible process designed to help neighborhoods create plans that are specific to the neighborhood needs. We can help each other become prepared by organizing together.

For more information see the Getting Organized section of our SNAP program. Sustainable Ballard is currently exploring how we can bring the SNAP program to our community. Stay tuned!

The City's Office of Emergency Management is offering free SNAP classes in various neighborhood libraries to help people get started organizing as a community, as well as classes in Earthquake Home Retrofit and Basic and Disaster First Aid. Check the Class schedule for locations and other information.

Note that the Ballard Library class is not until May 2011.
For more information about the SNAP program, call 206-233-5076 or email SNAP@seattle.gov.