All you need to know for disaster now on the Web

By John Vlahovich
Spokane Public Radio

With the Hurricane Katrina disaster still fresh in their minds, regional emergency response officials stress that everyone should be planning how to survive a natural or man-made disaster in the Inland Northwest. A recent survey finds most people say they’re prepared generally. But when it comes to specifics, it’s a different story.

Local emergency responders say that their agencies are ready should disaster strike. They emphasize, however, that individuals need to develop their own survival plans.

That means having food, water, medical and other needs on hand in the home and in the car to keep family members alive and well until help arrives.

As Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk says, “Even though we’re ready to come and respond, we still depend on you as citizens to be prepared to at least hunker down and be able to survive the first 72 hours without us responding to your front door.”

A recent survey of 300 area households found nearly two-thirds claim they are at least somewhat prepared for an emergency situation. But nearly a quarter admit they don’t actually have their home stocked with supplies. Nearly half admit they don’t have an emergency kit in their vehicle.

In addition, more than half said they had no plan for contacting or gathering family members during an emergency.

Help is available. Ray Tansy, who co-chairs the local disaster committee, says everything the public needs to know about preparedness can be found in three clicks on the Internet.

“The latest individual family preparedness handbook, with everything in it, you can order it off the web site. People with disabilities; special things for them are on there. Every single fire district, every law enforcement agency,” says Tansy.

The web site in question is Spokane-prepares-dot-org.