CARLETON CRONIN: You probably missed it …. so did the city

For years, September has been Disaster Preparedness Month, largely ignored by most of us, with minimal concern shown by our city.

As usual, the city sent out an email memo advising us to “prepare” and “make a plan.” If you’re not on that email list, perhaps you read about the month’s designation in the *LA Times* or the *La Brea Press*. Or maybe you didn’t see it at all, if no notice appeared on social media. For all practical purposes, National Emergency Preparedness Month has come and gone once more with only the barest notice. Yet, among other potential threats, we in Los Angeles County live in an active earthquake zone and on the edge of potentially major disaster. Although experts continue to warn us and first responders drill to maintain their skills, we citizens remain drowsy. Even Lalo Alcaraz’s great comic strip *La Cucaracha* (*LA Times*) asks, “Eddie, do you think we are getting too jaded about earthquakes?” as a tremor blurs one panel of the strip.

Well, I am not yet jaded on the subject, and I have some questions for the city about how it is prepared for an earthquake — or any event that could be called a disaster — and, importantly, what the city can do for us residents when a disaster strikes.

Somewhere in the maze of cubicles at City Hall, there’s a person who is our emergency management guru. As far as I can tell, he’s been keeping a lot of information to himself. Here are some subjects I’d like him to share with us residents.

– What is the latest hazard assessment for West Hollywood regarding earthquakes, floods, fires, and civil disorder? Do you have maps to aid us?
– Has the city prepared temporary shelter for residents displaced by disaster? For instance, FEMA and the NFL have a plan to use football stadiums as shelters during a disaster.
– Are the shelters stocked with water and emergency food?
– Where can we find a copy of the city’s disaster response and recovery plan?
– Tell us about the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Is the Incident Commander a resident able to respond 24/7? Does he have FEMA training?
– Is there an EOC component to handle trained (CERT) volunteer responders as well as convergent responders?
– Much of WeHo was once classified as a flood zone. Is any part of the city still a flood zone?
– Where in the city is liquefaction a problem?
– In case of a mass evacuation, which streets are most likely to be evacuation routes? Are they currently marked with signs?
– Will the city have a method of assisting seniors and disabled residents to places of safety?
– What outreach plans do you have to instruct residents about disaster preparedness and recovery?
– Will there be a central check-in process to track unaccounted-for residents?
– What about displaced family pets?
– What are the plans for general civil order and security with the Sheriff’s department?
– Is there a civil disorder component to the City Emergency Response Plan?
– Are there any agreements with local hospitals for emergency field care? Is the Red Cross the most likely resource for medical care?
– Most important — what are the means, besides emails, used by the city to inform us of the city’s readiness after a disaster? At one time, two former air raid sirens on towers were at West Hollywood and Plummer parks. A great, simple way to alert a large area.

It might be simpler if the city made ongoing outreach efforts, not just a September email, to prepare us for the inevitable difficulties of managing through a disaster. The city owes us a lot of help in preparing.