Natural disasters happen.
Naval Hospital Bremerton, located along the western shoreline of Puget Sound, has been smack in the midst of a traumatic trio of geologic and ecologic-related hazards over the years.
The Cascade Mountain range notably demonstrated it’s actually a string of active volcanos with the cataclysmic eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 which blanketed the entire Pacific Northwest with soot and ash.
The Nisqually earthquake over two decades later in 2001, with a measured 6.8 magnitude, shook the entire Puget Sound region as the Juan de Fuca Plate shifted deeper into the earth. That seismic tremor invoked NHB to become the first Navy Medicine and Defense Health Agency hospital to become seismic retrofitted to be able to withstand future sizable earthquakes.
The past handful of years have seemingly brought the three major needs for wildfires – fuel [parched terrain], heat [warmer temperature] and oxygen [windy weather] - putting people at risk, harming fragile eco-systems and threatening communities, utility services, and the economic livelihood of many.
Preparation for any ecological or climate-related hazard can be the difference between being safe and secure or becoming helpless and endangered.
September is recognized as National Preparedness Month and is designed to remind everyone that preparing for any natural disaster – or emergency - can keep them, their families and their communities safe.
The Kitsap Department of Emergency Management notes there is a high risk for an earthquake, moderate risk for such disasters as fire, flooding, and weather-related, and low risk for drought, dam failures and volcanic ash.
Terry Lerma, NHB’s emergency preparedness manager, shared his insight on why it’s important for everyone to understand that emergency readiness for any type of natural disaster is just as crucial as operational and mission readiness.
There are four basic steps which Lerma asserts are essential for everyone to know.
The initial step is to learn about potential risks and how to response to each. Keeping informed is vital. Wildfires can lead to evacuation orders. Earthquakes can disrupt communication and travel. Even another calamitous natural hazard such as a pandemic can sicken and immobilize many.
Step two is to make a plan.
“Plans should be crafted towards your individual, family and pet needs for at least 72 hours,” said Lerma. “Some families might have to shelter in place for many of the local events or emergencies that occur, which makes storage of kit supplies easier. However, if there is an evacuation order, how does that change the plan? Where would they go? Do you have enough supplies to sustain you, your family, and pets?”
“It’s said in emergency management, no disaster goes according to plan,” Lerma continued. “However, having a plan is a go-by that each family, neighborhood, and/or community can use as a way of preparing supplies, communications, and alternative options.”
Lerma stressed that any type of family emergency plan needs to be designed to be able to use as soon as any disaster strikes. The plan should include details – know where to meet, know how to endure with no power, no cell phone service, with roads blocked - for elders, children, disabled and even family pets.
The third step for any emergency plan calls for having a ready supply kit.
“A kit for your home, car and workplace allows you a capability or some measure of security, and a degree of self-sufficiency. Too often we see on the news, people who had a short to no notice evacuation orders, and literally fled with no spare clothes, no medications, food, water, important documents, or in some cases, identification, or money. Having a kit with those supplies is no guarantee that a disaster won’t happen, but it can help in the event of an emergency to provide temporary measures until the emergency subsides, or until that individual or family can reach a safe refuge location,” explained Lerma.
The fourth step in emergency preparedness centers on being involved and being engaged.
“It’s important to stay informed to not be forlorn. Take some time to browse the various Homeland Security [https://www.dhs.gov/], FEMA [https://www.fema.gov/], Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [https://www.cdc.gov/index.html], state and local Department of Emergency Management web sites [https://www.kitsapdem.com/ ] for information that will then help you make a kit, and make a plan for yourself, your family, and your community,” stressed Lerma.
Lerma noted that the key in any natural disaster is to be prepared beforehand.
“Only call 911 if it’s a true emergency. For areas with limited or lost cell phone service, there are AM radio stations in Kitsap which will broadcast information. In case of power loss, have a safe, alternative power supply such as a solar or battery powered cell phone charger,” recommended Lerma.
In emergency management there is another saying, ‘all disasters are local.’” added Lerma, noting that other potential moderate emergencies in the Pacific Northwest include heavy rainfall which can cause local creeks and streams to overrun their banks and block or washout roads. “When we talk about the least, or most common emergency scenario, it could be a traffic accident blocking a major roadway which can and has had a major effect on commuting,”
There are also the occasion quirks of nature. A rare tornado touched down in Port Orchard in 2018, causing heavy damage to a number of homes and uprooting trees. A tsunami slammed into Washington’s coast in 1964 after a earthquake in the Aleutian Island chain off Alaska. An entire hillside collapsed in 2014 and swept over the small Washington town of Oso, killing 43 residents and burying the highway under 20 feet of mud and debris.
“We get high winds that wreak havoc with trees falling and blocking roads or knocking out power. Snow. Anything over two inches seems to cause chaos with roads, traffic, schools, and first responders. The snow then thaws during the daytime, and if temperatures drop overnight then that snowmelt can freeze which leads to hazard driving conditions in places all over the peninsula,” shared Lerma.
“As for the major or most catastrophic, there’s the 9.0 magnitude Cascadia Subduction earthquake that scientists say we are 50 years overdue to happen,” Lerma said. “That will literally isolate the Kitsap/Olympic peninsulas as seismic activity over a 6.5 magnitude automatically shuts down all bridges and the ferry service until a state engineer can verify those infrastructures as safe to use.”
NHB/NMRTC Bremerton has a new software system in place for emergency preparedness and response which can help in determining which staff are in need of assistance whenever there is an actual natural disaster.
Yet it’s up to everyone to ensure their contact information is current.
Because, as Lerma attests, it’s the steps everyone takes now which will help them be prepared instead of feeling completely lost if and when local disaster hits.