What:Â SNAP Course
When: Monday, Nov 17th, 7 PM
Where: Crown Hill Center, 9250 14th Ave NW, Room 4
SNAP (Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare) is a program designed to help Seattle residents prepare for disasters. We are all pretty familiar with earthquakes, at least those of us who were around in 2001 for the Nisqually Earthquake. But we’re not all that prepared for a big earthquake like the 1700 Cascadia quake which is thought to be the largest earthquake in historical times in North America and one of those quakes is due to occur every 300 to 500 years or so. Emergency preparedness extends to other situations as well from the very small scale to the very large scale. Imagine a very large windstorm, or a freak snowstorm and power outage (like the one in 2006 that left much of Northern Seattle without power and passable roads for three to ten days), or a landslide or a massive eruption of Mt. Rainier or…. As recent disasters in other countries have shown, emergency preparedness can mean the difference between life and death.
We are truly lucky to live in a city with such a massive infrastructure of emergency responders, and facilities. However, in a large scale emergency, our response systems will be completely overwhelmed and we will be largely on our own for a few days to a week or more before the response can be effectively mobilized with help from the feds, the state, the military and surrounding areas.
You don’t need to acquire a massive diesel generator or amass a 1 year supply of emergency rations in your basement. Small, easily accomplished, simple steps can make the difference. The problem is we all put off doing the easy stuff (or even finding out what stuff is easy and effective) until another day.
We’re partnering with the Seattle Office of Emergency Management to offer a course in preparedness for everyone. This course has been honed over the years to include what makes sense in Seattle. This course is focused on what you can do in your home, and with your immediate neighbors to be actively prepared. There is an active community of volunteers who teach the course, and we have arranged for Cheryl Dyer from Loyal Heights to teach us. Cheryl has been active in emergency preparedness for several years, most recently spearheading a grant to create six emergency communication hubs in Ballard and Crown Hill.
This class will immediately follow our monthly Crown Hill Neighborhood Assn Board Meeting. The board meeting will be abbreviated to accommodate the class. You are welcome to come to the board meeting as well, and that begins at 6:30.