Submitted by Whatcom County Division of Emergency Management
As summer wildfire season winds down and before fall storms and winter weather sets in, September is the month to begin preparations to endure and recover from these natural disasters.
Not all emergencies are weather-related. On September 11, 2001, terrorists destroyed New York’s iconic Twin Towers and damaged the Pentagon. Closer to home, on June 10, 1999, a leaking pipeline exploded on Whatcom Creek just below Whatcom Falls Park, claiming three lives.
During National Emergency Preparedness Month, residents are encouraged to take steps to become prepared — not only to avoid potential harm, but also to respond and recover when disaster strikes.
Tips to prepare your own household
- Sign up to receive alerts and warnings
- Bookmark the Whatcom Ready Facebook page and WhatcomReady.org for updates
- With one task a month, you can Prepare in a Year
(information available in Spanish, Russian and Punjabi as well as English) - Get Two Weeks Ready to be self-sustaining when help is delayed
- Become a trained volunteer with Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Search and Rescue, Medical Reserve Corps, Project Lifesaver, or as an amateur radio operator
- Check out the County’s Emergency Preparedness website to locate natural hazards nearest you, as well as
- Learn about the “Ready-Set-Go” pre-evacuation protocol used regionally, with information coming soon in other languages, including Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian and Punjabi
Become ready to respond in your own neighborhood
In a major disaster, residents are often their own “first responder.” After an earthquake, flooding, tsunami or other major catastrophe, police, firefighters and EMTs will be called in many directions. It could take days before help arrives.
There are local opportunities to learn what to do first and how to respond safely following an emergency. CERT training is one. Now in its 25th year locally, CERT has offered its eight-week course in communities throughout Whatcom County – from Point Roberts and Lummi Island to Sudden Valley, Western Washington University and the small cities.
The community may never again experience devastation similar to the 1999 pipeline explosion; however, some emergencies are inevitable. September is the month to prepare for power loss, floods, extreme cold, falling trees or possibly an earthquake. Personal preparedness will help ensure we can survive, rebuild and recover.
