Site Logo

Just one hour per month: the Prepare in a Year campaign

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, February 14, 2024

One Hour Each Month Gets You Ready: Each month we’ll cover a new topic from this Disaster Ready booklet published by the Washington State Emergency Management Division. We’ll customize the recommendations for Vashon’s risks and resources. And, if you are eager to read ahead, no problem. You can download the complete guide right now: tinyurl.com/PrepareInYear Or, you can stop in at the main fire station where they have a stack of the paper booklets ready to go in the lobby.
1/2
One Hour Each Month Gets You Ready: Each month we’ll cover a new topic from this Disaster Ready booklet published by the Washington State Emergency Management Division. We’ll customize the recommendations for Vashon’s risks and resources. And, if you are eager to read ahead, no problem. You can download the complete guide right now: tinyurl.com/PrepareInYear Or, you can stop in at the main fire station where they have a stack of the paper booklets ready to go in the lobby.
One Hour Each Month Gets You Ready: Each month we’ll cover a new topic from this Disaster Ready booklet published by the Washington State Emergency Management Division. We’ll customize the recommendations for Vashon’s risks and resources. And, if you are eager to read ahead, no problem. You can download the complete guide right now: tinyurl.com/PrepareInYear Or, you can stop in at the main fire station’s lobby, where there is a stack of paper booklets.

Question: How do you eat an elephant?

Answer: One bite at a time.

Nobody knows for sure who made this famous metaphor popular. Many have been credited. Bishop Desmond Tutu. American General Creighton Abrams. Saint Francis of Assisi. But whoever gets the credit, they have it right.

To get anything done you must take the first step. Break the big goal into smaller parts. In this issue we launch the Vashon version of the Prepare in a Year campaign. Each month, we’ll coach you. Each month, you can invest one hour in a project to make your household safer during an emergency.

Month One (Now!): Make a Communications Plan

Prepare to be separated: In a disaster situation, prepare to be separated from your loved ones. You might be at work or school or making a Costco run. Take these three key steps:

1. Designate a Point of Contact

Ask a relative or friend outside the area to be a relay point. Each member of your household can contact that person with their status and how to reach them. That’s because it’s very possible during a disaster that you will be able to call or email outside the area, even when local communications are degraded.

Pro Tip: You have an emergency communicator in your pocket or purse. Even when landlines, cable systems, cell towers, and email are sketchy, texting may still be working. Sure, you have to thumb type and it’s not as good as hearing a loved one’s voice. But texts work on a separate system from the cellphone network and texting is designed to stay up even on a bad communications day. But stick with short texts. Pictures or videos may not get through.

2. Make Contact Cards

One of the first casualties of an emergency is memory. Who can remember emails and phone numbers when it feels like you or family members are in harm’s way? Make up contact cards and fill them in for everyone in the household. It takes almost no time to do this. We all hope we won’t need these kinds of emergency preparations but if something happens, having a contact card with you will keep you in touch with the folks you love.

3. Sign Up for Alerts

A big part of communications preparedness: Listening. When a big storm is on the way or an earthquake shakes the island, you need information on what’s happening and you need it right now so you can take care of yourself and the people in your household.

Getting emergency information can be as simple as checking your email if you sign up for emergency alerts. But do it now as part of this month’s Prepare in a Year emergency communications project.

Island Emergency Alert System: For many years, the Voice of Vashon Emergency Alert System has been a go-to source of island information. If you got this newsletter in your email, you are already signed up for emergency alerts. If not, the sign-up page is here.

The system provides a one-stop information source for:

  • Severe weather updates
  • Emergency services (such as emergency shelter locations, COVID vaccination info, sources of emergency food and water after an earthquake)
  • Water system outages
  • Significant ferry delays and cancellations
  • Road reports

Vashon Weather: The National Weather Service can give you a customized Vashon-specific weather forecast. Here’s the link.

King County: Alert King County gives you regional public information and notifications. At this county website, you can also sign up for King County Roads alerts, flood alerts, and Metro transit alerts (including ones for King County Water Taxi).

Earthquake Warnings: There’s an earthquake early warning system that may give you a few seconds to duck, cover, and hold. It’s a smartphone app available here.

Ferry Services: Are you already getting service alerts from Washington State Ferries? If not, go to this link to sign up

Share Your Preparedness Story

You can help your neighbors! We’ve set up an online portal so you can share tips that you learned as you set up your communications plan, the first step in the Prepare-in-a-Year campaign. Just click here to share your experience.

C’mon, inspire us!

Free Medical Equipment & Supplies!

The Care Closet folks are holding a giveaway from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at the Vashon Lutheran Church, located at 18623 Vashon Highway.

Why would they give away walkers, wheelchairs, canes, crutches, walking boots, and more?

“Well, this is a wonderful problem to have,” says Susie Kalhorn from Vashon Care Network. “The people of Vashon have been so incredibly generous that we are jam-packed and out of room to store things. We want to keep them on the island by finding good homes for these valuable health aids. The items are in good shape and provided to you ‘as is’ at no cost.”

You Might Like