Tsunami and Nonprofit Response: The Takeaways
An engaged crowd attended the March Wild Rivers Connect luncheon with guest speakers Althea Rizzo from the Oregon State Office of Emergency Management, Jeremy Dumire of Curry County Emergence Services, and Ryan Sandler of NOAA. The topic covered was how nonprofits can be part of the response in the event of a tsunami or other natural disaster.
Here are the takeaways:
Address Community Issues Before the Disaster
A crucial part of disaster/tsunami preparedness is to get our communities in good shape before a disaster strikes. This allows communities to be far more resilient after a disaster. For example, if food insecurity exists in our communities, we need to address it now so that it will be less of an issue after a disaster.
Prepare Yourself: Get CERT Trained
Become aware of what you can do now to be ready. Every person that is prepared is one less person that will need help when a disaster strikes. Get CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) trained. There are upcoming opportunities for CERT training. We will share them with you via our WRC site and Facebook page once the information is available.
Prepare Others
As a nonprofit leader, talk to people you work with in the community to make sure they are educated about what to do in the event of a tsunami or disaster. This means knowing the difference between a close and distant tsunami. The worst case scenario for a distant tsunami is a 30 ft wave. That is the best case scenario for a Cascadia event local tsunami. We also need to convey this message to those who are new to town and to visitors.
Visit these sites for valuable tsunami preparedness resources:
Find out from the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center if there are any warnings, advisories, watches or threats.
http://nvs.nanoos.org/TsunamiEvac
Look up any address in Oregon to find out if it is located in the tsunami inundation zone.
Resources for businesses and the hospitality industry to plan their response do a disaster.
April Luncheon
Our next Wild Rivers Connect luncheon will be held on April 19th at the Chetco Community Public Library, noon to 1:30 p.m. It is part 3 of a 3 parts series on emergency services. Join guests Cindy Henderson (Del Norte County Emergency Services Manager); Jeremy Dumire (Curry County Emergency Services Coordinator); Kymmie Scott (Tolowa Dee’-ni’ Emergency Services Coordinator); and Tessa Lafazio (Tolowa Dee-ni’ CERT member); for a panel discussion about our region’s emergency services situation – what’s in place and what’s still needed.
Did you come away with additional takeaways? If so, please share them in the comments below!
