Two events this Sunday can help you “BEE” prepared! Stop by!

Sorry for the bad pun… but as we noted late last month we’ll be among the vendors and community groups at the High Point Bee Festival this Sunday, May 19th, from 11 AM – 3 PM.  We’ve included the informational flyer below.

Bee Festival flyer

We’ll also be at Alki Summer Streets during that same timeframe. We’ll be in the “Orange Zone” between 61st and 63rd Ave SW, as shown on on the following map.

Alki Summer Streets 2013 – location flyer

We hope you’ll stop by one or both events to learn more, pick up informational materials and hub maps, find out how you can get involved, ask questions or just say hi!

FYI, you can also find and like both events on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Seattle-Bee-Garden/512486472142987?fref=ts

www.facebook.com/pages/SDOT-Summer-Streets/185475517609

 

Reminder: emergency communications drill tomorrow, May 11th!

As we noted earlier, tomorrow some of our group will participate in a citywide communications drill.

On May 11, between 9:00 am and noon, community groups and emergency volunteers from throughout Seattle will be participating in “Shaken and Stirred”, a disaster drill to test neighborhood emergency preparedness.

Here in West Seattle, the Morgan Junction emergency communication hub (see map) will be activated. Feel free to stop by; visitors (and future volunteers) are welcome!

You’ll find more details in the attached press release, May 11 Hub drill.

Meet to discuss a new South Park emergency communication hub!

You are invited to an informational meeting about the South Park Emergency Communication Hub! The meeting will be held on Thursday, May 9, 2013, from 4:00 – 5:30pm at the South Park Neighborhood Center (8201 10th Ave S).

Here are more details from the announcement:

A communication hub is a community gathering site that serves as a place to meet to exchange needs, resources and information with your neighbors and the city, as well as help the community respond quickly and effectively during emergencies (big or small).

This meeting will focus on sharing information about what a hub is, the role of community members in the hub and the resources that are available to South Park for the development and maintenance of the hub. Guest speakers at this meeting include Tracy Connelly (City of Seattle) and Cindi Barker (West Seattle Hubs). Light snacks and beverages will be provided

A city-wide communications drill is also coming up on Saturday, May 11, 9:00-12:00pm. This opportunity nicely compliments the South Park meeting by providing a chance to observe a hub in action and understand how it works. The Morgan Junction hub in West Seattle (in the Thriftway Parking lot) will be activated for this drill. More information will be available at the meeting or online here.

Please let us know if you have any questions prior to the meeting, and we hope to see you there!

Hilary Jauregui & Lesley Raunig
squeeze@uw.edu & lkraunig@uw.edu
Students, UW Community Health Nursing Doctorate

Ongoing, you can find more info about activities in South Park on the Neighborhood of South Park page on Facebook, on All About South Park website and on The South Park News.

Upcoming events!

May is here! So, it’s probably a good time to update our calendar…  Here are links and flyers for a  few upcoming events that we at West Seattle Be Prepared will be attending:

Saturday, May 4th – Gathering of Neighbors (GON)

Tuesday, May 7th – Emergency Management magazine’s 2013 Summit

Thursday, May 9th – Meet to discuss new hub in South Park!

Saturday, May 11th – Citywide emergency communication drill

Sunday, May 19th – High Point Bee Festival AND Alki Summer Streets Festival (more details to come)!

Emergency communications drill on May 11th!

Want to learn more about the emergency communication hubs and how they function during an emergency? If so, you’ll find more details about the upcoming citywide communications drill in the following announcement from Cindi Barker:

On May 11, between 9:00 am and noon, community groups and emergency volunteers from throughout Seattle will be participating in “Shaken and Stirred”, a disaster drill to test neighborhood emergency preparedness.

The groups, know as the Seattle Emergency Communications Hubs, will join the City’s Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) ham volunteers to simulate an earthquake on the same magnitude as the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.  “It’s all about neighbors helping neighbors” said Carl Leon, one of the drill organizers.  “We set up neighborhood hubs where people can come to get information and share resources or skills to help those who have been affected.”

The ACS volunteers will practice sending situation reports of conditions in each neighborhood from the Hubs into the City’s Emergency Operations Center.  In a real event, that information could be used by City response planners to assess conditions throughout the city and develop response plans.

Participating Hub locations include Beacon Hill, Broadview, Capitol Hill, Fremont, LakeCity, Loyal Heights, Magnolia, Maple Leaf,  Queen Anne,  Shilshole, Wallingford, Wedgewood and West Seattle.  All Hub locations will welcome visitors and people who would like to learn and participate in the Hubs.

For more information, contact Cindi Barker, cbarker@qwest.net, (206) 933-6968.

We’ll add additional details about this drill as they become available. In West Seattle, the Morgan Junction neighborhood hub (see map) will be activated. You can find additional information in the Resources section of our website about the hubs in the other communities and about the ACS (Auxilliary Communication Services) groups.

On the subject of earthquake preparedness…

Did you know…  For those of you who missed it, there was a small earthquake (3.5 mag) around 2 AM in the early morning today on the Olympic Peninsula west of Tacoma. Here’s a detailed description on the PNSN (Pacific Northwest Seismic Network) Seismo Blog.  You can also follow ongoing discussion about it on the PNSN Facebook group page.

Did you feel it?  If you felt this quake, visit the “Did You Feel It?” page to report where you were at the time; this helps the scientists learn more about each event.

Are you prepared?  This seems like a good time to reiterate the importance of getting prepared, for yourself and also for those who depend on you.  You’ll find a myriad of tips and other information that can help you get started.

• What would you want to take with you if you had to evacuate suddenly? What would you want available if you suddenly had to “shelter in place” in your home, workplace or vehicle?  Check out the Resources section of our website for useful checklists and links to preparedness resources. Even if you can visualize yourself ”toughing it out”, keep in mind that some preparations might make you more comfortable if we are without city services such as electricity for 3 days or longer (or if you become injured).




• What skills and knowledge would you like to have in such a situation? FYI, there are some great (and free) preparedness classes and other events coming up! The Seattle Office of Emergency Management’s spring skills classes (earthquake home retrofit, disaster first aid, light seach and rescue, fire extinguisher training) are underway or will be starting soon; you can find their complete schedule here. Organizations such as the Red Cross also offer first aid classes; you can even learn about first aid for pets! You can also learn a great deal from what other communities have done, or wished they had done, in such circumstances.




• Do you know where to go for information, or to volunteer, following an emergency? Do you know about the West Seattle emergency communication hubs? We are part of a citywide network of hubs that will be activated following a major emergency. For more information, visit the About the Hubs section of our website. You can find printable hub maps here (and in several other languages…linked from the menu).




• Want to learn more? Check out our West Seattle Be Prepared event calendar, which is also linked from the bottom of the home page of our website. We participate in radio communication drills and other events throughout the year and would love to have you stop by to learn more or to get involved!

ShelterBox event tonight in West Seattle

The WestSeattleBlog has posted about an event tonight about “ShelterBox”.   ShelterBox is an international disaster relief organization that provides emergency-based shelter, access to clean water and life-saving equipment immediately following a disaster.

From the WestSeattleBlog: ‘FIRST FRIDAY’ AT FEEDBACK LOUNGE: 5-7 pm, the Rotary Club of West Seattle invites you to stop by Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) for their monthly combination of fun and service, this time focused on ShelterBox:

ShelterBox provides emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families who are affected by disasters, at the time when they need it the most. All the equipment needed for one family to survive for that critical time after a disaster is included in one box, a ShelterBox. Come out and meet your local Rotary members and our own ShelterBox team.