Disaster Preparedness Committee

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE Minutes of the January 26, 2006 meeting 7:00 p.m., Vera Davis Center

Mission: To promote neighborhoods and community groups to prepare for and handle emergency and disaster situations

Attendance: David Moring, Cliff McClain, Keith Harrison, Colette Bailey

Town Hall: Scheduled for Saturday, February 25 beginning at 9:00 a.m. LAFD Captain Jeff Elder will make a presentation on emergency preparedness in the home, the car and the neighborhood. He will talk about the CERT training program and its benefit to stakeholders and the community. Beginning at 11:00 a.m., there will be a presentation on land use issues by the LUPC. Our Committee must assist in promoting the Town Hall to the stakeholders. We also must gather handout materials to provide to stakeholders. The LAPD Emergency Preparedness booklet is the most complete, but the most expensive. The Family Disaster Supplies Kit by the American Red Cross would be an excellent handout if we can get a large supply. FEMA is sending Moring materials at the request of Congressmember Harman’s office. Moring will coordinate with Nightingale and Mcpherson regarding the meeting promotion.

Identify Potential Dangers: Moring showed the Committee three pictures sent to him by Board member Papadakis showing flooding in Venice in 1915, 1951 & 1956. He reported talking with Steve Friedman who monitors the county’s regulation of the tidal pools in the Marina when there are both high tides and rain storms to make sure they do not allow overflows that have flooded the Oxford Triangle in the past. Keith Harrison’s advice to Venice residents is to head for the Santa Monica Airport at the first sign of a tsunami.

Coordination: Venice stakeholder Keith Harrison of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services gave the Committee an extremely informative overview of California’s emergency response plans. Response begins in the community where the incident takes place with LA City police, fire and medical as “first responders”. Most of the time, the local agencies can handle the emergency through their “mutual aid” agreements with other city personnel, i.e., Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Culver City police and fire assistance. If the situation is too big, then the “operational area”, which is LA County, supports the local officials by moving resources to places where they are needed. Should we be looking at a big earthquake situation, then OES will take on the support role as the State’s coordinating agency bring in resources from the state, federal and 11 other southern California counties. The OES has a Regional Operational Center where it gathers information and resources even before it is called upon by LA County. We can learn more about the OES at its website, www.oes.ca.gov Harrison stressed that the true “first responders” in any big emergency or disaster will have to be “you and me”. We need to be able to tend to ourselves and our families. Then we must assist our immediate neighbors. He urged our Committee to begin preparing Venice stakeholder to sustain themselves if the need arises. We should also be planning how to assist those who can not help themselves. He recommended CERT training for as many as possible, and then organizing of neighborhoods. Neighbors should know where to go for specific needs. Who knows medical care, who has a generator, has everyone stored water and food are questions we should pose to Venice neighborhoods. He suggests that Neighborhood Watch Plus groups be established.

Next Meeting: February 23, 2006, 7:00 p.m., Vera Davis Center