A Recommended Community Crisis Preparedness Plan

Prepared for: Northeast Community Council and Members

Prepared by: Cobi Smith-Mass, Student at University of Alaska Anchorage.

November 10, 2016

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Letter of Transmittal

November 9, 2016

Mrs. Angela Andersen

3211 Providence Dr.

Anchorage, AK 99508

Dear Northeast Community Council,

I have conducted research on our community it has become overwhelmingly apparent we need to create a momentum for community earthquake-disaster preparedness. In my research, I have found that none of our local communities have an established plan tailored for their specific location and needs if a disaster occurred today. It is with the help of FEMA and the MOA (Municipality of Anchorage) that I have formulated a cost-effective way to prepare our community for an earthquake disaster. I believe that creating a plan that is accessible to the community is pertinent to our safety, especially considering the unpredictability of natural phenomena since our climate has transformed. If we are successful in our attempt to prepare the community and install common knowledge of earthquake readiness, then we may inspire our neighboring communities to follow our lead. It is inside this report I have produced a four-week plan to prepare any family in your community for a disaster earthquake.

In preparing your community for an earthquake disaster it is only realistic to develop the plan on a much smaller scale. We must implement a plan that each individual family may acquire and begin to utilize immediately and effectively. My proposed tasks are to prepare your family, home, and form a response plan after a disaster occurs.

I found the most common protocols mentioned by the government sources were: identify safe areas in your home, assemble a go kit, and identify contacts reachable after by cell phone to establish a plan. Once a shake has stopped it is important to react quickly in the likely event of an aftershock.

Yours truly,

Cobi Smith-Mass, UAA Technical Writing Student

Enclosure

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ContentsA Recommended Community Crisis Preparedness Plan..................................................................iLetter of Transmittal........................................................................................................................ii1.0 Executive Summary...................................................................................................................v2.0 Definition of Terms..................................................................................................................vi3.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................14.0 Plan............................................................................................................................................1

4.1Proposed Tasks.......................................................................................................................14.1.1 Task 1: Prepare Your Family..........................................................................................14.1.2 Task 2: Prepare Your Home............................................................................................14.1.3 Task 3: Build Your Go-Kit..............................................................................................14.1.4 Task 4: Establish a list of contacts..................................................................................2

4.2 Schedule.................................................................................................................................2Family..........................................................................................................................................2Home............................................................................................................................................2Go-Kit..........................................................................................................................................2Contacts........................................................................................................................................2Review Safe areas........................................................................................................................2Survey Lot....................................................................................................................................2Water 1 G/ day/ person................................................................................................................2Have 5 listed.................................................................................................................................2Safety Techniques........................................................................................................................2Clear hazards on our lot...............................................................................................................2Non-perishable.............................................................................................................................2Friends and family.......................................................................................................................2How to react after.........................................................................................................................2Evaluate strength of foundation...................................................................................................2Warm up clothes..........................................................................................................................2Out of state friend........................................................................................................................2Check flexible gas caps for the house..........................................................................................2Crank radio + Contacts................................................................................................................2Week 1.........................................................................................................................................2Week 2.........................................................................................................................................2Week 3.........................................................................................................................................2

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Week 4.........................................................................................................................................24.3 Budget....................................................................................................................................2*Clothes are presumed to be at home..........................................................................................24.4 Personnel................................................................................................................................2

5.0 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................35.1 Summary................................................................................................................................35.2 Recommendations..................................................................................................................3

6.0 Appendix A: Household Emergency Plan.................................................................................47.0 Appendix B: Community Location Map...................................................................................58.0 Appendix C: Anchorage Bowl Seismic Map.............................................................................6.........................................................................................................................................................69.0 References..................................................................................................................................7

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1.0 Executive Summary

In our Northeast Community of Anchorage, we are susceptible to earthquakes at any given time. Anchorage is the recipient of almost 2.5 earthquakes a day making it an extremely active zone. If one of disaster magnitude struck now, almost none of our community would have FEMA’s recommended preparations completed. Now my goal is to create a momentum of gaining an understanding of what could be done to prepare for a disaster, what you should do during an earthquake, and what your first steps should be afterwards.

FEMA had excellent plans on their website that illustrated what should be done before, during, and after an earthquake. Before the disaster occurs, it is important to verify that your family knows earthquake protocol. The first part of your preparation is preparing yourself and your family with the knowledge needed to survive against a disaster. Next is preparing your home, and the lot space in the immediate vicinity. Finally, you must establish a contact plan for afterwards to reach one another and decide on a rally point.

By preparing your family you may introduce safe and hazardous areas inside and outside of your home. You want your family to be ready for an earthquake in any room without hesitation. The most crucial element of preparing your family is gathering your “Go-Kit”, a Go-Kit is a 3 day survival supply of food, water, clothing, a basic first aid kit, and walkie talkies or a crank radio. Once the shaking has begun, the first thing you do is drop cover and hold under a sturdy structure; desk, doorway, tables. After the earthquake has subsided, you should establish a clear safe path away from any debris or damaged areas, then look for means of contact with friends and family to connect with them.

The purpose of this report is to affect change in the community, and inspire understanding and readiness for earthquake disasters. If our community has a significant reception, we may possibly inspire our neighboring communities to see this issue more pertinent.

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2.0 Definition of Terms

Aftershock: Earthquakes that may come periodically after initial shake.

Epicenter: The point where initial tearing of the earth’s crust begins, directly above the Hypocenter.

Hypocenter: The point below the earth’s crust that the earthquake began.

Moment magnitude: The magnitude measured at one point in time by the Richter Scale.

Richter Scale: A mathematical device used to measure intensity of earthquakes by the amplitude of the waves recorded by seismographs.

Tsunami: A tsunami is a sea wave of local or distant origin that results from large-scale seafloor displacements.

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3.0 IntroductionThe Northeast Community in Anchorage is extremely susceptible to earthquakes. Anchorage itself experiences over 2 earthquakes a day (2016, Anchorage has had, para. 1). The clear purpose of this report is to cause the community to be aware of the preparations demanded to be prepared for a disaster, and to create a schedule to implement them effectively. FEMA (2016) has great material with ideas for steps to preparation as well (Earthquake Safety at Home, para. 3). This proposal provides a detailed assessment of planning for the next earthquake disaster, and will have you and your family prepared in four weeks.

4.0 PlanWhat follows is the detailed plan to guide you through the proposed tasks, schedule, budget, and personnel needed to complete the plan.

4.1Proposed TasksWith the Northeast Community Council’s permission, I would like to extend this report and implement the techniques and strategies I mention to increase the preparedness of our community with regards to natural disasters.

4.1.1 Task 1: Prepare Your Family.It is absolutely the first thing you do, review safety protocol of which areas in every room are safest in the event of an earthquake. You must define danger areas as well, such as windows and over-hanging objects. The moment an earthquake hits, you must drop, cover, and hold on to a stable leg of a table or secure shelter. When the shaking stops look for a path to move away from destructed areas, and begin securing communication with someone from your list of contacts to establish a safe exit or rally point. Conduct routine drills with your family and react safely when shaking begins (FEMA, 2016, Prepare Yourself and Your Family, para. 1).

4.1.2 Task 2: Prepare Your Home.Initially you should survey your lot and clear and obstructing trees or potentially hazardous items within 30 feet of the structure. You may re-evaluate the strength of your connection between the foundation and structure itself. An often-overlooked point is having flexible connectors on your gas appliances may be more helpful (FEMA, 2016, Prepare Your home, para. 1).

4.1.3 Task 3: Build Your Go-Kit.The first thing that should be in your Go-Kit is a list on contents for the kit.

- Water for each person 1 G/ day- Non-Perishable Food- Warm clothing- Crank Radio- Wrench- First Aid Kit- Contact List, around 5.

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4.1.4 Task 4: Establish a list of contacts.The objective is to list 5 of your closest friends and family that in the event of an emergency, you would feel comfortable meeting if your parents were at work, and monitor local news reports as well as social media (FEMA, 2016, Earthquakes, para. 3).

4.2 ScheduleHere is my proposed schedule that would take 4 weeks to complete.

Family Home Go-Kit ContactsReview Safe areas Survey Lot Water 1 G/ day/

personHave 5 listed.

Safety Techniques Clear hazards on our lot

Non-perishable Friends and family

How to react after Evaluate strength of foundation

Warm up clothes Out of state friend

Check flexible gas caps for the house

Crank radio + Contacts

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

4.3 BudgetItem

Quantity Unit Unit Cost Total

Water 2 Gallon $ 4.00 $ 8.00

Granola Bars and Nuts. 2 Box $ 8.00 $ 16.00

Warm clothes 2 Sets $ - $ -

Wrench 1 Piece $ 10.00 $ 10.00

Walkie Talkie 2 Sets $ 30.00 $ 60.00

First Aid Kit 1 Kit $ 25.00 $ 25.00

Grand Total $ 119.00 *Clothes are presumed to be at home.

4.4 PersonnelThe required personnel for these tasks are the current community council members to assist us in distributing disaster awareness to our community. In times of disaster we will need community members to rise-up and help the community officials that are helping the police.

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5.0 ConclusionWhile researching this paper, there have been more than 30 earthquakes, luckily none have been substantial enough to shake us. This luck may run out at some point and we need to be prepared.

5.1 SummaryOur community is in no position to respond to a natural disaster by my evaluation and we just need to be introduced to these models of preparation. I believe that within four weeks each family can construct individualized plans for their own homes off the guidelines given in this report. If our community can significantly prepare itself for a natural disaster by my model, it would cost less than $120.00 and possibly inspire neighboring communities in Anchorage to build preparedness plans tailored for their community. This plan will only take four weeks upon beginning to cover completely. At the latest, we should begin on this coming Monday, the 14th of November, which would give you a completion date of, December 12th, 2016.

5.2 RecommendationsI recommend that our council extends this plan to our neighboring councils to see if they have any constructive ideas to contribute and work together to develop systematic plans. If our elected officials and the civilians are on the same page, then we may manage distress easier. I recommend that our community council implements these recommendations and preparation tactics. Within the scheduled four-week time action should be initiated by Monday, frame you may completely install all recommendations from this report for $119.00.

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6.0 Appendix A: Household Emergency Plan

Source: Household Emergency Plan [Online Image]. (2015). Retrieved November 9, 2016. from http://www.muni.org/Departments/OEM/Prepared/Documents/2015_household_emergency_plan.pdf

Household Emergency Plan

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7.0 Appendix B: Community Location Map

Source: Northeast Community Map [Online Image]. (2016). Retrieved November 9, 2016

From http://communitycouncils.org/servlet/content/northeast_cc_map.html

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8.0 Appendix C: Anchorage Bowl Seismic Map

Source: Anchorage Seismic Bowl Map [Online Image]. (2016). Retrieved November 9, 2016 from https://www.muni.org/Departments/OCPD/Planning/Planning%20Maps/Anch_Bowl_Seismic_8x11.pdf

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9.0 References

Municipality of Anchorage Project Management and Engineering. (2016, July). All Hazards Mitigation Plan Update Anchorage, Alaska. Anchorage, Alaska; MOA.

Department of Homeland Security. (2016a). Earthquakes. https://www.ready.gov/earthquakes

Department of Homeland Security. (2016b). FEMA Earthquake Safety at Home. Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/earthquake-safety-home

University of Alaska Anchorage. (2016). UAA logo. http://greenandgold.uaa.alaska.edu/college-of-fellows/ wp -content/themes/

greengold /images/UAA-logo-300x200.png

State of Alaska. (2016). Retrieved from http://alaska.gov/kids/learn/facts.htm

FEMA. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1390846764394-dc08e309debe561d866b05ac84daf1ee/checklist_2014.pdf

Aussie Home Preps. (2011). Retrieved from https://aussiehomepreps.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/adelaideearthquake2011.jpg

Fairfax County Emergency Information. (2016, October 14). Retrieved from https://fairfaxcountyemergency.wordpress.com/category/exercise/

Author Unknown. (2013). Retrieved from http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Earthquake-Alaska-1964-Damage-5.jpg

Source: Anchorage Seismic Bowl Map [Online Image]. (2016). Retrieved November 9, 2016 from https://www.muni.org/Departments/OCPD/Planning/Planning%20Maps/Anch_Bowl_Seismic_8x11.pdf

Source: Household Emergency Plan [Online Image]. (2015). Retrieved November 9, 2016. from http://www.muni.org/Departments/OEM/Prepared/Documents/2015_household_emergency_plan.pdf

Source: Northeast Community Map [Online Image]. (2016). Retrieved November 9, 2016

From http://communitycouncils.org/servlet/content/northeast_cc_map.html