P C E M A Pacific County Emergency Management Agency Preparedness Post Volume 2, Issue 7 June 2013 Join the PCEMA Team as an AmeriCorps Member! Disaster Supply Kits Given to Families in Need How Strong are Area Bridges? New AHAB Sirens to be Installed in North County CERT Training in Long Beach Page 1
PCEMA Seeking Applicants for AmeriCorps Position PCEMA is seeking qualified candidates to become an AmeriCorps service member to support the Disaster Preparedness Public Education Outreach project. The member will build and strengthen the local volunteer base by developing a strong public education outreach program to enhance disaster preparedness and response needs in Pacific County communities. AmeriCorps program benefits include a living stipend, health insurance, childcare assistance if eligible, training, and an education award upon successful completion of service term. The service term begins September 1, 2013 and ends July 15, 2014. Desired qualifications include a working knowledge of Microsoft Office products including Outlook, Word, Excel, Publisher, and PowerPoint, in addition to a working knowledge of office equipment. Other desired qualifications include the ability to communicate effectively and independently in written and oral form with a variety of community groups, agencies, and officials. The applicant should be able to lift up to 40 lbs. Experience in emergency management, community involvement, and/or education is preferred but not required. To be eligible for the AmeriCorps program, applicants must be a US citizen or lawful permanent resident between the ages of 18-25 at the start date of the service term. A high school diploma or GED and the ability to pass a criminal background check are also required. Those listed on the National Sex Offender Public Registry will not be considered. Meet Sue Nami The US Geological Survey (USGS) recently created an edgy tsunami public education video titled The First Sue Nami. Sue sports a Mohawk and a renegade attitude as she creates tsunamis before moving across various beach scenes to antagonistically warn people of the danger they are in. Check out The First Sue Nami at http://vimeo.com/62595618 USGS Image Compensation: Living stipend of $1,155 per month (before taxes) Training and experience Subsidized childcare (if qualified) Health Insurance (member only and if no other health insurance coverage) Student loan forbearance (on qualifying loans) $5,550 Education Award provided by National Service Trust (upon successful completion of service term commitment and 1700 hours of service) Applications will be accepted until June 21, 2013. To apply, please visit: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/ viewlisting.do?id=50690&fromsearch=true Visit http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps for more information about AmeriCorps. PCEMA volunteer Mary Atherton (left) accepted the 2013 Governor's Outstanding Volunteer Service Award at the Governor s Mansion in April. Mary is involved with PCEMA at many levels including personal disaster preparedness, tsunami education, Map Your Neighborhood, and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. Mary recently became a certified CERT instructor for Pacific County and is preparing to instruct a CERT course later in 2013. Page 2 If you have questions about the PCEMA AmeriCorps service member position or project, contact Denise Rowlett at drowlett@co.pacific.wa.us or 360-642/875-9338 Congratulations Mary Atherton!
Disaster Kits Distributed to Grayland Families in Need CERT Members Put Their Skills to the Test On Thursday, May 30 Grayland residents gathered at the North Willapa Harbor Grange to hear a short preparedness presentation. Those present who met specific income requirements also received a disaster supply kit. PCEMA AmeriCorps Member Kirsten Harvill organized this event, and the disaster preparedness supply drive that preceded it, as a Martin Luther King Jr. service project. She coordinated the project to aid low income families throughout Pacific County. In January, area residents were encouraged to donate various preparedness items at stores around the county. From the drive she was able to collect over 23 flashlights, 14 blankets, 50 hats, 80 cans of nonperishable food and much more! Each item was used to create a starter emergency go kit. Every kit had bandages, four bottles of water, four cans of food, a flashlight, matches, garbage bags, soap, and various other items. 20 kits were made for the families; however because of the variety of items donated some kits had different food or blanket types, and two kits were actually created as deluxe kits. Those kits included: 1 gallon of water, toilet paper, emergency stove, as well as the items included in the starter kits. Thanks to the generous donations of Pacific County community members, Kirsten has kits leftover from this recent Grayland event and is planning another event in to be held in Ocean Park. Disaster Kit Event in Ocean Park on June 19th PCEMA will be holding a disaster supply kit event at the Pacific County Fire District 1 Fire Hall in Ocean Park on June 19th beginning at 6:00 p.m. This event is designed to distribute starter emergency supply kits to low income families of Pacific County. Participants will learn how to respond personally to a disaster as well as how to use the supplies in their kits. All are welcome to attend this training; however, kits are limited and will be distributed on a first come first serve basis. Household Size 1 PERSON 2 PEOPLE 3 PEOPLE 4 PEOPLE 5 PEOPLE 6 PEOPLE 7 PEOPLE 8 PEOPLE Annual Income $31,050 $35,450 $39,900 $44,000 $47,850 $51,400 $55,950 $58,500 On May 18th participants of the PCEMA s Raymond CERT training put newly learned skills to the test in a practical disaster simulation. These freshly trained CERTs practiced search and rescue, disaster medical operations, and team organization. Community volunteers acted as victims for the CERTs. Two participants successfully completed this CERT training. Page 3 A volunteer (above) sits in moulage makeup, ready to play a disaster victim. Trainees (left) practice triage and treatment for life-threatening conditions. 3 Day CERT Training in Long Beach June 28th-30th PCEMA is offering a three day Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. The course is scheduled for Friday, June 28th through Sunday, June 30th. The training will be held at the Pacific County Administration Facility in Long Beach (7013 Sandridge Road) from 9:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Participants should bring their lunch each day. Complete attendance is required to graduate from the course. Course units are a combination of hands-on tutorial, presentation with lecture, and group activities with discussion. All course materials will be provided. Accommodations will gladly be made for participants with special needs. Participants under the age of 18 will need parent/guardian permission to attend. Pre-registration is required. To register or for more information, contact PCEMA AmeriCorps Member Kirsten Harvill at 360-642-9409 or kharvill@co.pacific.wa.us.
AHAB Sirens to be Installed in Raymond & South Bend Two All Hazards Alert Broadcast (AHAB) sirens will be installed soon near the Raymond Fire Department and the South Bend Fire Department. The sirens are scheduled to be installed during the month of June and should be ready to activate in during the monthly test in August. As a reminder, the AHAB siren system is intended for outdoor warning only. Residents are encouraged to maintain a working NOAA weather radio as a form of indoor warning. Tsunami Debris Training PCEMA Ameri- Corps member Lea Reuss has developed a p r e s e n t a t i o n Tsunami Debris: Volunteering to Keep P a c i f i c C o u n t y Beaches Clean that she is able to give to interested groups. The presentation explains how to properly dispose of different types of debris. Participants will also learn about the tsunami in Japan that created much of the debris that has been washing ashore. Amateur Radio Field Day Port of Peninsula June 22, 2013 On June 22th the Pacific County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) club will be hosting their annual field day at the Port of Peninsula beginning at 11:00 a.m. and running for 24 continuous hours. Amateur Radio aficionados and all others interested are welcome to attend. Many of PCEMA s Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) volunteers will be participating in the event. Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June of each year, more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations. According to the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) the goal of the event is to work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12- m e t e r bands) and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. A R E S serves Amateur Radio operators, those aspiring to become licensed, and the ARES members raise their antenna in preparation for a past field day. citizens of our communities in Pacific County. They operate with the club call sign W7RDR and also use special event call signs W7R and N7H for some activities. The club meets once a month on the second Saturday at Hunter s Inn Restaurant in Naselle at 9:00 a.m. The talk-in frequency for club meetings is 146.860- (118.8 Hz PL tone required) or the BeachNet system. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend! To register or for more information, contact PCEMA AmeriCorps Member Lea Reuss at 360-642-4482 or lreuss@co.pacific.wa.us. Post Festivity Clean Up July 5th on Peninsula Beaches Join the Grassroots Garbage Gang and PCE- MA AmeriCorps Member Lea Reuss on July 5th at 9:30 am on all major peninsula beach approaches to clear debris left over from the 4th of July festivities. Volunteers can go to any of the approaches and get garbage bags and gloves. To learn more about Pacific County ARES, check out: http://www.qsl.net/w7rdr/ Learn more about the Grassroots Garbage Gang www.facebook.com/grassrootsgarbagegang Volunteers promote the 2012 July 5th beach clean up. Page 4
Skagit River Incident a Reminder that Bridges Can Fail On May 23rd, the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River collapsed after a large truck carrying an oversized load struck the trusses that supported the bridge. Two vehicles fell into the water shortly after the crash, with three non-life threatening injuries reported. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is now in the process of replacing the failed bridge. The Skagit River bridge was built in 1953, and is around the same age as many of the major bridges in Pacific County. The Astoria-Megler bridge was built in 1966. Fortunately four older bridges in Pacific County are in the process of being replaced: the Smith Creek and North River bridges (both built in 1959), the Bone River KATU News Photo bridge (1935), and the Middle Nemah River bridge (1939). Like the Skagit River bridge, these four bridges have been listed on WSDOT s list of structurally deficient bridges and are being replaced because they could not withstand a significant seismic event and are too aging and narrow to accommodate the daily volume of commuter vehicles and commercial traffic. WSDOT has also identified bridges along Highways 4 and 6 that are in need of retrofit or replacement. Pacific County can learn a lesson from the Skagit River Bridge incident. If a commercial truck can cause such a large bridge as the Skagit to collapse, imagine what a 9.0 Cascadia event could do to any of our bridges. It is important for Pacific County residents to plan evacuation routes that do cross bridges because in a large seismic event, the bridges could fail. Tsunami and Earthquake Education Workshop to be held in Astoria October 11th-14th The Cascadia EarthScope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program (CETEEP) will be hosting a workshop for coastal educators in Astoria (location TBD) from October 11th to the 14th. This course is particularly geared toward teachers, CERT members, and public educators but may be beneficial to individuals with an interest in science. Those interested in attending should contact Stephanie Fritts at sfritts@co.pacific.wa.us. CEETEP is a professional development program for Earth science and natural history educators in Oregon and Washington. EarthScope is a multi-decade effort to explore the structure and evolution of the North American continent. It includes seismic, GPS, and other geophysical instruments to monitor the Cascadia Subduction Zone and advance our understanding of the region s geohazards. Through a grant from the EarthScope Program of the National Science Foundation (NSF), CEETEP is able to offer this four-day workshop to foster community engagement of earthquake science and preparedness. The workshop will include K-12 teachers, park and museum interpreters, and emergency management educators. Through a problem-solving approach to subduction zone geology, participants will learn: 1) how geoscientists developed our current understanding of Pacific Northwest plate tectonics, earthquakes, and tsunamis; 2) how EarthScope is advancing knowledge about the active Earth in Oregon and Washington; and 3) how collaboration on education, interpretation, and preparedness makes coastal communities more resilient to earthquake and tsunami hazards. Three days of classroom and interpretive activities on Pacific Northwest geology and EarthScope science will be complemented by a field day investigating Cascadia earthquakes and tsunamis and visits to seismic and GPS installations. Day one of the workshop will cover Cascadia plate tectonics, earthquakes and tsunamis, and seismic and GPS monitoring. Day two will be a field trip to experience Cascadia earthquake and tsunami geology first hand at EarthScope seismic and GPS installations. Day three will cover additional earthquake and tsunami science, Native American oral histories, and interpretive program development. Finally, on day four participants will learn about community earthquake and tsunami preparedness action plans. Participants will receive (paid for by the NSF grant): forty hours of continuing professional development units, earth science field-trip experience, and materials for inquiry-based classroom and interpretive studies of earthquakes, tsunamis, EarthScope science and hazard mitigation including books; DVDs with Earth science movies, animations and visualizations; and a kit with materials for classroom and interpretive demonstrations and activities. For more information or to apply for the workshop, contact: Stephanie Fritts at sfritts@co.pacific.wa.us. Page 5
P C E M A Pacific County Emergency Management Agency UPCOMING EVENTS: AHAB Siren Test: First Monday of the month @ noon Emergency Supply Kit Distribution - June 19 - Page 3 AmeriCorps Application Due - June 21 - Page 2 Amateur Radio Field Day - June 22 - Page 4 CERT Training - June 28th-30th - Page 3 Beach Clean Up - July 5th - Page 4 CETEEP Workshop - October 11th-14th - Page 5 CONTACT INFORMATION: PCEMA Office Online & Social Media Director Stephanie Fritts 360-875/642-9340 sfritts@co.pacific.wa.us AmeriCorps Members Kirsten Harvill 360-875/642-9409 kharvill@co.pacific.wa.us Fax 360-875-9342 Deputy Director Denise Rowlett 360-875/642-9338 drowlett@co.pacific.wa.us Lea Reuss 360-642-4482 lreuss@co.pacific.wa.us Physical Address South Bend 300 Memorial Dr. Mail P.O. Box 101, South Bend, WA 98586 Long Beach 7013 Sandridge Rd. @PCEOCNews Text follow PCEOCNews to 40404 to fast follow on your mobile device. http://www.facebook.com/pcema http://www.pcema.blogspot.com/ http://www.co.pacific.wa.us/pcema/ To join PCEMA s Weather Warning List email Denise Rowlett: drowlett@co.pacific.wa.us Sheriff s Office on Twitter: @PCSOWA On Facebook: www.facebook.com/pcsowa Interested in Volunteering? CONTACT: PCEMA AMERICORPS MEMBER KIRSTEN HARVILL kharvill@co.pacific.wa.us (360) 875/642-9409 Page