Continued high water on the Columbia

The latest National Weather Service (NWS) forecast calls for continued high water on the Columbia River this weekend. The river may rise and fall several inches during this period but no major changes are expected. We are cautiously watching the warmer weather forecast for our region to see if this will cause the snowpack to increase river levels further. We will keep you posted on what we learn.

Keep track of the Columbia River and the various river gauges on it at: http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/river/riverlist.cgi?okey=name&skey=river&lkey=p&out=1&ss=Columbia

Map Your Neighborhood concept wins FEMA award

From Washington State Emergency Management Division

Washington's Map Your Neighborhood Program Wins FEMA National Award

Camp Murray, WA--Washington State's Map Your Neighborhood program has won the first national Challenge Award from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The award was announced today by FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate on his blog.

"We are very pleased this Washington State program was the top pick for innovative community preparedness programs from among 50 entries nationwide," said Jim Mullen, director, Washington Emergency Management. "Map Your Neighborhood has been adopted in 29 counties and more than 120 city/community organizations in Washington State. The program has received inquiries or been implemented in 30 states and more than 120 cities across the nations."

Mullen said the program's success is based on its focus on disaster preparedness at the neighborhood level so neighbors can care for neighbors in the first hours of an emergency before first responders can reach them. "Groups of 15-20 neighbors meet together under the program to carry out a nine-step response plan that includes a skill and equipment inventory, a neighborhood map of utility connections, and a contact list of specific needs in the neighborhood." he added.

Today's aware is also a tribute to Dr. LuAn Johnson, who implemented the program at the Washington Emergency Management Division, said Mullen. "While Dr. Johnson recently left the agency, she has established a program for our state and nation that can save many, many lives in future disasters. On behalf of all those who have or will benefit from her efforts, we thank her."

More information about the Map Your Neighborhood program can be found at: www.emd.wa.gov/preparedness/prep_neighborhoods.shtml.

(If you are interested in putting together a Map Your Neighborhood presentation in your neighborhood, contact Jennifer at 577-3130.)

The sun might be out, but the water's still COLD!

From Portland National Weather Service

..RIVER AND WATER SAFETY REMINDER FOR THE WARM WEATHER FORECAST THIS WEEKEND...

The forecast for sun and warmer temperatures brings with it excitement for outdoor recreation, but it also brings a specific hazard--playing in or around water that is cold, high and swift.

The Columbia River will remain high through the weekend. A flood warning remains in effect for the Columbia at Vancouver and many recreational areas that are typically accessible this time of year will be inaccessible. In addition, other area rivers, such as the Clackamas and Sandy, will see increased flow in response to snow melt in the Cascades as temperatures warm.

This weekend will be the warmest so far this year and pleasant enough to attract people to area rivers and lakes. Unfortunately, springtime conditions often result in drowning fatalities in local waterways. Water conditions may appear harmless, but the waters in rivers and creeks are dangerously cold and swift. Caution must be exercised around rivers and lakes.

Water temperatures this weekend will range from the mid 50's in the Columbia to as low as 40 in the streams draining the Cascades.

River hazards include getting caught in debris, capsizing and difficulty getting out of the river due to fast currents and high water covering landing areas. Hypothermia can occur in a short amount of time and shock from falling into cold water can result in drowning.

IF YOU CHOOSE TO GO TO THE WATER THIS WEEKEND...FOLLOW SAFE BOATING AND RECREATION TIPS OFFERED BY VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS:

NWS SAFE BOATING TIPS: www.nws.noaa.gov/os/marine/safeboating

RED CROSS:
www2.redcross.org/services/hss/tips/heathtips/safetywater.html

WASHINGTON STATE PARKS:

www.parks.wa.gov/boating/safety

Week 10 Shopping List!

We’re coming to the home stretch of our preparedness shopping tippery. There are only four items to get this week and you may already have them. If you already are in possession of these items, don’t strain your arm patting yourself on the back, you still need to know right where they are and if they are in operable condition. So what are these 4 mystery items? Here ya go:

*Battery powered camping lanterns (handy for long term power outage)
*Extra batteries for aforementioned lanterns
*Fire extinguisher
*Disposable camera (to document losses for insurance purposes)

And that’s it. Be sure to check in next week to see what's next.

More Dispatches from Disaster

I asked Linda what information she thought Cowlitz County residents needed to know about disaster response and recovery?

Don’t be apathetic. Have a plan. Don’t expect communication or emergency response to be available or reliable. Be able to survive on your own. Be prepared! (Where have I heard that before?) Just because we don’t have hurricanes or tornadoes definitely does not mean we do not have our share of disaster potential…earthquake, volcano, mudslides, flood…don’t underestimate the power of mother nature! The Cowlitz DEM and Red Cross have the information available. Pay attention to it! Use it! There were three different types of areas affected by the tornadoes. There were pockets of complete devastation. Survival was nothing short of a miracle. Nothing was salvaged but a few lives.

There were areas on the outskirts that had access to telephones, electricity, emergency response, etc. These survivors just needed to move to a motel or in with family for a few days, eat at restaurants, call the insurance, etc. There was huge area in between the two where disaster preparedness made all the difference in the world. These were hundreds of inaccessible neighborhoods where survivors needed several days worth of food, water, and impromptu shelter until roads could be cleared, cell phone service restored, etc. Many people were without contact to the outside world for 3, 4, sometimes 5 days. When the disaster subsides be ready to re-build on your own. Have insurance when possible. Keep your important records in a safe, water/fire-proof container. Appreciate relief efforts and government assistance but don’t expect it…resources are limited for everyone.

I asked Julia the same question:

People need to make sure they sign up with the Red Cross Safe and Well program so family knows where they are and that they are safe. there are many in joplin that have posted family that they still cannot find hoping to get a response.

Dispatches from Disaster

Two local volunteers, Julia Bishop and Linda Coordes, have responded recently to tornado-ravaged Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri. I asked them both some questions about what they learned and what they wanted to share with Cowlitz County citizens. I'll share their responses over the next few days.

I asked Linda what was the most frustrating aspect of the response.

The biggest frustration was waiting for the existing and/or responding infrastructure to become organized. It was easy to walk through the field and identify critical needs but difficult to wait for the supplies and man-power to respond. The scope of the disaster was so great and so wide-spread it took days to really understand where and how the response should be focused. This wasn’t because the leaders weren’t listening, it was simply a consequence of the damage to communication tools and destruction of existing emergency response equipment/resources. It was also incredibly difficult to express these difficulties to victims whose trauma and immediate needs far out-weighed their ability to logically comprehend the barriers sitting between them and the help they so desperately required.

I asked Julia the same question:

The biggest frustration that I ran into is that if the people had destroyed or major damage they got FEMA assistance otherwise there was little help. There was so much debris!!! They needed teams of people with chain saws and chippers to clean up all the downed trees and remove all the branches. There were many more trees that needed to come down. You had to always be aware of things still falling from trees.

The people there have been devastated over and over and the resources are depleted. Not many places that had much left to offer, as far as, free food and free clothing. Financially there was almost nothing left to offer them.

The people were very resilient and could not have accomplished as much as they did without the help of neighbors. They all were very good at looking out for each other and working together. We need to learn from that. The Mapping your neighborhood. I was mainly in real rural areas. If there is a blessing in a disaster it was the fact that it hit mainly rural areas in Mississippi. Not as much loss that way, but the people were hard to find.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

Preparedness Supplies on Sale!

From Brian at The Survival Bunker:
The Survival Bunker will be transforming into an online only (Ebay) retailer and we will be shutting down our brick and mortar store in Kalama on June 18th, 2011. We are having an inventory reduction sale, 10% off everything in the store (except silver items). Come in and stock up on some great gear!

If you are local and you purchase from me on Ebay, select the "Local Pickup" option to save on the shipping charges! Thanks for your business, support and patronage over the past year!

Click here to visit the Ebay site.