Could Northeast L.A. Become a Model for Emergency Preparedness?

The City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department (EMD) has been awarded a grant to develop an emergency preparedness neighborhood plan template to be used by every neighborhood council in the city.  

EMD will be selecting a contractor to develop the template.  Once developed one Los angeles neighborhood counciil will be selected to partner  as a pilot neighborhood to create a personalized community plan.  

The Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council (www.asnc.us) was selected as one of the five top NC's actively focused on emergency preparedness in the local community.

However, EMD  will only select one neighborhood council to use as a pilot neighborhood.

Therefore these five NCs were asked to submit competing proposals to EMD, which provide responses to the following two prompts.

• Define your neighborhood council's interest in emergency preparedness and why your community should be selected as the pilot community.
• Provide examples of how your neighborhood council could encourage community participation in the The Great California ShakeOut exercise in October of 2011.

Only three of the five invited NCs responded:  Arroyo Seco, Lake Balboa, and Woodland Hills.   

Mona Curry, EMD's community emergency management coordinator, states that department personnel will review submitted proposals and announce the winning team during the week of April 11th.  

After the community emergency plan is drafted,  the neighborhood council selected will then "test" components of the plan as part of an exercise based around the Great California ShakeOut exercise in October.  

According to Curry, "the three submission are very impressive and it will be difficult for EMD to select one."

Curry added the three neighborhood council's "efforts with emergency planning in your communities is highly commended and recognized which is why [they] were selected by the Department of Neighborhood Engagement, as we sought out their input in our initial selection process."

Anyone interested is invited to join ASNC's Public Safety Cmte and have an influence on this new emergency preparedness template.   No experience is necessary, just a willingness to help the community prepare and plan for a disaster. 

The committee meets at 's meeting area on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at  7pm. (5914 Monterey Rd, LA 90042).  The next meeting will be April 13th.

The following is ASNC's proposal to EMD:

1) Define ASNC's Interest in Emergency Preparedness  (EP)

The Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council has a history of engagement with emergency preparedness. The first efforts were started in 2005 by a group of CERT members from Hermon who were interested in developing a plan to follow after a disaster.   This group approached the Arroyo Seco NC  for financial support to get this off the ground, and it was received enthusiastically by council members.  

Now with seed money, these ASNC volunteers solicited help from their local fire station, LAFD's CERT program, and earthquake experts including April Kelcy from Earthquake Solutions, and Dr. Kate Hutton from Caltech (who has attended ASNC drills and teaches emergency message handling classes to CERT responders).  Our goal was  to develop a community-wide emergency response plan, and efforts resulted in the establishment of  CERT training classes, manageably-sized neighborhood captain zones,  a central outdoor community meeting area,  CERT medical and communication drills,  and a team of qualified, trained leaders excited to help formulate the best and most comprehensive community emergency preparedness plan in the City!  

In 2009, the ASNC Public Safety Cmte was organized to formalize this plan and expand it to four other communities inside our Neighborhood Council's boundaries.  The committee  is comprised of 8 members, including 6 CERT Level II and III responders, an EMT, the CERT Battalion 7 Coordinator, 4 ham radio operators, a school teacher who enjoys educating the public on EP issues, and a public safety liaison from our sister  neighborhood council involved heavily with CERT drills and emergency preparedness – Silver Lake Neighborhood Council.   Last but not least, our committee contains a trainer from a national disaster animal rescue organization, Noah's Wish (since pets are considered family and should be a part of the overall plan).   

Not only has the team generated an ASNC Emergency Response Plan for our stakeholders,  but they have also developed a Disaster Communications Manual for local residents and a template for other communities to use to develop their own plan.  These documents are available on our website (Click on Committees ->Public Safety).

i) ASNC Emergency Response Plan

ii) ASNC Disaster Communications Manual 

iii) How to Develop a Community Emergency Response Plan 

2) Why should ASNC be selected as the pilot community?

 Several reasons stand out why the ASNC is the best choice to create the most effective city-wide template, including the following:

* Unique conglomerate of communities covering  all possible demographics and topography -  

1) Hermon, ancient riverbed and bedroom community; 

2) Mt.Washington, quiet residential area with hilltop and steep hillsides; 

3) Sycamore Grove, Avenues gang territory, near riverbed prone to liquefaction

4) Monterey Hills, landfill zone/hilltop mostly lined wityh condo buildings; and 

5) Montecito Hgts, high hilltop overlooking the City, and homes on steep hills prone to landslides.

* Expertise in Emergency Preparedness and Response - We have the expertise and willingness to volunteer that will enable EMD to quickly and efficiently develop a template for use by all NCs. 

* Pre-Established Partnerships with City Council  & Local Business- we are involved with business partnership EP activities with our CD14 office.  Goal is to negotiate with local distributors such as  Sparkletts and Budweiser to provide water after a wide-scale disaster

* Enthusiasm to work with EMD to develop a template - our NC is the best suited for this purpose and will pledge to devote all the resourcesneeded to work with EMD on this opportunity to be the first pilot community  to  develop  a comprehensive and adaptable template for use by all NCs. 

* Easy Access to Free Publicity - ASNC is regarded by the media as the regional authority for  emergency preparedness.  Public Safety officials from our NC have been  interviewed by the local  news whenever an EP issue arises-- most recently after the Japan earthquake.  Last year we were featured on ABC-7 Eyewitness News who covered our CERT medical drill in Hermon Park.  A highlight of  ASNC EP activities covered by the media include:

                        i) ABC 7 Eyewitness News coverage of ASNC CERT drill in Hermon:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdRzAqhvbt8 

                        i)  How to Prepare and Survive an Earthquake:  

                        iii) ASNC Updated Emergency Response Plan:  

 3)  Give examples of how ASNC could encourage community participation in the ShakeOut exercise in October.

Because of our long history of work in emergency preparedness, we can draw upon many relationships in our community to generate enthusiasm for valuable exercises in schools, businesses and health facilities.  We have already participated in two Shakeout drills, the most recent in Oct 2009 with a community disaster communications drill using FRS radios.  

Via all the available outreach methods, including Facebook, local media, and Northeast LA yahoo lists, we are receiving more interest from businesses, institutions, and non-profit corporations wanting to participate in the drill, including:  grocery stores, an adult health day care center, mental health facility, a charter high school, a public elementary school, individual community members, local CERT teams, several non-profit civil groups, and a trainer from a national disaster animal rescue organization, Noah's Wish (since pets are considered family and should be a part of the overall plan).

Examples of how ASNC will encourage participation will start with an easy-to-follow, detailed exercise scenarios customized for the particular audience:

i) Citizens:  At home or work, practice the importance of Duck, Cover and Hold and not to run out of the house or office building.  Then practice the important on checking on family members and workers.  Then have them use inexpensive two-way FRS radios to contact neighbors on a pre-defined channel, and ask for assistance from CERT members. They will also be asked to congregate at their predesignated community meeting area, such as the athletic field of the LA Int'l Charter High School in Hermon.

 ii) CERT Teams - Practice CERT training via self-activation during the drill, put on CERT gear and walk to either their community meeting area (and CERT command post) or designated work meeting area.   Damage assessments should be performed and documented on the way to assist in IC planning efforts.   The ASNC CERT Team (now merged with the Northeast LA CERT teams which include all of Batt 2 & 7) will spearhead the CERT involvement with Shakeout.

 iii) Businesses - Help grocery stores, retail outlets, gas stations, and restaurants develop their own emergency response plans through the use of a standardized template which can be tailored and customized for differences in work environment and potential hazards resulting from an earthquake.  Fresco Community Market in Hermon has agreed to be a pilot and get involved with the Shakeout.  It's important that employees prepare to be stuck at work and unable to contact loved ones nor get home due to impassable or clogged roads.

 iv) Health Institutions - Work with local adult day care centers, a nearby hospital, and a county mental health clinic to develop informal MoUs on how mutual assistance can be provided, as well as planning how CERT volunteers can assist them when local government agencies are overwhelmed.   Services might include counseling, emotional support, and/or use of institution resources  to help healthcare workers and citizens. During the Shakeout,  components of the plans can be practiced.

 v) Schools - Have students practice ducking under their desks, congregate in a specific area, and/or prepare parents on what to do to avoid panic.   Also broadcast  the Shakeout Drill informational message over the school's PA system to make it more realistic and help kids remember what to do.   We hope to involve all schools within our boundaries to participate, including public, private and charter.

 vi)  Non-profits - Help non-profits develop plans on how to assist their members during the quake, as well as practice the plan during the Shakeout exercise.  For instance, the Friends of Hermon Dog Park should have plans developed to assist visitors and their pets who may be at the dog park during a disaster.  The Friendly Arroyo Seco Trappers (FAST) and LA Feeders animal welfare organizations have agreed to assist with the roundup, capture and care of animals separated from their homes.

Sincerely,

Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council