Politics & Government

Volunteers to Help Hermosa Beach Prepare for Emergencies

On March 20 volunteers will fan out across the city, knocking on doors to ensure that residents are emergency-ready.

Are you ready for the big one?

At least 60 of your Hermosa Beach neighbors are. They've volunteered for  the city's first Community Awareness Campaign, and Emergency Preparedness Advisory Commissioners are hoping even more will sign up for the March 20 effort.

That's when volunteers will go door to door in Hermosa Beach in an unprecedented effort to ensure that residents are prepared in case disaster strikes.

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"The goal is to go to every resident and provide them with information about emergency preparedness," said Patty Ellis, who serves on the advisory commission. Volunteers will ask residents questions "so we have feedback to see how they are prepared," Ellis said.

Homeowners will be asked questions such as if they have enough sufficient food and water set aside for a major emergency and  if they know what radio stations to turn to for information, Ellis said.

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People will also be asked to register unlicensed pets.

"In case of an emergency, we would like know who to return [lost pets] to," Ellis said.

Volunteers will also hand out an information packet containing useful tips, she said. 

The emergency response teams in both Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach are also participating in the effort. Responses from residents will be used to develop a snapshot of how prepared local residents are for a natural disaster.

During the commission meeting on March 1, Ellis pointed out the campaign's 49 precincts on map of Hermosa Beach. Volunteers will be informed of what neighborhoods they will survey on the day of the event.

During the meeting, Mike Martinet, executive director of the Office of Disaster Management Area G, which includes Hermosa Beach, said residents can also get involved by obtaining a volunteer disaster registration kit

The kit enables residents to register services or skills that might be useful in an emergency, such as cooking or carpentry.

"It's going to make all the difference in the world," Martinet said. "In disasters, typically 95 percent of all people that are rescued are rescued by people like people in this room, not by firefighters or police officers."

He added those interested in registering could do so with Fire Chief David Lantzer.

While the awareness campaign is aimed at gathering information about locals, Lantzer said during his comments that he plans on learning from a very recent natural disaster: the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile.

Lantzer said Chile's building standards are comparable to those in Hermosa Beach and that he plans to analyze the devastating quake that rattled the South American country on Saturday.

"Chile is very interesting," he said. "It's something we can lessons out of and see how things develop there. I will keep an eye on it and see how everything pans out."


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