Oct 2009 Drill Narrative

The Monday before the drill, about 25 neighbors met to view a video, “Earthquake Country, L.A.,” to review the Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) 9 step plan, and to plan our involvement in the ShakeOut. We decided to do a more extensive drill (to go thru the MYN 9 step plan) the following Saturday to involve more of us who’d be working on the Thursday of the ShakeOut. I also described having installed an automatic seismic gas shutoff valve, and seismically retrofitting my home.

On Thursday, each of us did the “duck, cover & hold” at 10:15 am, wherever we were – some at home, others at work. Some also listened to the online audio message – at my workplace (the Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo), the announcement came over the P.A. system.

On Saturday morning, Jaime had volunteered to signal the start of the drill at a time only known to him (we requested not too early or late in the morning). Shortly after 9:00am we heard several loud blasts of a truck horn hooked up to an air pressure tank. Each of the approximately 25 participants then went through the first 6 steps of MYN at their own home: 1) take care of home, 2) protect your head, hands & feet (helmet, gloves & hard shoes under beds), 3) check & shut off natural gas if leaking, 4) shut off the water main (& electricity if needed), 5) post a sign in the window – either “OK” or “HELP,” and 6) put a fire extinguisher on the sidewalk or curb in case it’s needed by others.

For step 7, we all met at the agreed-upon gathering place in the center of the block, and young children & elderly were cared for in the “care center” – a home in good condition. In step 8, we assigned 4 teams of 2: one to stay and monitor the radio for updates, one to go help those with pre-identified disabilities or needs, one to check the OK/HELP signs, and to help or search & rescue homes with HELP or no sign, and one team to check all homes for leaking gas & shutoff any leaking. In step 9 the teams reported back on their findings and actions (having marked the neighborhood maps), and any further needed help, and we planned what the next steps would be using our neighborhood skills and resources survey gathered last year by Nicole.

Finally, we did an evaluation of the drill, lessons learned, and what to do better next year, and distributed this by email to all neighbors. Below are the emails from the drill coordinator (myself) and another neighbor.

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“Fellow Neighbors,

“Postmortem” is not the right term – our drill was alive and well. I echo Betty’s high praise for our very successful & well-attended neighborhood earthquake drill yesterday – I think it was not only useful, but also fun. Jaime’s air horn definitely got our attention – and other neighbors’! A really great group of conscientious neighbors – it will pay off when the hour of need comes. All the teams did a good job – sign checkers (search & rescue), special needs checkers, gas checkers, radio monitors & care center – especially considering this was our first drill. And we were fortunate to get Betsy’s [health care worker] timely H1N1 update and recommendations.

And thanks, Betty, for your recognitions & recap of observations. I’ll add a few of my own, while it’s fresh. The benefits of a drill are not only to practice what we know, but to realize what else we need to know or do – as Scott & Betty pointed out. And I was reminded I need to secure a couple tall bookshelves.

It was good that there were lots of “OK” signs up – maybe next time we’ll have a couple of “victims” with HELP or no sign to give our search team a bit more realism. And there were quite a few fire extinguishers out & ready to go.

A few wore their hard hats, shoes & gloves, but we should see more – make sure they’re under your bed along with the MYN steps, OK/HELP sign & neighborhood map, roster & resource list. You’ll need that protective gear especially if you’re assigned to a team.

People were pretty quick assembling – almost too quick – I had the sense not everyone went through all the steps. It took me a bit longer to get out there, as I went through all the MYN steps – putting on my gear, checking the gas (with the tool just in case) & water, putting the sign up, and gathering items to take to the gathering place. And of course you’d take care of any family needs first – injuries, check condition of the home, etc. – all part of step 1. If we rush too much, we may end up wasting time (or taking unnecessary risks) by having to go back for something we forgot, or there may be further damage or injuries due to initial smaller damage we didn’t notice and act on, that then got worse.

I’d add a few more items to go under the bed (might be kept together in a bag or daypack you can grab): as Betty & Maria mentioned, a crowbar & whistle; also, a flashlight (or better, a headlamp); dust mask; goggles; clipboard & pen/pencil (to carry & write on the map/roster when you go out on a team). And water bottle (& energy bar?). All of these should be brought to the gathering place, ready to go out on a team. For those on the resource list with first aid kits & radios, bring those.

Also, in case you are assigned to a search & rescue team, it’s recommended you have some masking tape or duct tape & crayon or marker to mark the entryway of searched houses. See details on the 13th chart I gave out on “Basic Search & Rescue Procedures.” – this goes along with what the fire department teaches in CERT courses. It would be great if a few more of us went through the CERT training – see http://www.cert-la.com/calendar/calendar.cgi?calendar=basic. There are seven 2 ½ hr sessions in preparedness, firefighting, medical (triage, 1st aid & CPR), search & rescue, team organization & terrorism.

Actually, the MYN search procedure #14 is not quite right – in CERT you learn to write additional info around the X that is of use to later first responders who may arrive – not all may be “OK.” I did this a few months ago in a CERT drill at work, and my “graffiti” (including my initials) is still visible in our old headquarters bldg. that is to be demolished. In a previous drill at work I was assigned to triage (immediate, delayed, minor, deceased) incoming injuries that were then attended to by others. And I’ve been involved in ham radio communications drills at work & church. We can grow our drill in the future for more realism & to practice more skills. Some gory “wounds” would be great leading up to Halloween – like a search & rescue spook alley.

For the search teams, yes, we can send out more than one team (if there are enough people during the day) – maybe one team in each direction. MYN already has technically 2 teams going out – one checking on already identified special needs (disabilities), the other looking for the signs – we could have 2 of the sign-checker (search & rescue) teams. As Betty points out (& see step 13 on the “Basic Search & Rescue Procedures”), if they find someone they need urgent (1st priority in triage) help with to extricate, transport or give first aid/CPR, or see a fire that needs urgent attention, they can yell/whistle/radio or run back to get more help at the gathering place. Less urgent things (lower priority in triage) can wait until the team returns and reports– for example, “walking wounded” who can get out on their own (if not in shock).

Another good suggestion I heard from our female search team, was to have the search teams if possible be bigger, strong guys – they may need to pry with a crowbar to get into a house, to get someone out from collapsed debris (you learn how to do that in CERT), and to carry them out. As Betty points out, you need to assess their condition (& condition of the building) before moving them – if the building’s in imminent danger, you may need to risk moving them (very carefully) even if neck/spine injuries are likely. But if the building’s that unsafe, the search & rescue team maybe shouldn’t have been there in the first place (of course it could have become that noticeably unsafe after they entered & during their search).

I’m sure there are things I’ve forgotten, or that you might add – please share them. Lessons learned, ideas for future drills, etc.

And thanks again for your participation. We’ll do it again next year. And hopefully involve more neighbors. I’ll submit a report to the Great California ShakeOut web site, including photos – not sure how they’ll use it -- we may get some publicity.

Mark Clayson

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To All Our Great Neighbors:

Today's earthquake drill was great. Thank you for being such great pro-active, concerned, and caring neighbors. I am proud and happy to live on this block. Everyone did such a great job. I was very impressed. Few notes and comments:

Special thanks to Mark for being the leading force in "building and strengthening disaster readiness among our neighbors". And thanks for the advice on the wasp spray. Makes sense.

And another special thank you to Nicole for gathering the information and preparing the inventory, contact, and equipment lists. Great job!

Special award to Jaime for adding the "touch of realism" and getting us in the action mode by scaring the h.... out of us with his bullhorn. It sure got my adrenaline going!! Also, great job, Jaime, being so thorough and conscientious and checking on EVERYONE'S gas and water shut off. Wow! Very impressive.

Thanks, Maria, for the great idea about having whistles so that we can use them when we need to call for help. Excellent idea. I added one to my kit under the bed now.

Thanks, Betsy, for the super information and plug for the H1N1 shot. We are lucky to have you on our block with all the medical expertise and knowledge you have. I feel safer already.

Greg, Alessa, and I had two suggestions:
1) Alessa suggested adding a crowbar to your kit under the bed. Can be very handy in a real emergency.
2) The search and rescue teams have two parts (we use this method at school):
--------first part of the team does "QUICK" preliminary checking at all the houses for the HELP and OK signs. This team knocks and enters every house, if possible, that has a HELP or no sign posted and assesses the degree of help needed at each house. MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY ARE SEARCHING FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE MOST NEED OF IMMEDIATE HELP. If preliminary checking shows everyone is OK at the house, they mark the house with an OK sign. If IMMEDIATE help is needed they can either whistle for the emergency rescue team to come (thank you Maria), call on the walkie talkie to the rescue team (if we have them), or mark the house with a big RED "X" to signify emergency care is needed.
-------the second part of the team, the rescue team, has the most people and follows behind taking care of all the emergency needs of people, handling the most important needs first. Walkie Talkies are really important here. Once they've taken care of the needs at the house they post an OK sign on the door.

At our schools, we are trained to remove the injured student from the building and out of harm's way of falling objects, etc. And we practice using stretchers to carry the students away from buildings out into the open. That is tricky, though, because I understand we don't want to move anyone in case of serious injury to neck and so on. That is something we need to discuss at a next meeting.

I learned a lot today. And as Scott so honestly declared, I learned how much I am not really prepared. Thanks to everyone.

Betty