In a recent “Community Conversation” on July 15, Corazón Healdsburg announced that it will be offering a series of free online emergency preparedness classes in both English and Spanish with Nuestra Comunidad, a local nonprofit that helps educate folks on emergency and disaster preparedness through public outreach and training.
Alma Bowen, the executive director for Nuestra Comunidad, said this new program, Listos, is a good approach towards preparedness because it breaks down the things you can do to be prepared for wildfires, earthquakes or other natural disasters, into simple steps.
“I love this program Listos, because what it does is it shares the things that people can do that are easy to implement. Getting ready for disaster is not that complicated, but sometimes people don’t do it because they think it’s hard or don’t want to think about it. If you break it down into simple steps then you can do it … and get ready,” Bowen said.
With this new program, people can choose a time that is convenient for them to participate in an hour to 1.5-hour session over Zoom with Corazón. Businesses can also sign up for a webinar if they are interested in participating in a class with their employees.
“We have a list of people who are interested in the classes,” said Angie Sanchez, head of programs at Corazon. “If you are in the Northern part of Sonoma, get in touch with us. Our telephone number is 707-395-0938, or you can send us a message on Facebook or Instagram.”
In addition to the information that will be shared during Listos workshops, Bowen and Healdsburg Fire Department fire inspector and engineer, Ruben Mandujano, discussed simple ways folks can prepare for an emergency.
Mandujano said families should have at least two different evacuation plans, one for evacuating north and one for evacuating south, as well as a go-bag with essential supplies such as food, water, medications, blankets and copies of any important documents that you may need. He said it’s also a good idea to have a tent and a full tank of gas in case of an earthquake, or if you have to shelter on your own. Having at least one family member trained in first aid and CPR isn’t a bad idea either.
Bowen said organizations are recommending that folks have enough supplies and water to survive for a week. She emphasized that if you are prepared then you may be in a better position to check on a neighbor or an eldery neighbor in the event of an emergency.
“We really have to help each other as a community,” Bowen said.
In addition to having a bag stored at home ready to go, Bowen said you should also have a bag full of essential items in your car as well. In a recent meeting with the Red Cross, Bowen said they mentioned that in the event of operating a shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic, people may have to stay in their cars and have supplies be brought out to them instead of staying in a crowded evacuation center.
“I have a change of clothes in my backpack, I have another pair of shoes, a light blanket, things like that. If you have children, let them pack their own bag — with help of course — this will teach them how to prepare and it’s creating a culture of preparedness,” she said.
One of the panelists, Lizbeth Perez, who also works at Corazón, reiterated the importance of having an emergency preparedness plan and supplies, because as she said, not all evacuation centers or shelters will have all of the needed goods and supplies.
“In Cloverdale there was no shelter, I think there was just a charging center, there was no food, they were totally unprepared, they didn’t have clothes, they didn’t have food, they didn’t have blankets. They were there for a day and a half or two days without access to food or a shelter that was appropriate for families and this really concerned me. In comparison with the past fires in Santa Rosa, translation was very effective, the community had access to information. I think the communication is there, but as organizations and community members, we really have to share this information and mobilize these resources so everyone who needs it can have access,” Perez shared.
During the Kincade Fire, the Cloverdale Citrus Fair didn’t have power due to PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoff, and therefor wasn’t designated an official evacuation center. However, a charging hub set up by PG&E and people heading up to Cloverdale and realizing they wouldn’t have enough gas to go further north meant that many people still stayed there. During the power shutoff and fire evacuations, service groups in Cloverdale worked to make and distribute food at the fair. County nonprofits also drove north to the Citrus Fair with clothes and other necessities for those who were staying.
While having a plan and a go-bag is important, Bowen said the other aspect to disaster preparedness is recognizing the cultural shift that needs to happen, a shift to where people stay vigilant and are always prepared for disaster.
“There is a lot of information on how to prepare ourselves. If you look under disaster preparation, I think there are 30,000 different sites with information, so there is not a lack of information … What we need right now is a cultural change, a change in how we think and approach this,” Bowen said.
She said prior to the 2017 wildfires there was this mindset that disasters happen somewhere else and not here, close to home in Sonoma County.
“What we are realizing is that’s not true. It’s something we have to consider. How do we prepare ourselves? It’s something that has to be part of our lives from now on,” she said.
Mandujano echoed Bowen’s thoughts and said with warmer temperatures and more frequent wildfires, always being prepared for a natural disaster is critical.
“We have to be prepared because my perspective from seeing the news is that the temperatures are changing. Fires are more intense, and this situation is not going to get better. There are ways to improve our environment, but that is going to take years, just like it’s taken years to get where we are now, it’s going to take years to make a change so we need to prepare ourselves and be ready to participate in these changes,” Mandujano said.
He said especially now with COVID-19, it’s even more important to have a go-kit and be prepared for a disaster.
Sanchez asked Gore what the plans are for operating evacuation shelters with COVID in mind and he said the first step is looking at how shelters can be better managed.
“We have the same system of shelters that we have used in the past. What we need to do is to make sure that they will function better. In 2017 the Red Cross, and in 2019, there were problems between local control and outside agencies. I remember once, we were in Healdsburg in the community center, and here’s a person with Corazón and the city of Healdsburg, and here was another person in charge of the Red Cross and they had their own plans and they only wanted to communicate with certain people directly,” Gore said. “So, what we’re pushing is that we have the capacity to manage our own shelters from now on. It is our responsibility to not be dependent on the Red Cross. They do good work, but we have the experience and the capacity to do it.”
To view the “Community Conversation in its entity, click here: https://www.facebook.com/CorazonHealdsburg. For English, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbVh0xCdhv4.
