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Seattle Emergency Communications Hubs Winter 2022

Seattle Emergency Communications Hubs Winter 2022

What we learned during our 2021 Field Exercise "Double-Trouble"

Each year, we set goals for what we want to practice or achieve during our yearly field exercise.  In 2021, we planned BIG.  And we did it twice!  We wanted to run a maximum-capacity exercise, where we had sufficient volunteers to manage every function we anticipate being needed at a Hub, and then staff it as though we would have to do on-the-job training with spontaneous volunteers.  We also needed a large crowd to act as community actors so the Hub was stretched to capacity.  An additional goal was having all the Hub Captains in one place so we could learn from each other and adopt new best practices.   Holding the same exercise on two different days helped give people a chance to join at either location, and the sharing was really helpful.  We did both days in partnership with the Seattle Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) Ham radio team which gave us a great opportunity to work together.
 
During the 6 total hours of operations time, we responded to over 450 requests or offers.  Upon later evaluation, we managed 75% of those situations efficiently.  Never satisfied, we have some improvements to make and more training to do.  We have two work groups looking at how we manage “things” versus “skills” and how we share information within the Hub so everyone has better visibility of the key issues and how the situation is developing. It’s very exciting to watch people come together in advance of a major disaster to work through how we can best help our neighbors should the need arise. 
 
At the 2nd day of the exercise, a reporter from Crosscut magazine observed and wrote a story that really captured the spirit of the day, you can read it here.
 

South Seattle Hubs make the news! 

The Hubs received some additional press already this year. Several of the Hubs in South Seattle were covered in a story in the South Seattle Emerald, linked here, which was then featured in the latest Seattle Department of Neighborhoods newsletter.
Ron Angeles, Hub Captain Rainier Beach Hub.  Photo credit: South Seattle Emerald.

Highights from 2021

Each year we pull together a report of our activities from the past year.  Even with COVID still carrying on, we ended up with about 4 pages of events, projects and partnership endeavours.  Here are the highlights and the link to the full report is here

If you see something you which you had known about, please do keep an eye on our website’s calendar; all of our public events are posted there.

Major Accomplishments
  • Good Samaritan Law modified, House Bill 1209. Spearheaded by the Seattle Hubs and with the sponsorship of Rep Dan Bronoske (D-Lakewood), the bill passed through both chambers of the Washington Legislature this session with unanimous bi-partisan support, was signed by Gov Inslee and took effect July 25, 2021.
     The extends Good Samaritan coverage to all emergency care rendered, not just when you’re providing medical care. The bottom line is that you can now help your neighbors in an emergency without fear of liability when you act in good faith!
  • “Double Trouble” field exercise, Sept 18 and 21.(as mentioned above).
  • UW-Tohoku Exchange Workshop on Community-based and Intergenerational DRR – a 3-hour exchange between academic and community-based emergency preparedness advocates in Sendai Japan and Seattle Washington.  Aug 25
  • FEMA Region II & X nation webinar series “Resolve to Be Ready”, Hubs gave a presentation about the Hub Network and Hub model of community response, March 17.Afterwards, multiple jurisdictions (Brooklyn-New York, New Orleans, Dallas and Howard County Maryland) contacted us for more information.
  • Partners In Emergency Preparedness Conference (regional) presentation by the Hubs “Urban Survival: Skills for City Folk”. April 6
  • Improved standardization of equipment, improved outreach materials.We received a Small Sparks grant from the City of Seattle Dept of Neighborhoods in 2020 and, with Covid delays, continued and completed this following work in 2021.
    • Four Hubs provided Hub in a Box gear.
    • 15 P-Patch Hubs provided equipment upgrades to 2021 suite of tools.
    • Translate our Hub brochure into the top seven languages spoken in Seattle.
    • Create three videos to educate about Hubs; each video with closed captioning and language translation for the top seven languages.To date, the one video has been completed and translated into Spanish, the remaining work will follow in 2022.
  • Granted access by the Seattle Office of Emergency Management to a specialized planning tool that provides predictive modeling for building damage in an earthquake.
  • Using the tool, we have assessed the safety of Hub locations, have moved or made contingency plans where Hubs were in high-risk locations.
  • Are creating presentation at the community level, to lead discussions on risk and response.First presentation was Dec 2 to a group in the southwest sector of the city.
  • Hub map, the printed version, was updated and incorporated the new Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) city sector designations.
  • Roll out of Hub Captains Guidebook for Inclusive Community Outreach, held training and discussion sessions, March.
  • Sheltering Appendix released, which expands our existing checklists and provides just-in-time guidance should we have to set up ad-hoc shelters in the neighborhoods until the City establishes formal shelters.
  • Pandemic Operations appendix released, to provide general information of safety procedures should we ever have to activate during a pandemic.This was patterned off FEMA and Red Cross guidance.
 
New Networked Hubs established at: Mt Baker Park, Fremont P-Patch, Pinehurst Playground, Maple Leaf P-Patch, Maple Leaf Playground, University Heights, Roosevelt, Eastlake at Pete’s, and Greenwood Park relocated from the Greenwood Senior Center to Greenwood Park.
Several Hubs were removed as sites, we did a safety review this year and some locations were located in places that could be dangerous or compromised in a major earthquake or were very close to another established Hub: Shiga’s Garden P-Patch, Climbing Water P-Patch, Pelican Tea Garden P-Patch, Ida Mia Garden P-Patch, High Point MacArthur Lane P-Patch, Beacon Bluff P-Patch, Brandon Street Orchard P-Patch,
 
At the High Point Resources Fair, High Point Hub Captain Johnny Schmidt uses the “Wheel of Misfortune” to ask visitors questions about emergency preparedness. It is amazing what young people already know!
Anne Churchill, South Park Hub Co-Captain and her able assistant talked about the new Hub in South Park at the Duwamish River Days Festival

 
The Maple Leaf Community Council invited the Hubs to hold a mini Urban Survival Skills Fair at their annual picnic, part of the education for their community about their new Hub at the Maple Leaf Reservoir Park Playground. 
In the Phinney neighborhood, the Phinney Neighborhood Association hosts a Food Truck Friday and invited the Phinney Hub to put up two information tables. Basic information was distributed as well as material to help people prepare for the smoke conditions where were expected later that week. We’d love to show you Jim Durand and Jack Herndon, the Phinney Hub co-captains, but they are behind the lens.
 
Besides talking about the Hub itself, our tables often include a skills learning component – at the Pigeon Point Community Picnic, Hub Captain Robert Shampain wanted to show water purification information.  The dirty water filtered through the coffee filter only tasted slightly dusty.
 
Disaster Preparedness in small bites


Increase the readiness and resiliency of your household with these concise, 30-minute classes.  Every Wednesday night at 7pm starting Jan 19th.  (We apologize that it is past the first class, but you can join for any session) Your instructor is Ann Forrest, an experienced educator and a strong advocate of the Emergency Communication Hubs.

 Find more information and register here   

Seattle Virtual Home Fairs; landslide information, earthquake home retrofit information

The City of Seattle will be hosting their popular Seattle Home Fairs online on Saturday, January 29, 2022, and Sunday, January 30, 2022. Both dates will have the same presentations to give you a couple of opportunities to attend the sessions that most interest you. The virtual home fairs will be full of useful information about our permitting process, code requirements, renting in Seattle, and much, much more.
January 29 Seattle Home Fair schedule is: January 30 Seattle Home Fair schedule is: During these presentations, you’ll have a chance to hear from expert staff on some of the most requested topics. After the presentation, you can ask questions specific to your project, property, or situation. The city will record the sessions and post the videos on their website after the home fairs.
More information here
 

City of Seattle Office of Emergency Manegement training classes

Due to COVID constraints, the City has not yet resumed classes at this time, stay tuned for more information later in 2022.

 
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