Overview
Nearly all persons, regardless of where they live, are likely to face some type of natural or man-made disaster or weather-related emergency. The likelihood that you, your family, and even your pet animals will survive an emergency depends largely on the planning you do today.
Make a Plan, Build a Kit
The Milwaukie Police Department urges residents to protect themselves and their families by preparing a Family Emergency Plan and creating and maintaining an Emergency Supply Kit. You will be better prepared to survive a disaster and to safely reunite your family and loved ones during an emergency if you think ahead and communicate with others in advance.
Gleaned from information provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), your Milwaukie Police Department suggests all citizens be generally prepared for natural or manmade disasters/emergencies. FEMA provides in-depth information in thorough detail on its website, www.ready.gov.
Be it a flood, earthquake, tornado, volcanic eruption, landslide, Tsunami, ice storm, or any number of other widespread emergency situations, we all have a responsibility to be self-sufficient and capable of surviving a natural or manmade disaster for at least three days and nights. Depending on how widespread the disaster, it may be days before emergency rescue personnel can reach your location.
Please refer to the links below to learn how to prepare yourself and those close to you for an emergency.
Be Informed
You can prepare yourself, family members and neighbors to survive a major disaster event. The American Red Cross provides information and training. Another program is the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). CERT is a program that began in Los Angeles in response to the many spontaneous volunteers who turned out following several large and destructive earthquakes.
Now overseen through FEMA's Citizen Corps Program, CERT is a 24-hour training program usually sponsored by the local fire department that gives citizen volunteers basic skills in small fire fighting, search and rescue, basic medical aid and disaster preparation. These citizens are then meant to aid their neighbors when first responders may be delayed in providing their normal emergency aid.
Milwaukie's CERT Team was founded in 2010 in response to the 2008-09 winter ice and snowstorm that badly affected the Portland area. There are now more than 50 active and reserve CERT members. Members meet for drills twice monthly: the second Saturday morning or third Wednesday evening of each month. They also participate in other area advanced training opportunities support for team equipment has been provided by the City of Milwaukie, several City Neighborhood Associations, Celebrate Milwaukie Inc., Boring Volunteer Fire, the Milwaukie Rotary Club and Milwaukie Public Safety Foundation.
Milwaukie CERT members are committed to helping their own families and their neighbors following a disaster event, and expect to perform other activities as assigned by the City's Emergency Manager at that time, which may include helping emergency shelters, providing damage assessment and light search and rescue operations.Milwaukie CERT team has been instrumental in helping to form the new Oak Lodge CERT team.
Those interested in training in CERT complete a 24 hour combined classroom and practical hands-on course taught by Clackamas Fire District No. 1's certified CERT trainers.
Those interested should go to the Clackamas County Fire District No. 1's website at www.clackamsfire.com/CERT. There is a registration form there for the next upcoming class and further contact information.
Business Survival and Recovery Flyer
