Given the dire predictions of flooding along the Green River this winter, the city’s third annual Disaster Fair was the right event at the right time for many Auburn residents.
“I grew up in Renton and I remember the floods down the valley, and they were horrible,” said Judy Otto, who has lived along the river in Auburn for the past six years. “I just wanted to see what I needed to get ready. I’m not overly concerned, but I just want to be ready.”
Conducted this past Saturday at Les Gove Park, the Disaster Fair featured displays from several local emergency organizations – including Auburn Regional Medical Center and the Valley Regional Fire Authority – as well as vendors providing emergency supplies and information about a variety of disasters, running the gamut from earthquakes to flooding.
“We started the fair because we needed a way to get people prepared, to get them interested and engaged and learn a little bit about taking care of themselves,” said Auburn’s Emergency Preparedness Manager Sarah Miller. “Because the bottom line is every disaster is local, and local starts in your own home. And if you’re not ready to take care of yourself, it’s not reasonable to think that somebody is going to come take care of you because you didn’t take any steps to get prepared.”
Although the fair featured information and demonstrations on how to deal with a variety of disasters, it was flooding that was on the minds of most of the event goers, Miller said.
“I don’t have an exact count, but this fair is about three times as big as last year’s fair,” she said. “It’s been really interesting today. The feedback we got is that people really came to find out about flooding.”
Prominent among the vendors lining the sidewalks at the park were local insurance agencies offering flood insurance. Miller called that the most important precaution that residents can take.
“Insurance is the most important thing. The two basic things are to have insurance and have a plan about what they’re going to do when they find out a flood is imminent. If they don’t have their own plan, they’re not going to know what to do. We’ll tell them things to do, but if they don’t have their own plan, when they find out a flood is coming, it’s too late.”
Miller added that just taking care of oneself in a disaster is not enough.
“People need to not only have a plan, they need to get involved,” she said. “If they’re not directly impacted, they need to find a way to get involved and help their community, help this community, because if we get this flood, it is going to take everybody to recover from it. It’s not just the stuff before, like the sandbagging. After the water goes down is when the real work starts. The cleanup is monumental.”
Miller advised that potential volunteers contact local churches and nonprofits to form groups to help with cleanup or attend one of the city’s Community Emergency Response Team classes.
For Otto and her friend, Victoria Wiley, the fair provided just the right amount of information
“There were several things I was quite taken with, like disaster supply kits and how to plug my sewer line. That’s what I’m concerned with,” Otto said.
“We have a fairly good levee, but I’m concerned with stuff backing up through the storm drains, they call it interior flooding,” Wiley added. “I like the fact that they have a system to call you when there is trouble, so you have a little lead time to get yourself and your family out.”
“I think the City has taken a lot of steps to help,” Otto added.
For more information about disaster preparedness, visit the City of Auburn’s Emergency Preparedness Web site at http://www.auburnwa.gov/Emergency/disaster.asp
