Carnation...ready, set, PREPARE

Helping our community enhance its emergency preparedness is a high priority for the City of Carnation. We will never know when a disaster, natural or manmade may strike. In the November and December of 2006 we learned a great deal about the value of being prepared for an emergency. In order to help our community become better prepared, the City is launching Carnation…ready, set, PREPARE. The purpose of this campaign is to provide important emergency preparedness information to help all citizens be better prepared in case of a natural or man-made disaster, including weather-related events. Survival in a disaster can depend on your level of preparedness. Please take the time to review this information and take action on preparing your basic needs including developing a family plan, storing and rotating emergency supplies (food/water/medication) on a regular basis, and planning for ways to cook and keep warm.

In a major disaster, all City of Carnation employees would assist with our emergency response. However, it is important that our residents know, just as we have seen in other major disasters around the world, these first responders and resources will likely be overwhelmed in the event of a large-scale emergency. Depending on the magnitude of the event, city, county, state and federal emergency workers will unlikely have the ability to respond to your basic needs for more than 72 hours and, in some cases, a much longer duration. It is important for residents to know that regular utility services, such as power, phone, water and sewer services, may not function during a catastrophe.

Enclosed in this packet is an informational sheet with local information and a resource list for emergency preparedness suppliers as well as the 2007 Emergency Resource Guide. The Emergency Resource Guide is also available electronically at www.ci.carnation.wa.us and in other languages on the Access Washington website at www.doh.wa.gov/phepr/factsheets.htm. Thank you for taking the time to read this material and for taking the necessary steps to prepare yourself, your family, your workplace and your neighborhood. Working together we can ensure that the City of Carnation remains a safe place to live, work and raise a family.

If you have any questions or comments about this effort, please contact City Hall at 425-333-4192.