How cities can prepare for the next disaster

By Melissa Sparks-Kranz, legislative advocate

Cal Cities has created an Emergency Preparedness and Response Checklist to help cities prepare for disasters and respond rapidly during emergencies. Cal Cities prepared the checklist, based on member input, for cities that want to better prepare for disasters.  

After the devastating wildfires that impacted Southern California earlier this year, city leaders from across the state formed a communication network to ensure support at the local level for the affected communities. Cal Cities also hosted several exchanges among its members where city officials shared lessons learned from prior disasters with more recently impacted members.

One of the key takeaways was that city officials can’t fully respond to disasters in their communities if they themselves are not prepared. City leaders and staff should have a go-bag ready with emergency supplies, food, water, as well as an emergency plan and emergency communications and alerts set up for themselves and their families.

Critical to managing any emergency is being able to communicate clearly with residents. This could include creating a reverse 911 system that can send automated alerts to specific geographic areas. City officials also suggested adding date/time stamps to all emergency communications so that residents know they have the latest information.

Another important, preemptive task is to train emergency operations center staff and coordinate with neighboring cities and regional bodies, including councils of governments. This will ensure cities have support and communication systems with their neighbors.

Hosting regularly scheduled community workshops and educational events that train residents for emergencies is also crucial. These events could cover a variety of topics, including how to sign up for emergency alerts or evacuate for different disasters. These sessions could also educate people on the need for insurance for properties or residents, depending on the region and type of disaster.

Another top shared takeaway included forming community emergency response teams — called CERTS — and training them to ensure they can activate quickly. CERTS should become nonprofits, which allows them to receive and leverage disaster preparedness, response, and recovery grant funding that cities may not have access to.

The full checklist, as well as additional state and federal resources, are available on the Cal Cities Public Safety Committee webpage.