Emergency Management: City focuses on neighbors, employees and community partners

When Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc through New Orleans, when tsunamis hit Indian Ocean countries or when random acts of violence happen in quiet communities, leaders and others ask themselves: “Can that happen in my community, and what should we do now to make sure we are ready if it does?"

City officials have identified emergency management as a top priority, and in 2007 directed additional staffing and funding toward this essential service.

The City of Bellingham provides outstanding day-to-day services and is well-prepared for “routine” emergencies, such as snowstorms and minor power outages. However, in the case of a large-scale disaster, city resources may be quickly overwhelmed.

Our job as emergency managers is to organize and prepare community partners and resources to ensure effective disaster response and recovery. We are especially focused on helping Bellingham individuals, families and neighborhoods prepare for disasters any kind.

Specific steps we are taking this year include:

Organizing, training for, and testing the capabilities of city government to manage a disaster. Every city department plays a role in a major emergency.
Working closely with the city’s 23 neighborhoods and their leaders, to help improve the level of preparedness for individuals and families.
Developing effective working relationships with community agencies that have a role in disaster management, including Whatcom County, the Red Cross, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and many others.

A key partner is the new emergency management degree program at Western Washington University’s Huxley College, providing real life learning opportunities for students and access to research and other resources for the city. Another important partner is the Bellingham Food Bank. The city is providing funding for much-needed improvements to the food bank so that the building is equipped to serve as a point of distribution for food and supplies during a disaster.

In the past the city contracted with Whatcom County for emergency management services. However, like the majority of like-sized Washington cities, city officials identified the need to significantly increase emergency preparedness efforts within the city, where our population is increasingly dense and has more urban needs.

The Bellingham City Council approved new public safety personnel and improved facilities for these vital efforts in the 2007 budget. We continue to work closely with county officials to ensure that emergency management services are coordinated and ready to serve, county-wide.

We hope disasters never happen, but we also know that they do. We are committed to making sure city government is ready. Experience with disasters around the world shows that people who are prepared for the worst fare the best when disaster strikes.

Date Posted: Oct 26, 2007