I am fairly proud of my local Red Cross. At every recent training session I have attended, they have stressed personal preparedness as a precondition to helping others. The government liasion said it best, he said if your family isn't safe and taken care of, you can't function here. If you don't have a go-kit in your car, you can't function very effectively for us. And I also like how we have pre-positioned relief supplies around the County, rather than centralizing them in one warehouse somewhere. From floods or earthquakes, the Seattle area will be broken into virtual islands of habitation, all of which will require some help to come to them. If our volunteers are naturally dispersed, they can get to the supplies and set up shelters, start feeding programs etc.

The 3 Days 3 Ways message is still prevalent in King County, which may help but will be insufficient for a bad disaster. King Co EM realizes this, but I get the idea that higher ups can't get past the catchy 3D3W bit and get down to asking folks to be prepared for 5-7 days.

This winter may be an eye opener for many, as a leaky dam that won't hold rainwater may flood the Kent Valley, which hasn't seen a flood in 50 years. Lewis County style floods right here in the big city!