Marriott-Slaterville City CITIZEN EMERGENCY PLANNING Acknowledgments Special thanks to Lance Peterson of Weber County Emergency Management, Weber Fire District, Riverdale City, North Ogden City, Brigham City, Bill Morris, Jay Miller, Gerald Bischoff, Elna Lucou, Sherry Morris, Quality Quick Print, CERT Members, and all others who assisted in the compilation and printing of this brochure Introduction If a disaster strikes simple emergency preparedness can make a difference. Emergency preparedness should be based on an understanding of what can happen in a disaster. There are generally three types of disasters: natural, technological, and civil. Participation by family members, neighbors, and residents in emergency preparation is vital to the preparedness of the community in any disaster. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone right away. Therefore, disaster and emergency planning is a responsibility that begins with each individual. Residents need to plan, prepare, and learn self-reliance skills in order to cope with the overwhelming challenges of a disaster or major emergency. Human behavior is surprising and sometimes unexpected in relation to disasters. Typically the public underestimates or is unwilling to acknowledge that disasters can and will occur. People generally believe that they are safe from a disaster, or that someone else is doing the planning for them. However, when a disaster occurs, our best resource is one another. Those unprepared in the community for a disaster may react with rage and a sense of betrayal. Good emergency management and preparedness seeks to mitigate the havoc that a disaster can create. This brochure is designed to assist you, the individual, families, or businesses as a resource in emergency management education and disaster preparation. It is a mistake to assume that it contains all the information anyone will need, or that one is prepared merely by a cursory understanding of disaster preparation and making token effort. During an emergency, certain measures will be taken in the community in response to the particular disaster. First, the city will activate an Emergency Operation Center (EOC). This EOC will likely be in conjunction with the Weber County EOC and possibly the State of Utah EOC. Second, emergency responders and if needed, volunteer coordinators will be mobilized, under the direction of the EOC, to respond to the emergency. Third, emergency management will respond to a disaster through several methods: damage assessment, communications, mass care, shelter operations, and security. All are encouraged to make ongoing disaster planning and preparation a part of life and to realize that when a disaster occurs the ability to improvise is often essential. This two-part brochure provides information on emergency planning and disaster awareness. As previously stated, it is intended to serve as support material for citizen emergency planning and disaster awareness. Other disaster related material is available online through the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other sources.