Shilshole Blog

Saturday April 28, 2018 there was a city wide disaster preparedness drill. Shilshole Prepares Hub participated with Kirke Park Hub  at Kirke Park.   The drill was designed to allow the population of Seattle to think about and practice what it would be like to lose our electrical grid.  Less than four weeks ago Puerto Rico’s  3,659,679 people lost all electrical power.  It could happen here, imagine all 606,660 + people in Seattle with out power for an indefinite period of time.

Some of the questions that came up were:  Can you tell me where I can charge my car and my phone?  Do I go to work Monday at Amazon/Boeing/Microsoft? Where can I buy gas?  Are the grocery stores open?  Can you contact my Grandmother using your radio? How do I reach the, Hospital/ Police/ Fire Department/Red Cross for help?  I smell natural gas, what should I do?  Where is my Social Security check…my bank is closed. These and many other relevant questions were answered.  We did lots of role playing of situations that could come up if the grid went down.

The hubs communicated with the Seattle Office of Emergency Management  aka EOC, through a network of ham radio stations.  This structure is an all volunteer group known as ACS, short for Seattle Auxiliary Communications Services, it is set up to be covered by five sector teams and a team at the EOC during a disaster.  These people are the core of the hub program.  They speak with one another and relay critical information about the overall situation in the city.  Conversation is governed by strict protocols and requires the operators to adhere a no monkey business style of behavior.

All the people that volunteered to participate in the drill were given jobs to preform.  The drill lasted three hours.  Citizens walking by were asked to participate as well.

It is my hope that next year when we do the city wide drill here many of you will help.  With more practice we can improve our disaster preparedness skills.

One last thing I would like to add; we are a well organized group of independent characters who  in a pinch  are ready to handle big issues.  In many ways we are the best prepared group in Seattle.  That does not mean we should be come complacent.  Think about what you will do if a catastrophic event occurs.  Your life and lives of those you love and care for could be stake.

Thank you to the following folks that participated: Ned Kohlhauff VP of the SLA and Hub Manager, Richard Meeks Board Member of SLA,  Dave and Sam Krause  V-MAN Net and ACS Members, Tom McIntyre ACS Member,  Michael DePaula G-Dock, and many others.