Today’s blog is the fourth in a  series that addresses concerns about citizens being Ready & Prepared to cope with a sudden major disaster, like an earthquake along our local Rodgers Creek Fault. Next week’s Great California ShakeOut (10/21) is being sponsored to help make people more aware of what to do during such an event. “Duck, Cover & Hold On!,” are the bare minimum things to remember.

Quite often, after the shaking (plus the after shocks) settles down, and all types of normal communications are inoperable, community neighborhoods will be “on their own” for 72 hours or longer. They will not know what’s happening elsewhere. They will not know how to communicate with official emergency response managers or services. It will be a confusing and stressful situation.

In addition to the 73 Emergency Preparedness blogs that have been posted on the Argus-Courier’s Petaluma360 site since March 2006, there will be a HELP Workshop designed to help neighborhood amateur radio operators to become acquainted with our Petaluma NERT and CERN programs. This workshop, sponsored by Petaluma ALERT will take place at the Petaluma Senior Center (211 Novak) this coming Saturday (October 16) from 9:00 a.m. – Noon.

Although Petaluma NERT Net has been operational since 2006, it has only been recently that radio operators affiliated with ARRL clubs and ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) units have reached out to all licensed Hams and invited them to form “HamWatch” systems for their neighborhoods. A copy of  an article describing the Seminole County, FL Neighborhood HamWatch program may be downloaded from …http://www.myhamshack.com/blogs/795/Neighborhood-HamWatch.html

The companion “Neighborhood HamWatch” brochure may be printed out from …http://richhand2.home.comcast.net/~richhand2/Universal-Brochure.pdf

 Stay cool and calm, by being Ready, Prepared,  and having the ability to Communicate!