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9C <br /> Page 12 <br /> ��..�„ <br /> : t <br /> �•.r:ws <br /> Disaster Preparedness Training for the Residents <br /> of Cities in San Mateo County <br /> A disasfier in the making <br /> lssue <br /> Are the cities of Sau Mateo County adequately preparing their residents to deal with <br /> major disasters? <br /> Background <br /> As Americans learned from Katrzna,peaple raust reiy on them.selves during the first <br /> hours and days af a major disaster. It takes considerable time for a city, state,or national <br /> disaster relief organization to respond ta catacIysmic events. Individual actions can <br /> detennine whether or nat one has food,shelter,mec�icine,or even life itself. Often <br /> ignored is the advan.ced�xaining and preparation that is essential to bridge the gap until <br /> help arrives. � <br /> f nvestigation <br /> The San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury(Grand Jury)contacted 21 cities and tovv�is and <br /> interviewed police and fire personnel to ascerta.in whether they had disaster preparedness <br /> programs designed for training ind'zviduals. <br /> Findings <br /> Comrnunity Emergency Respanse Teams(CERT}are highiy arganized and monitored <br /> programs developed#o provide specific and coherent disaster pxeparedness training of <br /> individual residents. <br /> Various cities use different names and acronyms for their commtuuty emergency <br /> resganse programs,but all the programs aze hased on the original Community Emergency <br /> Response Team program that originated in Los Angeles and was adopted as a standard by <br /> the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA). Menlo Park has retaineci the <br /> 6 <br />