Santa Rosa Quake Shows Importance Of Preparation, City’s Emergency Chief Says |

Neil Bregman, Santa Rosa’s emergency preparedness manager, encouraged residents to prepare for an earthquake by having enough water and food to last several days in the event of loss of power or water. People should have one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days though Berman recommended having enough water to last up to seven days.

“We expect during a big earthquake that people will lose power and water for significant time so people should be prepared,” he said.

Residents should have an evacuation plan and a go bag packed with clothes, essential items and important documents.

“In many ways it’s like preparing for wildfire,” he said.

Bregman directed people to the city’s website for more information on disaster preparedness.

Here are additional tips on how families can prepare for an earthquake:

– Be prepared by creating a plan for how to reach one another.

– Establish an out-of-area contact who can coordinate family members' locations and information should you become separated. Make sure children learn the phone numbers and addresses, and know the emergency plans.

– Keep copies of important documents at the house of your out-of-area contact or keep important documents and valuables in a fireproof storage box or safe deposit box.

– Prepare a disaster supplies kit, which includes emergency food and water for the home. Keep a smaller version in your vehicle. Families with children should have each child create their own personal pack. View the California Department of Public Health's recommendations on what to pack.

– Know evacuation routes. Establish several different routes in case certain roads are blocked or closed.

– Decide how to take care of pets. Pets are not allowed in places where food is served, so you will need to have a place to take your pets if you have to go to a shelter.

– Don't run out of gas! Always run on the top half of the tank, not on the bottom half.

– Visit other earthquake preparation sites, including: Earthquake Country Alliance, SF72, Great California Shakeout, and Santa Rosa Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies (COPE).

There was a moment Tuesday during the initial response to the earthquake that rattled the North Bay when Santa Rosa officials were split between two paths: An all-out response, including the activation of the city’s emergency operations center, or a more limited effort.

As reports came in of relatively little damage or injury resulting from the magnitude 4.4 shaker and a 4.3 magnitude aftershock, the city took a scaled back approach. (The city is required to activate its center following a magnitude 5 or greater earthquake or if there is reported damage from city departments.)

“The size of it put us in limbo for a second, understanding if this was a full-scale response or not,” Emergency Preparedness Manager Neil Bregman recounted Wednesday.

The temblor struck about 2 miles northeast of downtown Santa Rosa at 6:39 p.m. in an area just west of Parker Hill Road and north of Chanate Road. The 4.3 magnitude aftershock struck 42 seconds later about a mile away on the east side of Parker Hill, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The activity occurred on the Rodgers Creek fault, part of the San Andreas system, that runs through eastern Santa Rosa.

Bregman, who has been touting earthquake preparedness for years, even in the aftermath of the 2017 North Bay fires and subsequent blazes, said the earthquake should serve as a wake up call for residents and government officials that they need to be prepared for a more significant event in the future.

“We didn’t have the big earthquake but this was a large enough shaker to wake people up,” he said. “It created an opportunity to have conversations with the public, internally and with government partners to evaluate our earthquake plans, which can help uncover gaps and ways we can improve.”

On Tuesday, emergency officials answered a flood of 911 calls in the immediate aftermath as the city dispatched public works employees to assess possible damage to city facilities, impacts to essential services and city infrastructure.

Bregman and emergency officials from other jurisdictions across Sonoma County quickly jumped on a phone call to discuss any issues across the region. The quake’s strongest effects appeared to be concentrated in Santa Rosa, which also contributed to the smaller response, he said.

Cross-jurisdiction communication during an emergency is vital to determining how to best respond to an emergency, a lesson learned after the 2017 fires.

“As a community, as a countywide government, we didn’t have a formal way of talking to each other and communicating the big picture for the region,” Bregman said of prior procedures. Now the group hosts weekly operational calls and activates the phone line during heat ways, floods and other emergencies to more quickly direct resources to where they’re needed most.

Santa Rosa officials have been working to update city earthquake plans and procedures over the last year, he said.

The city recently revised its emergency operations plan, including a 13-page manual on how to respond to earthquakes, as part of a regular review that occurs every five years. Residents can weigh in on the proposed plan during a virtual public meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The city is developing a damage assessment software that would allow public works employees and other workers in the field to take photos of damage and upload it to the system with location and notes. That will help the city more quickly determine where there are problems and send assistance, Bregman said.

His team is also working with public works on conducting a simulated earthquake drill to practice how to dispatch workers and address repairs and how to handle a system overwhelmed by emergency calls and staff reports.

Bregman said the city is prepared to respond to a large earthquake but there is room for improvement.

“The plans are in place today for whatever sized earthquake but this is an opportunity to hone that and get the public prepared,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @paulinapineda22.

Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park city reporter

Decisions made by local elected officials have some of the biggest day-to-day impacts on residents, from funding investments in roads and water infrastructure to setting policies to address housing needs and homelessness. As a city reporter, I want to track those decisions and how they affect the community while also highlighting areas that are being neglected or can be improved.