Preparing Ahead of an Emergency
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An "evacuee" gets their blood pressure checked by a Public Health Nurse during a mock emergency shelter drill conducted Thursday by the County's Office of Emergency Services and Health and Human Services Agency.Spending time in an emergency evacuation shelter is not something anyone wants to do. But in the event of an emergency, you might not have a choice.
If you do have to go to an emergency shelter, you may be frantic and stressed, having left your home – sometimes at a moment’s notice – not knowing what you’ll find when you eventually return home. Everyone else at the shelter is in a similar situation to you. There could be hundreds or even thousands of your fellow neighbors and friends at your local shelter.
San Diego County is hoping to lower residents’ stress levels by training staff to run an efficient, organized emergency shelter.
On Thursday morning, County staff from the Office of Emergency Services and the Health and Human Services Agency’s Public Health Services conducted an emergency shelter drill to train staff to open and manage safe shelters during emergencies.
“This gives you the opportunity to find out about all the operations that go into running a shelter,” Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., Public Health Officer told the Public Health Services staff before the drill began. “This exposure to the nuts and bolts of setting up and running a shelter is a wonderful opportunity.”
Dozens of participants were broken into groups and received their instructions from the drill coordinators. Some were assigned to nursing stations; others greeted and registered “evacuees.” Some displayed their acting chops by playing residents who arrived at the shelter with various ailments from rashes and head lice to broken limbs and respiratory problems.
This drill was just one of the numerous emergency drills conducted by the County every year to be sure our region is prepared in the event of any sort of disaster.
During a disaster, you can find shelter locations at www.sdcountyemergency.com or by calling 2-1-1.