Lessons from Japan’s crucible for Snoqualmie Valley preparedness

Published 12:12 pm Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Watching the images of destruction unfurl across my computer screen last week, I was shocked and amazed. The scenes that hit the Web in the wake of Japan’s triple earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster are some of the most dramatic I’ve ever seen—flames engulfing lots of parked cars and blazing up from burning refineries, water careening down urban streets, acres of floating debris and explosions at reactors.

Initially for me, the Japanese crucible played out at a distance. Later, I realized that for my wife Anna, the drama had a more personal connection.

“I still haven’t heard from Tomomi,” Anna told me. Tomomi is a former exchange student who lived with her family and is now a distant friend, raising a newborn in the Tokyo outskirts. Concerned, Anna wondered how her friend’s family was faring in the wake of the disaster. While peripheral to her friend’s current situation, she wanted some sign or reassurance that she was OK. An e-mail, days later, revealed that Tomomi was safe but worried for her nation.

Japan’s harrowing situation, with the possibility of a nuclear accident, is troubling to behold. This disaster should also make us all take stock of our own emergency readiness. We may not live in a tsunami strike zone, but Washington is still in the seismic ring of fire. Fault lines run through the Valley. I don’t want to take a chance on Mount Rainier booming one day and not being ready.

If your family hasn’t done so, you should make a disaster plan. Some of the basics include:

• Designate two meeting places: just outside your home and outside your neighborhood. Know the addresses and phone numbers for both places.

• Find a friend or family member at least 100 miles away to be your family’s contact person.

• Make sure every member of your family knows your phone number and has a cell phone, coins or a prepaid phone card to call an emergency contact.

• Keep your car fueled and put an emergency kit with tools, windshield scraper and extra food, water and warm clothing inside.

There’s another lesson being repeated here: How, in times like these, Valley residents step up to help others. One year ago, following the Haiti quake tragedy, locals gave thousands to relief efforts. At Twin Falls Middle School alone, children raised more than $2,000 through a penny drive.

As I write this, relief efforts and charity drives are in the process of being organized in the Snoqualmie Valley. Members of the Snoqualmie Valley Rotary Club, for example, are gearing up to help the national organization’s Japan & Pacific Islands Disaster Recovery Fund. More efforts are underway in local schools and churches.

On a note of caution, before you take out your checkbook, the Washington Secretary of State’s office asks residents to first do some research on who will receive their money.

While many of the groups responding to the crisis in Japan are long-standing, reputable charities, some may be bogus groups looking to cash in on people’s generosity. Going back to Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there have been many cases of charity scams in which con artists exploit people’s good intentions by taking money meant for victims.

Under state law, anyone who solicits charitable donations in Washington must register with the Secretary of State, and disclose how much raised money went toward an actual charitable cause. Before you write a check or charge your credit card to any charity, make sure you ask these questions:

• Is the charity registered with the state of Washington?

• What is the name, address and telephone number of the organization?

• Exactly how will the donation be used?

• What percentage of the contribution will actually be spent on the charitable purpose of the organization?

You can make sure the charity group is registered with the Secretary of State by visiting www.sos.wa.gov.