PORT TOWNSEND— The answer is http://emergency-information.blogspot.com.
Now, what’s the question?
The next meeting of the Jefferson County – Port Townsend Regional Emergency Planning network (JPREP) will resemble a popular TV game show as it attempts to make learning about emergency services more engaging and fun.
The meeting takes place at 9 a.m. Friday, July 29, at the Mountain View Community Meeting Room, 1919 Blaine St.
“We are always looking for ways to make these meetings more interesting, and a trivia contest seemed like a good way to do that,” said Bob Hamlin, program manager for Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management.
“We have about 40 people at these meetings, and [we] wanted to provide some teaching points.”
Luring the public
The meetings, which generally include emergency personnel from throughout the county, are used to plan strategy for crisis response. But the meeting is open to the public.
Hamlin hopes the game show idea will attract the public.
At this month’s meeting, participants will break into teams, and winners will receive a prize. He said the questions would vary in complexity.
Hamlin said information is the most important factor in emergency planning; a goal is to make sure that people know where to turn for the latest news when disaster strikes.
With this in mind, the agency is in the process of establishing a partnership with KPTZ 91.9 FM to broadcast current disaster information.
Staying in touch
Hamlin said the most important issue during a disaster is making sure that families connect and face the situation together.
With that in mind, he suggests that families establish a reliable out of town contact that families can contact and coordinate their whereabouts with each other.
“During a disaster, long-distance service and text-messaging are usually pretty stable, so it can be used to stay in touch,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin said the popularity of cellphones has made emergency communication more efficient, but text-messaging can often provide a better way to disseminate information.
The agency has partnered with www.Nixle.com, where people can sign up to receive text messages from the agency during a disaster.
Hamlin said about 300 people have signed up for the service during the year it has been available.
A test message is sent out every month, but the service is not used to distribute non-emergency information such as press releases, Hamlin said.
To sign up for the service go to www.nixle.com and sign up to receive dispatches from “Jefferson County, WA.”
“It’s really important that you include Washington because there are so many Jefferson counties,” he said.
As for the answer at the beginning of this story — http://emergency-information.blogspot.com. — the question is : What is the best place to get information about an emergency in progress?
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
