Berkeley Residents Encouraged to Prepare in Wake of Morning Quake

Announcement submitted by City of Berkeley:

Monday morning’s 4.0 magnitude earthquake, which had an epicenter less than a mile south of the Berkeley border, serves as a reminder to prepare yourself and your neighborhood for earthquakes and other disasters.

Related:

• WATCH: Local Weatherman Reacts To East Bay Earthquake While On Air
• Magnitude 4.0 Earthquake Strikes East Bay
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The Berkeley Fire Department’s Office of Emergency Services offers a number of resources to help you get ready.

1. Take a community emergency response training (CERT) class. Individual classes are available monthly and three-day academies are offered quarterly. Register online or by phone 510-981-5605.

2. Organize your neighborhood block and apply for free disaster programs including:

Dumpster Program - a free incentive program that encourages neighbors to get involved in disaster preparedness by providing the neighborhood group with a free dumpster to remove trash and debris. To qualify for a dumpster, the block must have two organized meetings focused on disaster preparedness with the fire and the public health or police departments.http://cityofberkeley.info/Dumpster/

The Disaster Equipment Cache Program provides organized neighborhood or community groups with emergency disaster equipment including generators, portable 2-way radios, prying tools, fire hoses with nozzles, and first aid equipment. Each group must complete specific CERT training classes or a CERT academy to apply for the disaster cache. The next application period will open in January 2015. http://www.cityofberkeley.info/fire/OES/

Free Automatic Gas Shutoff Valve program. This incentive program provides a free automatic gas shutoff valve to single-family dwelling residents who participate in disaster preparedness training sessions. http://cityofberkeley.info/gasshutoff/

3. Sign up for the Citywide Emergency Exercise on October 17th. All community members are welcomed to join the exercise at any level. Participants will have a handbook describing a number of activities that could take 5 minutes to 2 hours. Participants will receive exercise objectives, sample scenarios, tips and directions on how to design an exercise and customize it to the scale appropriate to the number of participants. No previous CERT training is required. To register for the exercise or for more information, visit http://www.cityofberkeley.info/prepare/

4. Sign up for the Berkeley Emergency Notification System (BENS). Anyone who lives or works in Berkeley and uses a cell phone or voice over Internet Phone (VoIP) is encouraged to register for the Berkeley Emergency Notification System (BENS). The BENS may be used by emergency officials to push out emergency information via phones, text, or emails. Individuals who desire to receive emergency notifications via text or emails, must register their contact information in advance by signing up at https://alertregistration.com/Berkeley/

In addition to the BENS, the City may distribute emergency or important information on the following communication systems:

• Radio 1610 AM. Preset your AM radios to include this channel for emergency information and turn out your AM radio to listen for important information.
• City of Berkeley News. Keep up with News from the city of Berkeley via our News Page, which has instructions on how to subscribe to information via email or Twitter.
• Emergency Alert System (via local radio or television stations). When an earthquake occurs, tune into your local radio (KCBS 740 AM, KGO 810 AM), or your local television news station
  for information.
• Nixle. Berkeley Police send important text and/or email messages to the community via Nixle. View and subscribe at https://local.nixle.com/berkeley-police-department/.

5. Short on time? Learn the 5-critical steps and take action.

Schedule a 5-critical steps presentation with the Berkeley Fire Department for your neighborhood or community group. Contact the Berkeley Fire Department at 510-981-5605 to schedule a free, 30-minute presentation. For more training information and access to training materials, please visit www.cityofberkeley.info/OES

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