EVCNB President: Preparation is Paying Off
After hurricane-force winds isolated our region for over a week 12 years ago, we had no organized community mechanism to respond. From that incident, the Emergency Volunteer Corps of Nehalem Bay was formed. Fast forward to today — EVCNB has grown to become a critical component of preparedness in our community.
Our mission to “Promote A Culture of Preparedness” has never been more important than it is right now. The biggest surprise is that the worst case we initially imagined was a Cascadia Subduction Zone major earthquake and tsunami. Little did we realize that we would first be faced with two tornadoes and a pandemic. When we talk about all hazards, we really mean all hazards!
Not surprisingly, our EVCNB volunteers have stepped up in the COVID-19 emergency. The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) has been activated to do contact tracing for Tillamook County Health Department, and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members are on standby for Tillamook County Emergency Management.
As part of the Neighborhood Gathering Site strategy, Prepare Your Neighborhood (PYN) clusters have been accumulating supplies, including N95 masks, hand sanitizer, and Clorox wipes for some time. With the shortage of personal protection equipment at key places in the county, a portion of these supplies have now been distributed to those in urgent need, including first responders, local grocery store employees, food bank volunteers, and post office personnel.
These dedicated individuals are continuing to work in conditions in which they are often unable to be six feet apart from the public. A big thank you goes out to them, and to the PYN clusters for putting others first and giving back!
Residents in many of our neighborhoods are also supporting each other by making combined grocery runs, keeping in contact through social media and checking on their neighbors — virtually of course. Thanks to all our volunteers, we show we have a strong community and we will get through this crisis together.
At the same time, we are learning a lot. The current pandemic situation should be considered a great wake-up call. Imagine if we did have an earthquake and tsunami. Would you be ready for 30 days (or more) of isolation with no local grocery stores available? What if there was no water, no sewers, no electricity, no roads?
While we are all abiding by the Governor Brown’s “Stay Home, Save Lives,” you might want to take time to plan for the additional supplies and actions that would help you prepare for that worst-case possibility. Stay safe, stay home, and remember — small acts of kindness go a long way when we are all under significant stress.