Along with the five-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, September is also national disaster preparedness month.
This nationwide effort encourages Americans to prepare for emergencies of all kinds in their homes, businesses, schools and communities. This year, there is particular focus on family emergency preparedness, reminding individuals to make themselves and their loved ones better prepared.

COUNTY FAMILY DISASTER PLAN
After the events on 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, as well as the county’s wildfires, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors sent out Family Disaster Plan and Personal Survival Guides to every household in the county, containing life-saving information that can help prepare for the next major disaster.
Part of this plan includes knowing how and where to shut off utilities, establishing an evacuation route and designating reunion locations where families can meet following an emergency.
While most of the disaster plan focuses on earthquake emergencies, planning conducted will benefit families for any type of disaster that can strike a community.
Residents are encouraged to learn how to protect themselves from falling objects, smoke, fire and toxic fumes as well as learn first aid and CPR.
The county also recommends storing cash, credit cards and other important documents, such as Social Security cards, driver’s licenses, passports, medical records and insurance information in an accessible location that is easy to find in an emergency.
A list of home emergency supplies, such as water, food, blankets, flashlights and medication, as well as sanitation supplies including trash bags, shampoo and toilet paper, is included in the guide.
These supplies should be organized and located for easy access during an emergency and should be sufficient to sustain the entire family for a minimum of 72 hours.
Citizens can also become involved in San Diego’s community emergency response team (CERT), a team of community members trained in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an emergency when professional responders are not immediately available.
For more information about CERT San Diego, e-mail [email protected] or call (619) 533-3075.

AIRPORT SECURITY AND SAFETY
The San Diego International Airport has a variety of safety and security measures in place, including an airport security plan, airport emergency plan and business continuity and recovery plan.
“When we think of the post-9-11 era, the word safety is not the preeminent word, it’s security,” said Mark Denari, the airport’s director of aviation security public safety. “We really have two programs that balance security and safety.”
A primary issue after 9/11 was increased security for passenger property screening, which passengers experience going through the security checkpoint, Denari said.
Prior to 9/11, only a portion of the bags were screened. Since 9/11, Congress has mandated that every bag aboard a U.S. aircraft must be screened by a piece of equipment certified by the government.
Denari also anticipates continued restrictions on carrying liquids on-board as a result of the terrorist bomb plot foiled in London last month.
“The transportation and security administration still wants to maintain a high security posture and concentrate on that particular threat,” Denari said. “I think we’ll see that probably as a measure that will be institutionalized and permanent within their measures and procedures now.”
The county’s regional airport authority recently hired George Condon as manager of public safety and emergency preparedness to assist Denari in strengthening and improving preparedness plans.
“We have a number of different plans for natural disasters; earthquake is certainly one,” Denari said. “Another one we’re working on, to a lesser extent because of its probability and potential to happen, is a tsunami.”
According to Jeffrey Woodson, the airport authority’s vice president of administration, the airport also has a business continuity and disaster recovery plan, which would be implemented in the face of power or electrical shortages.
“We have a lot of different things in place to make sure that once there is an interruption of service, we can recover and keep on conducting business as usual,” Woodson said.
The airport also has an aircraft rescue and firefighting team, which does not leave the airport property.

PORT OF SAN DIEGO
While the Port of San Diego has the Harbor Police, also fully qualified and trained firefighters, they mainly rely on the support of first responders from the local area, such as San Diego Fire Department and Chula Vista Fire Department, during disaster emergencies.
“We don’t necessarily have a disaster preparedness plan for the port singularly,” said John MacIntyre, homeland security program manager for the port. “We do planning, but we rely heavily on mutual aid agreements to do work collaboratively with each other.”
According to MacIntyre, the port conducts exercises with the Red Cross, Coast Guard and a number of local fire departments and medical organizations to work the coordination of various plans.
“We’re trying to consolidate many plans, the best practices and planning processes, all under one roof,” MacIntyre said. “We’re refining and improving them, but that’s an ongoing process.”
The port focuses on general notification and evacuation plans throughout the harbor in an overarching sense, he said.
“An evacuation is an evacuation, notification is notification, whether it’s a storm, tidal wave, fire or chemical spill ” the initial processes are going to be the same,” MacIntyre said.
The port hopes to have a basic master plan completed early next year.
“We are far more secure and prepared than we were five years ago,” MacIntyre said, “But like all evolving ideas, as you make progress, you see you can make progress in other areas, too.”