Attorney Lee Mills (winner of Jackson County Community Service Award in 2015) has taught an OLLI class on Disaster Preparedness and is currently writing a book entitled “Why and How to Prepare for Disaster.” Lee shared with Rotary his thoughts on disaster risk and preparation. He admits to being a skeptic, “do we really need to worry about this stuff?” Lee’s answer is yes. There are 3 big risks: 1) Cascadia earthquake; 2) Loss of the electric grid; and 3) Pandemic. And the odds? About 1 to 2% in any given year. But the odds are much higher that your house will burn down. To cover that risk, you buy fire insurance. Disaster preparation is like insurance in the form of preparedness. We live in the Ring of Fire and 81% of the world’s earthquakes occur in the Ring of Fire. A quake in Medford could range effectively between 7.5 and 7.9. To get ready for the great NW campout, think of it like “glamping” or “greenway.” Glamping, you are prepared. Greenway? You find what you can and make a camp. Power could be out for months, highways down for 6 months to 1 year, drinking water and sewer could be down for 1 month to 1 year. Being prepared makes you more ready for glamping after an earthquake or loss of electric grid. In the case of a pandemic, minimize human contact, wear a mask and wait it out until vaccine arrives.
Karen ElliottÂ
