City Preparedness: Don’t Count On It
Staff editorial

The city of Mission Viejo has a highly compensated administrative manager (paid more than $100,000 annually, plus benefits) in charge of emergency preparedness. The city staff presented a report during the Nov. 5 council meeting that indicates Mission Viejo’s readiness plan consists of relying on county agencies.

The 14-page Nov. 5 report includes a map of the October Santiago Fire, a Nov. 1 update on the fire, a chronology of the fire, lessons learned from the fire and an outline of the city’s preparedness projects. Only three of the 14 pages relate to the city’s current and future readiness efforts.

A reader informed blog staffers nearly two years ago of the city’s lack of genuine preparedness. The reader said, “The city is ready to take care of only its own staff members – approximately 140 city employees. The Emergency Operations Center in city hall gives the false impression of a nerve center in the event of a disaster. The county has its own EOC, and the city receives information in a trickle-down fashion from such county agencies as the Fire Authority, Sheriff’s Dept. and Red Cross. When a question came up during a city meeting about how to feed 140 employees, a city staffer suggested walking across the street and breaking into Ralphs.”

The information presented in the Nov. 5 staff report does not allay concerns that residents will be on their own in case of a disaster.

In summary, the report indicates the city has cots, blankets, pillows and sheltering supplies for 160 people. (That means the city is short approximately 99,840 cots, blankets, pillows and sheltering supplies for its nearly 100,000 residents.) The Red Cross will set up shelters, but the capacities and locations aren’t disclosed. Three paragraphs of the report relate to city employees completing training courses. The city purchased satellite phones, emergency radios, laptop computers and a mobile charging station for its EOC, and it plans to upgrade its amateur emergency radio system. The city offers training courses to residents, and it has booths and displays at city events. A city Webpage about preparedness is supposed to be up by March 2008. The remainder of the information describes county operations and county preparedness.

Are a few things missing? Consider that a city employee has spent years (at $100K annually) developing a “plan” that relies primarily on county agencies coming to the rescue. Can anyone explain the difference between “coordinated response” in Mission Viejo and resources available to those living a few miles away in unincorporated areas of the county? Everyone is covered by the same agencies, which appear to have no problem coordinating their response with each other. As another issue, the city lacks the means to communicate its “coordination” to residents in case of a disaster. For example, even with county agencies generating all the updates during the October fires, the city of Mission Viejo was forwarding the emails three days later to its subscribers.

In case of an emergency, Mission Viejo residents will receive their information the way they always do – from radio, TV, Internet, phone calls to each other, etc. They won’t call city hall or drive by the city’s message board at La Paz and Marguerite.

A paragraph in the report describes a city program whereby residents can enroll to learn about readiness. Of course, no information is given about the number of people who have completed a course. The mention of providing “neighborhoods with a better chance of surviving a disaster” appears to be an empty claim. Can any resident describe such a neighborhood readiness program anywhere in Mission Viejo? Has even one resident been contacted by a neighbor regarding such a plan?

Following the October fires, residents asked why the city’s EOC wasn’t opened to evacuees from the canyons or San Diego County. The city responded that the EOC isn’t a shelter. A review of the Nov. 5 report indicates Mission Viejo’s city staff was essentially bypassed by county agencies while fires burned out of control and evacuees streamed through town. With county agencies having their own base of operations, it seems very unlikely county personnel would relocate to Mission Viejo’s EOC for the sake of informing city staffers. A resident says EOC stands for Eat Our Cake – the real purpose of the room, in which gatherings are held and city staff and council members enjoy taxpayer-funded refreshments.

Considering that Orange County has more than 3 million residents, everyone should prepare on an individual basis. In the event of a widespread disaster, there won’t be enough county help, shelter or supplies to go around.