Albany's EarthQuake Preparedness Program (EQPP)

1995 POPULATION: 17,311
1995 HOUSING UNITS: 7,482
Single Family Units: 3,813 (51.0%)
Multi-Family Units: 3,669 (49.0%)
KEY CONTACT: Doug Donaldson
Volunteer Neighborhood Captain
Phone (510) 524-4835

Albany’s EQPP is its EarthQuake Preparedness Program. Although it was not the first neighborhood and volunteer-based program, its results have been amazing. Over 60% of the city’s households, and 70% of the neighborhoods, have participated in one or more parts of this Program.

EQPP is a collaboration of institutional support and zeal of community members. Its two components are training and education offered by the city, and coordination and organization of neighborhood blocks by volunteers.

The training and education program, overseen by the city fire department, is a set of eight classes on disaster preparedness and emergency response. These courses include:

Individual and Family Earthquake Preparedness; How to Organize Your Neighborhood; First Aid and Disaster Triage; Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR); Urban Search and Rescue; Fire Safety and Suppression; Emergency Communications; and Foundation Bolting and Shearwall Installation. In addition to the educational role it plays, the Fire Department provides two free services to local residents: earthquake strapping of water heaters, and installation of (paid for) smoke detectors.

Good local earthquake preparedness programs recognize the limitations of direct governmental activity and response. Thus, EQPP has a built-in network of volunteer support. Over 140 neighborhoods (“blocks”) have organized within the Program’s coordinating structure. Dedicated volunteers provide the grass-roots labor for this program, and these citizens are directed by block captains, who are in turn overseen by six sector coordinators, a steering committee, and the co-chairs of the Program.

EQPP has helped implement several activities. A City-wide earthquake drill was held in the spring of 1995, involving over 70% of the organized neighborhoods. The drill offered either a full-functional exercise of establishing a command post and response activities, or table-top scenarios gathering residents for discussion of roles and actions.

In addition, preparation at the individual household level is being encouraged through a block matrix project. Block captains are surveying households of their neighborhood on fifteen types of structural and training-based preparedness activities both to motivate residents and measure their response to earthquake readiness.

The City also continues to support these activities through ongoing meetings for sector coordinators and block captains, sponsoring information booths at local events, and recruiting other neighborhoods to participate in this Program.

This page was last updated 8/20/03 by jbp.