August 17, 2009

UCSF Looks to Recruit Volunteers for Care and Shelter Teams

It’s not a matter of if a major earthquake will strike San Francisco Bay Area; it’s just a matter of when and the probability is high, experts say.

“There is a 63 percent probability of a major earthquake striking the San Francisco Bay Area within the next 20 years,” says Chris Jones, director of emergency management at the UCSF Police Department.

Jones points to a story on July 10 that reports that “Swarms of small tremors deep beneath the ground after two recent quakes in Monterey County may be adding stress to a seismically locked segment of the San Andreas fault and could presage a major earthquake.” Read the story on SFGate.

And the fact that San Francisco has been warned that it must upgrade its emergency water system used to feed fire hydrants to avoid a deadly fire like the one that devastated San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake, as reported by SFGate here), is further proof that the campus community needs to better prepare for a major disaster.

In the event that a temblor renders bridges and roads unsafe, preventing members of the campus community from returning home, UCSF will be establishing care and shelter areas where they can receive comfort and food. To help this effort, UCSF is seeking volunteers to manage the shelters and provide care and comfort to those who may be stranded on campus after a catastrophe.

Those who volunteer for UCSF’s care and shelter team will be trained to help their fellow community members during the crisis. The team will be tasked with operating a shelter that provides disaster information, food and water, a place to rest, sanitation and safety.

The next informational meeting on UCSF’s care and shelter team is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 26, from 2 to 3 p.m. in the School of Nursing building, room N 729 on the Parnassus campus. Please RSVP to [email protected] if you would like to attend.

“This obligation is voluntary, and those who sign up to join the team will only be called upon during a disaster,” Jones says. “We understand that your first obligation is to your family, friends and neighborhood. When those obligations are secure, and you are available to help, you will be called upon to exercise your training to assist fellow UCSF community members.”

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