With hurricane season in full swing and the Caribbean, Gulf and Southeastern states regularly getting slammed, Philadelphia has little to worry about being well out of the path of destruction. But these storms are not the only disasters out there. Last year alone the City of Brotherly Love experienced 652 of them, ranging from apartment building fires to roadway chemical spills. Affected residents would have benefitted from being ready for the unexpected — and now they can.
In declaring September National Preparedness Month, the City has scheduled community-based events and workshops for its "Ready or Not?" campaign. South Philly kicked things off with a Sept. 2 workshop at Columbus Recreation Center, 12th and Reed streets, attended by more than 50 people.
"The time to start planning for an emergency is not in the middle of one. In an emergency, you are either ready or you’re not," MaryAnn Marrocolo, deputy managing director for Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management, told the Review.
The 7 to 9 p.m. workshop offered residents a chance to learn about neighborhood evacuation routes, sign up for emergency text and e-mail alerts through ReadyNotifyPA and for a free smoke detector. Fred Druding Sr., a deacon at Epiphany of Our Lord Church, 11th and Jackson streets, was in the audience, having found out about the event via a flier that came to his and his wife’s home.
"We live in an unsafe world. When we saw that it was for things you can do in event of a disaster — it doesn’t have to be a terroristic attack — we were very interested," he said of the workshop.
Special evacuation plans were developed for communities with unique needs and South Philly is one with a sports and entertainment complex and the Sunoco refinery, Marrocolo said. In addition to South, the whole city is broken down into Southwest, Central, East, Northwest and Northeast.
Evacuation routes are grouped into zones according to police districts. Since South has four — the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 17th — the zones are numbered accordingly. Routes are broken down into four categories residents must follow: mass transit only; pedestrian and all vehicles; private vehicles only; and pedestrians only. Major thoroughfares like Broad Street and Oregon Avenue are designated pedestrian and all vehicles, while Delaware and Passyunk avenues are only for private autos. Most numbered streets are for pedestrians and mass transit. Police officers will be posted to direct traffic to ensure everything runs smoothly, Marrocolo said.
"An important thing to remember is that an evacuation will be very congested so that’s why it’s important for people to heed the warnings and instruction early because that will give them the most time to evacuate," the deputy director said.
Druding found the gathering well worth his time.
"I was very impressed with the presentation. It really was a good meeting because they had various departments of the city represented. They also dealt with neighborhood problems in terms of safety in your own home and in the street. It was just a wealth of information," the resident said.
Hours before the workshop, Mayor Michael Nutter, Marrocolo, American Red Cross CEO Tom Foley and emergency officials held a kick-off at Target, 4000 City Ave. Actor David Morse, who lives in Philadelphia and serves as a spokesman for "Ready or Not" was on hand. Morse’s Los Angeles home was destroyed in an earthquake. In a press release, the actor said, "The hardest thing about it is believing that it can’t happen to you. And when it happens, it will happen fast."
At the kickoff, 100 Red Cross disaster preparedness kits called Go Bags with materials donated by Target were given out to families temporarily or permanently displaced by a disaster and staying at Red Cross House. The package included a ready-to-eat meal, water, a light stick, poncho and face mask. The City encourages residents to gather their own shelter-in-place kit and evacuation bag with items like three days worth of non-perishable food, a gallon of water per person per day, flashlight and batteries and a first-aid kit. The packet also should contain important papers, like bank account, credit card and insurance policy numbers, along with prescription medications, clothing and keys. The Columbus Rec meeting inspired Druding and his wife.
"We’ve discussed it in the past but we never got around to doing it. You think to yourself, ‘Gee, I should do that but then you don’t do it,’" he said of creating a kit.
The Ready or Not campaign started in September 2006 and encompasses the five-county region of Philadelphia, Delaware, Bucks, Chester and Montgomery. Detailed evacuation plans were released in April this year.
Public reaction has been welcoming, especially the text message and e-mail alerts, Marrocolo said.
"I think we have gotten very positive feedback so far. We also have an emergency text and e-mail alert system which people have found very helpful," she said.
For detailed information on local evacuation routes or to sign up for text and e-mail alerts, visit www.phila.gov/ready. Evacuation plans also may be obtained by calling 1-877-READY-11 and are available at all local libraries.
