KCBS In Depth: Disaster Preparedness In San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Being prepared for a natural disaster or a man-made one; living on fault lines, near water and alongside refineries is all part of life in the Bay Area. Although it's never expected, there are ways to better prepare if something catastrophic were to occur.
That's part of what local government officials are assigned to do including Rob Dudgeon, Deputy Director of San Francisco's Department of Emergency Services.
KCBS Interviews Rob Dudgeon :
He said that part of the problem is the logistics of moving supplies in and out and around San Francisco.
"It's looking within and realizing that people and the city, the communities are a lot better prepared then they give themselves credit for," said Dudgeon.
He said it could be three days or more before outside help can arrive, so he's planning for sustenance from within.
"This city has a host of restaurants and grocery stores. There's actually a lot of basic supplies already in town that will carry us through the first couple of days until these land and sea bridges can be put together," Dudgeon said.
He said getting around the legalities of setting up such a plan is key so participating businesses can be paid for the goods they'll supply their neighbors in times of crisis.
"If we can tap the small business community, we can supply the neighborhoods from a very local source and help them recover economically, which is going to shorten the duration of the emergency," he said.
You can hear KCBS In Depth, a weekly half-hour news interview, Saturdays at 5:30a.m. and Sundays at 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.
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