City of Homer to residents: Be ready for the big one

In the wake of the Japan earthquake-tsunami disaster, Homer Fire Chief Bob Painter is telling residents of the Kachemak Bay city not to expect him to feed and shelter them all after the next big one hits Southcentral Alaska. The March 10-11 tsunami advisory made it clear that many Homer residents aren't prepared to live for an extended time without power, running water and stockpiled food, reports the Homer Tribune.



The [advisory] brought a sobering realizations to emergency responders and the public that identified several needs, among them urging the public to get their kits assembled.

It's not the government's responsibility to make supplies and food available in case a natural disaster occurs, said Painter. The Kenai Peninsula Borough stashes cots and blankets at multiple shelters, but Homer has only about 50 on hand, all purchased by the fire department.

As for food, there is no stockpile in case of an emergency.

"Everyone needs to have a kit at home or in the vehicle. You need to be prepared for a week without food or water," Painter said. "We don't have a stockpile of disaster rations."

After the tsunami scare, churches in particular contacted authorities asking to help people get prepared. Some of them keep their own stockpile of food.

"Alaskans are probably better prepared than many other places, especially in cities where people tend to depend more on government," said [borough spokeswoman Glenda] Landua. "Most of us will survive a natural disaster. How we survive depends on how resourceful we've been up-front. The more we do now, the more resilient we will be when something happens."

Mike Dye, CEO of Land's End Resort on the Homer Spit -- about five miles from high ground -- told the Homer News he alerted his staff of the advisory after the Japan quake and then was up all night, watching TV and the Web for tsunami updates. Homer City Manager Walt Wrede told the News police dispatchers were surprised by number of calls they got from residents who don't have Web access and needed tsunami updates.