Los Gatos Reacts to Japan Disaster

How prepared are we for a disaster as destructive as the Japan earthquake and tsunami?

That's the question Los Gatos Mayor Joe Pirzynski wants town residents to ponder as they continue to watch television and Web reports of the devastation caused early Friday by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan and caused a deadly tsunami that swallowed cities and farmland in the northern part of the country.

The mayor said he had been in meetings with Los Gatos Town Manager Greg Larson Friday morning speaking of ways to roll out a new program he announced during his Feb. 22 State of the Town address.

The "Safe at Home" program would piggyback on to the Los Gatos Prepared program and asks every resident and businessperson in the community to become as ready as possible to be self-sufficient during the first 72-hours of a major disaster. 

Pirzynski noted the program's implementation won't cost any money to the town and would be grassroots, relying on town officials to spread the word and help less prepared neighbors to take action.

The mayor said a newly revised Emergency Operations Plan includes extensive additions of evacuation plans for wildfires and maps for dam failure. These were added to enhance the response, communication and evacuation route information to those residents in vulnerable areas, particularly Los Gatos hillside areas.

Pirzynski also indicated during his speech that the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members and emergency management staff are promoting the availability of emergency preparedness training in town.

The Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Department has trained approximately 370 residents on CERT and has established 14 specific CERT neighborhoods, three of which have defined and organized teams.

"This tragic natural disaster has to remind us all how such a disaster can also strike our community and region. Even if not as severe as in Japan, a major earthquake in the South Bay will overwhelm government and emergency services such that residents will very likely be responsible for themselves and their neighbors for at least 72 hours," said Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Chief Scott Seaman.

The chief urged residents to visit 72hours.org and the town's website, losgatosca.gov, and navigate to emergency preparedness.

The mayor encouraged residents, known for their generosity, to donate to the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund, call 800-RED-CROSS, or 800-733-2767, to make a contribution, or do so online at redcross.org.

Financial donations are preferred because products are difficult to ship overseas, said American Red Cross of Silicon Valley volunteer Chris Carlson.

"My heart goes out to the victims of the earthquake in Japan," said Larson, adding that the Town Council has made emergency preparedness a priority for the next two years. "For Los Gatos, it's an opportunity to think about our preparedness in a natural disaster."

Town residents empathize and sympathize with the tragedy since they were victims of the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, which destroyed several historic downtown buildings, Pirzynski said. The earthquake's magnitude, the mayor said, seemed to be between a 6.9 and a 7.1 on the Richter scale and lasted about 13 seconds.

The Japanese earthquake was an 8.9 magnitude on the Richter scale and lasted for two minutes. "That's a thousand times more powerful than the one we experienced. 

" ... We were only a few miles from the epicenter up in the Santa Cruz Mountains," he said. "We were hit very hard. It was a difficult time for us."

The town rebuilt quickly, but after much work and planning carefully how to retrofit and reinforce historic buildings so as not to lose them again, he added.

"When I watched the video this morning from Japan, particularly the tsunami as it came in and overwhelmed a whole community ... structures that were standing intact were suddenly destroyed by this wall of water; it was very troubling, and I kept thinking about who was in those buildings and in those cars," Pirzynski said.

"Our wishes and prayers go out to the people who are suffering through this," he added. "It's tough to think that we have to have a tragedy like this to remind us that we have to prepare." 

Santa Clara County Emergency Services Director Kirstin Hofmann said the agency would monitor the disaster but didn't anticipate any impact. She encouraged residents and county employees to sign up for Alert SCC, which allows anyone who lives or works in the county to get emergency warnings sent directly to their cell phone, mobile device, e-mail, or landline.